teaching with a PhD in a foreign language

[coho]

I had a difficult time deciding between choosing to study English or French literature as a graduate student. One of the biggest drawbacks (in my eyes) to earning a PhD in French was the fear of being stuck teaching Intro to French Grammar classes for years (should I be lucky enough to land a teaching position at all) rather than much more pleasant sounding courses such as "Intro to American Lit." Language acquisition holds no interest for me, but at my school even full professors teach grammar courses. Is this normal?

and *why* is the English department a "literature" department wheras the rest of the languages are grouped as "languages"?

[rising_star]

At my undergrad and MA schools, graduate students teach all the introductory courses in common languages (French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese) so I'd say your experience is NOT common.

[coho]

awesome!

[misterpat]

and *why* is the English department a "literature" department wheras the rest of the languages are grouped as "languages"?

Because people who don't speak any English probably aren't going to take classes at an English-speaking university?

Also, many language departments are titled something like "Department of Russian Studies," which encompasses both the language and the literature. So, I think you are generalizing off of one instance.

[polumetis23]

Yeah, it doesn't sound like you know enough about teaching in either field if you're generalizing so badly already. A lot of English departments are titled "English Language and Literature" (as was mine). Furthermore, if you do doctoral work in English, you'll most likely end up teaching Freshman Composition courses. Would you rather teach students who are botching a language they don't know and are trying to learn or one in which they're fluent but barely literate? Something to consider.

[waitingformyletters]

I am working on my Ph.D in Spanish and Portuguese, and I actually completed my M.A. at this same university. We teach basic language courses in the beginning, but after one year or so you are allowed to teach writing, culture, literature courses, and even General Education (taught in English). And at my institution the faculty never teaches the basic language courses, because the TA's do so...

[natta13]

I am working on my Ph.D in Spanish and Portuguese, and I actually completed my M.A. at this same university. We teach basic language courses in the beginning, but after one year or so you are allowed to teach writing, culture, literature courses, and even General Education (taught in English). And at my institution the faculty never teaches the basic language courses, because the TA's do so...

Where are you currently doing your PhD?

[bpicmc]

Teaching French at the post-secondary level varies between types of institutions. At SLACs and other smaller universities, both adjuncts and professors teach all levels of the foreign language classes. The division between language and literature only really occurs at R1 institutions. If you want to a competitive candidate in foreign languages, you will need to good at teaching both language and literature since most jobs will require some of both.