Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages

Job description

A Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1352) is available at the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages, University of Oslo. The Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is funded by the Research Council of Norway and is associated with the research project “MULTIWRITE – Interactions Between First, Second and Third Languages” (project number: 324962). The candidate is expected to present a research project closely connected to the main project.

The languages a learner knows are all held by the same mind. Yet, language acquisition is largely studied one language at a time. In the MULTIWRITE project, we will study the language development of multilingual learners as a whole, and over time, in order to understand how their languages interact. We will also investigate how language teaching in schools can foster development across languages, and how teachers can collaborate across language subjects to increase pupils' learning. We will do this by investigating non-literary written production and teacher feedback in the first (Norwegian), second (English) and third (French/German/Spanish) languages over the first year of Norwegian upper secondary school, and by exploring teacher collaboration across language subjects.

The postdoctoral research fellow will contribute mainly to the part of the project that focuses on the interaction between learners’ languages in the development of syntactic complexity and text structure, and applicants are invited to submit a research proposal within this area. In addition to the students’ development in Norwegian and English, the project should consider at least one of the foreign languages commonly taught in Norwegian schools – French, German or Spanish. The research fellow is expected to use corpus-linguistic methods of investigation and will get access to the data collected by the research group. He/she will do some syntactic annotation of the texts and will oversee the work of the research assistant hired to help us with the annotation.

The research fellow will be a part of the project group and contribute to the discussion and development of ideas, publish individually and together with other project members, assist in the organization of workshops and contribute to the project blog.

More about the position

The position is available for a period of two years. There is a 10 % component of the position that is devoted to compulsory work (teaching, administrative duties, etc.) that will be assigned by the department in agreement with the project manager, depending on the candidate’s qualifications.

The successful candidate is expected to become part of the research environment/network of the department and contribute to its development. The main purpose of postdoctoral research fellowships is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their disciplines.

Qualification requirements

• PhD with a specialization in one or more of the areas relevant for the project (English/French/German/Norwegian/Spanish language and linguistics, corpus linguistics, contrastive linguistics, language acquisition)
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language) and good knowledge of German, French or Spanish.
• Solid knowledge of corpus linguistic methods
• Personal suitability and motivation for the position
• The candidate's research project must be closely connected to the part of the MULTIWRITE project focusing on development of syntactic complexity and text structure
• Knowledge of or a willingness to learn R is an advantage

The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation before the application deadline.

Further qualifications

In the evaluation of the applications, emphasis will be placed on:

• the project’s scientific merit, research-related relevance and innovation
• the applicant’s estimated academic and personal ability to carry out the project within the allotted time frame and contribute to the MULTIWRITE project
• good co-operative skills, and the ability to successfully join in academic collaboration within and across disciplines.

We offer

• salary level NOK 534 400 – 594 300 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
• a professionally stimulating working environment
• attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

Applicants must submit the following attachments with the electronic application form, preferably in pdf-format:

• cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• CV (summarizing education with grades listed, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Project description, see Template for research proposals (3-5 pages, max. 14,000 characters, excluding references.). The project description must present a feasible progress plan. It is expected that the applicant will be able to complete the project during the period of appointment
• a complete list of publications

Diplomas, certificates, doctoral thesis and other academic works will be requested later.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, the project description (whenever this is required in the call for applicants), and the quality of the project as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability.

The short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview at the University of Oslo or we will arrange for an interview on Skype.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for the purpose of securing rights to intellectual property created by its employees, including research results.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

• Project leader, Associate Professor Hildegunn Dirdal (e-mail)
• Head of Administration Karina Kleiva (e-mail)
• HR Adviser Evian Nordstrand (e-mail) - for questions on electronic application

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