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Pikgitina
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 420
Location: KSA
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 Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:01 am Post subject: King Saud University - Riyadh |
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Does anybody on this forum work at or know someone that works at King Saud University in Riyadh (as an ESL teacher of course  ) ? I have worked in the Kingdom before and am thinking of returning and have been told that this institution is a good one to work at. I have not been able to find any information on this forum concerning the mentioned university (a good thing perhaps?) and the English version of its website is not informative at all. Any information or pointers to where I can find more would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
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ootii
Joined: 27 Oct 2005
Posts: 124
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 6:06 pm Post subject: Re: King Saud University - Riyadh |
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| Pikgitina wrote: |
| Does anybody on this forum work at or know someone that works at King Saud University in Riyadh (as an ESL teacher of course ) ? I have worked in the Kingdom before and am thinking of returning and have been told that this institution is a good one to work at. I have not been able to find any information on this forum concerning the mentioned university (a good thing perhaps?) and the English version of its website is not informative at all. Any information or pointers to where I can find more would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
I work at KSU but have not been following this forum very diligently lately.
What do you want to know? |
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Pikgitina
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 420
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for replying! I had almost given up when no one replied for quite a while! I'd love to know as much as possible in fact, starting right from where one applies for a position there , what it's like teaching there (in terms of organisation, teaching load, the programme itself, the students, etc.), what kind of contracts the teachers are on, what qualifications are required to be offered a position there and where teachers' accommodations are. And lastly, would you recommend it?
I know I'm asking a lot here, so do take your time to answer! Much appreciated - thanks! |
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ootii
Joined: 27 Oct 2005
Posts: 124
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:58 am Post subject: |
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| Pikgitina wrote: |
| what it's like teaching there (in terms of organisation, teaching load, the programme itself, the students, etc.), |
The standard load is 18 hours per semester for language instructors, fifteen for co-ordinators, 12 for faculty (associate and assistant professors).
Programs vary but are usually determined at a level that is reasonably near the classroom teacher. How much influence you may have over this depends on who is co-ordinating your section. I co-ordinate my section so I have the power of Caligula. In practice, my section decide this together: course goals, teaching materials, scope and sequence - syllabus and all the rest. Technically this should all be "approved" by persons unknown in the upper stratosphere of the hierarchy. However, the golden rule in Saudi Arabia is "don't ask, don't tell", keep your nose clean, be nice and keep smiling.
Our students come from a range of backgrounds. Some are highly capable and well motivated, some are drifters, floaters and sinkers. If you treat people like individuals you're usually alright. I teach English as an ancilliary subject. That is to say, if my students never learn it the world will not grind to a stop. This means that people who think that it will be useful to them work hard, people who think it is useless cheat and feneigle their way through. In any event, they are not English majors and if they flunk out, it should not be because they could not, or would not learn English.
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| what kind of contracts the teachers are on, what qualifications are required to be offered a position there and where teachers' accommodations are. |
Contracts are renewed annually on the basis of satisfactory annual reports prepared by co-ordinators and department heads. Minimum qualifications are an MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, BA in any subject. Prior teaching experience is usually required, but not always. The university does provide accommodation on a first come first serve basis. Most academic staff do not live in university accommodation but get a housing allowance that ranges from 17,500 SR to 25,000 SR per annum depending on academic rank.
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| And lastly, would you recommend it? |
That depends on your personal circumstances and options. Royal Commission jobs pay more and if you don't have kids these may be better - they're in Jubail and Yanbu. Other universities have slightly higher salaries, among them Imam University in Riyadh and KFUMP in Dhahran. If you're interested in getting in on something new, try Taibah University in Madinah. Then there are the new private sector universities, Yamama in Riyadh, and Prince Sultan University, also in Riyadh. These are all recruiting, and the application process at Yamama is probably the most reasonable and streamlined.
Check out all of your options before you apply, and there is no problem with presenting concurrent applications to several universities since hiring is not done centrally, but by each institution on its own. |
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Pikgitina
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 420
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:39 am Post subject: |
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| Ootii, thank you very much for your time and information! You've been helpful! One last question, how (or perhaps, where?) does one apply? |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:02 am Post subject: |
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| 18 hours per semester ? We teach 300 ! |
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ootii
Joined: 27 Oct 2005
Posts: 124
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| 18 hours per semester ? We teach 300 ! |
That's an 18 hour weekly load. I don't know how much that is a semester. A semester is usually 15 weeks. Students don't show up for the first week or the last week, so make that 13. Then there are numerous "exam weeks" and the traditional "revision week". |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:48 am Post subject: |
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| Royal Commission jobs pay more and if you don't have kids these may be better - they're in Jubail and Yanbu. |
I would say the other way round. If you have kids Jubail is neat; plenty of parks, miles on miles of beaches, and loads of sports facilites. Also good hospitals and schools.
It's if you're single, Jubail can be a problem. Makes Riyadh seem exciting. |
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Anytime now
Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 59
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:40 pm Post subject: King Saud Univ., Riyadh |
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| What's the salary for an instructor with Masters in TESL and 10 years exp. at King Saud University in Riyadh? |
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Turando
Joined: 18 Apr 2005
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
I was wondering is KSU for males only or are there females employed as well to teach English?
Thankyou. |
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Linguist
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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They employ females as well.
Anyone who've worked there on this forum? |
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