The American Language Institute offers various employment opportunities from time to time for teachers, assistant lecturers, and staff. The University of Southern California provides excellent benefits, and is an equal opportunity employer. For current esl jobs at USC, please chose one of the links below.

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About the ALI
The American Language Institute provides instruction in English as a Second Language for international students at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. International students studying at USC are often required to take ESL classes during their first year while they study towards their graduate or undergraduate degree. The majority of these classes are at the intermediate to advanced level, and are taught by assistant lecturers. 

The ALI has been in the forefront of English for Academic Purposes program design. In 1978, it
was one of the first institutions to adopt a content-based approach to ESL instruction. In essence, this means that the focus of instruction is on the informational content of the lesson rather than on the structure of the English language. Thus students learn English, as they did their first language, not by studying it but by using it to perform communicative tasks. 

In addition, the ALI has a commitment to the process approach in the teaching of both oral skills
and writing. In this approach, students not only practice language and receive feedback, but also are given insight into the communicative process itself. 

Other directions which run strongly throughout the ALI curriculum are the use of group interactive activities that encourage greater student participation and lead to greater learner autonomy, the development within the student of awareness of strategies for success as a language learner, and the use of computers in the writing process. 

Today, USC has one of the largest populations of international students of any private university in the U.S. Of the over 4000 international students at USC each year, some 1200 take coursework at ALI. 

Before commencing their studies at USC, international students must take the International Student English Examination (ISE), which was developed at USC. The test has three components: a grammar/vocabulary multiple choice section, a 30 minute essay, and a ten minute interview with two trained oral raters. Students' scores on the three parts of the test are converted into a proficiency profile indicating the students' language knowledge, writing ability, and speaking proficiency. This  profile is used in placement. 

Students typically take between four and twelve hours of English per week, depending on the level at which they are placed. All students enrolled in ALI's core programs are co-enrolled in regular university classes while taking their English requirements. 
 

About the Language Academy
The USC Language Academy is a full-time intensive English program which serves both degree and non-degree students at USC. The Language Academy offers 7 levels of instruction from beginning to advanced. Most students will take one or two semesters at the Language Academy before going on to pursue a degree or career. The Academy employs a number of full-time and part-time instructors with either master or PhD degrees in TESOL, Linguistics or a related discipline.