ABOUT VINUNIVERSITY
VinUniversity (VinUni: https://vinuni.edu.vn/) is the first private, not-for-profit Vietnamese university established based on international standards. The university integrates the models of excellent international universities with the unique cultural and economic characteristics of Vietnam, to make a breakthrough in Vietnamese higher education and to become a world-class university.
VinUniversity has strategic collaborations with the world’s leading universities, including Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. These universities have become close advisors and crucial enablers in establishing the four colleges at VinUniversity: College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Management, College of Engineering and Computer Science, and College of Health Sciences. Every aspect of the University: its curricula, research, faculty, student body, facilities, and campus life, is being developed to meet the highest standards set by the world’s leading accrediting and ranking organizations, such as ABET, AACSB, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE).VinUniversity’s founding benefactor, Vingroup, is one of the biggest private conglomerates in Asia with the largest market capitalization value in Vietnam. As a multisector corporation, Vingroup focuses on three main areas: Technology; Industry; and Property Services. VinUniversity is proud to be a part of the Vingroup ecosystem, giving its students opportunities to connect with several high-quality research institutes (such as VinAI, and VinBigData), pioneering industrial enterprises (such as VinFast), and leading Vietnamese companies (such as Vinpearl, Vinmec, and Vinhomes).
ABOUT THE POSITION
The Pathway English & Fundamentals of Academic Writing Lecturer at VinUniversity plays an indispensable role in the College of Arts and Sciences. They are responsible for teaching pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes courses to help learners improve their English language, academic writing skills to study effectively in an undergraduate program at VinUniversity in English.
The Pathway English is a non-credit course which aims to provide students with the English proficiency and academic skills needed to successfully study at VinUniversity in English. Pathway English Advanced is a course for students who have completed Pathway English Intermediate or for those who have an English entry proficiency level of CEFR B2 (IELTS 6.0 or equivalent). Students who study Pathway Intermediate in the Summer semester will study Pathway Advanced in the Fall and Spring semesters, alongside some introductory courses. At the end of the course, students will exit with an English proficiency equivalent to CEFR B2+ and meet the English language requirements for full admission to VinUniversity.
The Fundamentals of Academic Writing (FoAW) is the 3-credit mandatory course for all undergraduates at VinUni, which is aimed at refining students’ language, communication, writing, critical thinking, and research techniques. There is a particular focus on formal academic writing to equip students with strategies for long-term success in university-level coursework. This course transitions from the written essay to the research paper, preparing students for the type of writing that is essential for university studies. The course will give students an abundance of guided practice and independent production in following a process writing approach, which includes investigating, shaping, drafting, peer and teacher feedback, reflection, revision, and final product. This writing process will be adapted to the various types of academic writing functions to provide foundational writing skills that can be applied across a variety of mediums.
In addition to helping student become a more critical reader and a more persuasive writer, there is a group project focused on researching and proposing solutions for a local community issue. In small groups, students will collaboratively select an issue which faces your local community, research it and propose some potential solutions which will be presented to a wider audience through an academic poster presentation. This project will develop a range of 21st-century skills including evidence collection, creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, information literacy, productivity and accountability, and visual design. Unlike previous writing assignments, it requires greater depth of research which synthesizes multiple sources and arguments.
This focus on synthesis and research in the group project will culminate with an individual literature review paper. Students will identify a key academic question, next through a scaffolded and multistage approach with varied peer and instructor support, students will demonstrate a diversity of writing skills to create a coherent research paper on an issue of global significance. Students will further develop their academic inquiry skills, synthesizing and critically evaluating knowledge from various sources, creating new connections, and ultimately crafting their own original research and ideas.
The course is taught using an active learning approach. Students will apply themselves in and outside of the classroom through hands-on activities to produce effective academic texts themselves and get multiple levels of feedback to improve and refine. Small groups will be used frequently to encourage students to communicate and to give and receive valuable feedback, thereby fostering and applying their critical thinking and reflective skills on a regular basis. Students can do extra practice and get additional support on their writing in the Writing Lab in the library.
