|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Except where otherwise noted, these statements were originally developed by the 1987 ADFL Executive Committee. They were revised and adopted by the 1993 ADFL Executive Committee.
THE ADFL Executive Committee suggests the following guidelines for the administration of foreign language departments.
ADFL reaffirms its position that the maximum class size for foreign language instruction in classes where all four skills are equally stressed should not exceed 20. We hold that the optimum class size is 15. In any case, particularly at the elementary and intermediate levels, class size must be small enough to enable—rather than to inhibit—the kind of effective interaction between teacher and students necessary to developing proficiency in the language.
Foreign language faculty members should spend no more than twelve hours per week per semester in the classroom. If there is an expectation of ongoing research, they should not be required to teach more than nine hours per week (three courses). Institutions that require publication for tenure and promotion should lower teaching loads, especially for junior faculty members.
Departments of foreign languages and literatures, to make the best use of their faculty members' interests and abilities, should adopt flexible workload policies.
Except in unusual circumstances, the chair of a department of foreign languages and literatures should be a tenured member of the department. The position of chair demands qualities that will encourage faculty members of the department to excel in teaching, scholarship, and service. In addition, the position demands the qualities and skills necessary to represent the department to the students, the administration, other departments of the institution, professional organizations, and other entities of the academic community.
Faculty members on probationary appointments should be given the maximum opportunity for professional accomplishment sufficient to achieve tenured status. These faculty members should have fair and reasonable teaching loads, appropriate release time and internal grants for research, and modest service assignments, even while being full members of the department and college governance system. Foreign language department chairs, tenured faculty members, and college administrators should encourage their junior colleagues to participate in professional organizations and conferences, to engage in scholarly research and publication, and to travel for professional development, both domestically and abroad, and support them in doing so.
The curricula of departments of foreign languages continue to change and expand. The thrust toward interdisciplinary work and the study of new fields, including those made possible by technological advances, broaden the legitimate areas of both teaching and research within a foreign language department. Department members may be involved in disciplines not traditionally considered integral parts of a foreign language department, such as area studies, creative writing, film studies, foreign language acquisition research, foreign language pedagogy, gender studies, and literary and technical translation.
In questions of promotion, tenure, and salary, colleagues working in these fields should be evaluated using the same procedures and standards as those used for the more traditional fields but with proper consideration for the particular standards each discipline requires.
The ADFL recommends that graduate departments of foreign languages and literatures include the theory and practice of teaching foreign language, literature, and culture as integral components of their graduate degrees. (Proposed in 1991; adopted in 1993.)
The following statement was developed by the Association of Departments of English in 1992 and adopted by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages in 1993:
The expansion of the adjunct ranks in foreign language departments over the past two decades threatens the integrity of the profession and instructional programs. The practice of hiring numerous adjunct faculty members year after year to teach courses required of large numbers of undergraduates undermines professional and educational standards and academic freedom. Although adjunct appointments can add significant dimensions to curricula and some individuals prefer to accept only adjunct appointments because of other commitments, few adjunct appointments are made for educationally sound reasons. Indeed, the primary motivation for most of these appointments is to reduce the cost of instruction.
Adjunct faculty members fall into two groups: part-time instructors and non-tenure-track full-time instructors. The first group includes both instructors who are clearly temporary members of a department and instructors who teach from year to year and become virtually permanent. Members of the second group have full teaching loads but, as non-tenure-track faculty members, lack the institutional commitment given to their tenure-track colleagues. Graduate students are distinct from both groups.
The conditions under which most adjunct teachers are employed define them as nonprofessionals. Often they are hired quickly, as last-minute replacements. They receive little recognition or respect for their contributions to their departments; almost always they are paid inequitably and receive no fringe benefits.
Excessive reliance on an adjunct faculty can damage individual faculty members, students, institutions, and the profession. For the sake of an institution's economic welfare, adjunct faculty members are often denied the security that adequate salary, health insurance, and professional status can provide. The institution, in turn, suffers through the creation of a two-tiered system in which faculty members have different responsibilities and expectations.
In the light of these concerns, the ADFL urges college and university administrators to make new and concerted efforts to eliminate excessive and irresponsible adjunct faculty appointments, to improve employment conditions for essential adjunct faculty members, and to recognize the professional status and important contributions of such teachers.
The ADFL offers the following guidelines for the employment of adjunct faculty members:
Guidelines
© 1994 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
|
|---|
|
|
|
