Postdoc in bilingual language acquisition

Lund University announces a two-year fulltime postdoc position in bilingual language acquisition with a focus on bilingual children acquiring Syrian Arabic in Sweden. The position, funded by Thora Ohlsson Foundation, is located at the Centre for Languages and Literature, division of Linguistics, Lund University, and it is connected to the research platform Language Acquisition, Multilingualism, and Teaching (LAMiNATE).

Description of the workplace

The division of Linguistics, located within the Centre for Languages and Literature, is an international workplace with expertise in and ongoing research on a range of topics and linguistic domains. The postdoctoral researcher will also have the opportunity to become a member of LAMiNATE, a cross-disciplinary interdepartmental research platform dedicated to all areas of language acquisition, multilingualism, and language teaching/assessment. It brings together approximately 40 researchers. Research in the platform covers language acquisition and language processing (first, second and multilingual); multimodal language processing and learning; developmental language disorders; educational linguistics and language teaching, testing and assessment; and language, learning and the brain.

Work duties and areas of responsibility

The postdoc will develop and implement a project on bilingual speakers of Syrian Arabic who have a refugee background and who have acquired Arabic and Swedish since childhood. The position being advertised plays a central role in building up an interdisciplinary research environment, which focuses on the role of linguistic development of vulnerable linguistic minorities, and the consequences for educational and societal success. The postdoc is also expected to engage in societal outreach.

As a successful candidate, you are expected to

• in collaboration with Prof. Tanja Kupisch, develop a research project which is theoretically informed and relies on psycholinguistic methods on the topic of bilingual language acquisition with Swedish and Arabic as target languages;
• build up a network with the relevant bilingual and educational community, recruit participants, exchange ideas and maintain this network throughout the project.
• design experimental studies and analyse data using appropriate statistics;
• publish in international journals, and participate in and present at international conferences in relevant fields;
• participate in the activities of the division of linguistics as well as LAMiNATE, including talk series/seminars and outreach events.

Teaching, supervision and other teaching-related duties may be involved within the framework of the position, but for not more than 20% of working hours.

What we offer

As a postdoc you are given an opportunity to develop your independence as a researcher with support from more senior colleagues. The appointment is limited to two years and is full time in accordance with the Agreement regarding fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral fellow.

We support you in your move to Sweden. If you have a family, they will find new contacts and support through Lund’s International Citizen Hub Lund.

Lund University is a public authority which means that you receive special benefits, generous annual leave and a favourable occupational pension. The University applies individual salary-setting. Read more about being employed at Lund University here:  Work at Lund University | Lund University.

Ready to shape the future of research? Find more reasons why Lund University and the HT Faculties is right for you here, and learn more about Working in Lund, Moving to Lund and Living in Lund.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must have:

• completed a Ph.D. or an international degree deemed equivalent in linguistics or a related discipline (in the latter case, familiarity with core areas and methods of linguistics must be demonstrated);*
• documented experience of experimental research in linguistics, knowledge of advanced statistical methods;
• experience in working with bilingual children and adolescents;
• a strong command of English.

*This requirement must be fulfilled no later than the date when the employment decision is made, and as an applicant, you are responsible for supplementing your application with documentation that confirms the completed doctoral degree. The supplement should be emailed to Principal Investigator Tanja Kupisch and Head of Section Arthur Holmer. The position is a career development post, and its purpose is to act as an initial step on a career path. The candidate most likely to come into question is one who has completed a doctoral degree no more than three years prior to the application deadline. If there are special circumstances such as leave of absence because of illness, parental leave, position as elected representative in trade union organisations, military service or service/assignments relevant to the subject area, this time can be deducted from the time elapsed since the doctoral degree was completed.

Assessment criteria

• Good ability to develop and carry out high-quality research.
• Teaching skills.

The main criterion for a postdoctoral fellowship is research expertise. Only applicants whose research plan and earlier work can strengthen the research environment will be considered for employment as a postdoc. If you have undergone teaching and learning in higher education training equivalent to two weeks in accordance with the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions’ recommendations, you are deemed to have teaching skills. If the person appointed does not possess this, or equivalent training, and if teaching is part of the work duties, such training is to be offered within the framework of the position.

Desired qualifications

The following qualifications, in decreasing order of importance, will be considered as conferring further merit:

• documented experience in working with bilingual minorities (especially heritage speakers);
• experience with management of research data;
• ability to design linguistic experiments on languages other than English and the candidate’s first language;
• background in syntax and phonology;
• experience of working with vulnerable learner groups, for example, students with reading difficulties;
• good knowledge of Swedish and Arabic.

How to apply

Your application should be written in English.

As part of your application, you are to include:

• A CV and copy of the Ph.D. degree.
• A list of publications (including DOI, ISBN or ISSN numbers).
• A statement of no more than 3000 characters (including spaces) in which you write which of your merits (including publications) you consider to be most relevant for this position.
• A research plan of no more than 1500 words (not including list of references) outlining the details of the project the candidate intends to conduct. The research plan is to contain a description of:
  • Aim and research question.
  • Theory and method.
  • Relation to the international research front including the most important international work in the field of research.
  • The applicant’s qualifications and competence to conduct the project.

Only applicants whose research plan and earlier work fulfill the requirements will be considered for employment as a postdoc.