By the end of this course, students will have developed fundamental academic English reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills as well as increased their knowledge of prescriptive grammar, pronunciation, and academic vocabulary. Classes are active, utilizing a range of activities including group discussions, tasks, and online learning activities. The input provided for learners at this level is a blend of graded and authentic texts, including audiovisual texts. Students at this level are still provided with enough scaffolding strategies, diagnostic information, regular formative assessments, teacher check-ins, and out-of-class support to help them achieve optimal success.
Medical English course is designed for doctors at an international hospital to improve doctor’s English proficiency, expand their medical terminology, and foster their communicative skills to prepare them to undertake an international fellowship in a foreign country. The overall learning objectives are to improve doctor’s English proficiency by the equivalent of 0.5 IELTS band in each course, expand their medical English terminology, and improve communicative skills and competence in hospital and medical contexts.
There are three levels in the program: Intermediate (approximately CEFR B1 / IELTS 5.0-5.5), Advanced (approximately B2 / IELTS 6.0), and Advanced Plus (approximately C1 / IELTS 6.5) in addition to a capstone IELTS preparation course. Participants will start at different levels based on a comprehensive placement test that covered four skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). Each course consists of 8 two-week modules for a total duration of 16 weeks. Advanced Plus and IELTS preparation courses are slightly shorter in duration. Depending on the lecturer’s availability, he/she may teach multiple classes and/or levels simultaneously.
The program is taught using a blended approach. Doctors will independently study content through a specialized online platform (a mix of general English and medical English) and study one hour of live class each week, led by a lecturer. Every two weeks there will be a 4-hour workshop (face-to-face, if feasible) which consolidates the language and skills covered in the module and gives participants a chance to use them in productive activities. These workshops will be conducted in Team-Based Learning (TBL) format (training and support will be provided). In total, each course comprises 48 hours of teaching and workshops plus additional time for opening/closing ceremonies, exams and assessments, and teacher-student conferencing. Daily support hours with a teaching assistant will be offered.
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES
- The College of Arts and Sciences faculty member will teach the following courses but not limited to:
- Pathway English
- Fundamentals of Academic Writing
- Medical English
- Other English & Communication courses
- Teaching:
- Teach the above English courses.
- Employ a variety of teaching and learning methods & activities to ensure that learners are actively engaged in the program.
- Work collaborative with other faculty to coordinate, share ideas, and co-plan lessons.
- Deliver extracurricular skill-focused workshops.
- Plan engaging lessons based on the course syllabi which are adapted and localized for students’ individual needs.
- Prepare, select, and use appropriate learning resources, including adapting existing materials or creating own materials. This may require adapting materials to be accessible to all learners, including those with learning differences and/or physical disability.
- Monitor student attendance, behavior, and progress and ensure that teaching records are up to date and accurate.
- Develop materials and activities for asynchronous online learning and participate in those activities to foster student engagement.
- Provide clear and effective feedback on student assessments and assignments through various approaches and mechanisms like written, digital, and student conferencing.
- Invigilate, grade, and moderate quizzes, tests, and exams, ensuring that test security is always adhered to, and ratings are consistently to standard.
- Hold academic integrity meetings with students to educate them of effective paraphrasing, quoting, citing, and referencing.
- Participate in ongoing professional development activities including training, symposia, and benchmarking sessions.
- Identify students with special requirements or at-risk students and create, implement, and monitor individualized learning plans.
- Provide cover teaching when needed.
- Deal with student issues/emergencies as and when they arise.
- Service and Administration:
- Attend and participate in team meetings, co-design / co-planning sessions, and other.
- Conduct academic advising and support activities such as tutoring, writing support, and academic skills guidance. Refer students to other services as needed.
- Contribute to course development and suggest improvements.
- Attend and contribute to professional development initiatives, training courses, and as identified and agreed for appropriate development.
- Participate in ongoing professional development activities including training, symposia, and benchmarking sessions.
- Ad hoc services as per agreement with leaders of College/Program Director.
