Al Yamamah Teaching Positions

With separate campuses for men and women, Al Yamamah University (YU) offers undergraduate degrees in Business Administration, Computing and IT as well as Executive MBA programs. English being the medium of instruction,  INTERLINK at Al Yamamah provides an intensive English language program during the foundation year to prepare students for their academic studies at the University. INTERLINK’s other constituencies are: academically bound students; businesses and government agencies whose personnel need tailored, short-term programs for special purposes; K-12 schools needing teacher trainers; and individuals in the larger community wishing to improve their English language skills for personal, professional, and study abroad purposes. The INTERLINK/Al Yamamah partnership is also aimed at increasing international understanding and educational exchanges between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and North America.

Due to their shared values and educational philosophies of student-centeredness and innovative experiential and project-based curricula, both institutions have been growing steadily; they have been recognized for their quality of instruction, service orientation, customer satisfaction, and focus on student success. Gaining in reputation for quality instruction and client-focused services, both institutions have achieved excellent reputation among the private sector and governmental agencies.

Candidates for these positions must:

• be able to commit to a two-year contract;
• be committed to students, the profession and to a learner-centered and humanistic teaching philosophy espoused by INTERLINK and Al Yamamah University;
• have a BA with a CELTA/DELTA/ or TEFL (120 hrs) Certificate (NB: The Saudi government does not recognize online degrees or certificates; all must be residential.)
• have a minimum of two years ESL/EFL teaching experience with adult learners;
• have at least one year of teaching and living experience in another culture and/or with international students in an English- speaking country;
• be creative and flexible in order to adapt to an experiential, project- and needs-based approach to teaching;
• be sensitive to cultural differences (able to adapt to a way of life requiring understanding, conformity and flexibility)

Non-native speakers must:

• have near-native proficiency in English;
• have at least one of their higher education degrees from an English-speaking country;
• have at least one year of ESL teaching experience in an English-speaking/Western country.

Preference will be given to candidates who:

• have an MA in TESOL or a related field
• have backgrounds in English for Specific Purposes, teacher training, teaching of science or mathematics;
• are fluent in other languages;
• have Peace Corps or other humanitarian volunteer/service/work experience.

• 20 hours of weekly instruction
• Administrative duties which include student advising, record-keeping, and report writing
• Participation in program activities (training, orientation, workshops, placement testing, etc.)
• Participation in meetings (with students, faculty, parents, and others on and off campus)
• Keeping office hours to advise/counsel students who may need extra help
• Serving on committees, participating in on- and off-campus activities and events

• Initial starting salary of $38,000 – $40,000 per annum
• Annual salary increases of up to 5%, with a maximum salary ceiling of $45,000
• 5% end-of-service bonus for each year of completed contract
• Round-trip transportation to and from Saudi Arabia
• Furnished housing
• Medical insurance coverage
• 45-day paid annual leave with international transportation and 20 days of local holidays
• Local transportation to and from the place of instruction

With separate campuses for men and women, Al Yamamah University (YU) offers undergraduate degrees in Business Administration, Law, Computing and IT as well as Executive MBA and Continuing Education programs. Programs in Architecture and Interior Design  are to be offered very soon as well. English being the medium of instruction, INTERLINK at Al Yamamah provides an intensive English language program during the foundation year to prepare students for their academic studies at the University. INTERLINK at Al Yamamah’s other constituencies are: academically bound students; businesses and government agencies whose personnel need tailored, short-term programs for special purposes; K-12 schools needing teacher trainers; and individuals in the larger community wishing to improve their English language skills for personal, professional, and study abroad purposes. The INTERLINK/Al Yamamah partnership is also aimed at increasing international understanding and awareness as well as facilitating educational exchanges between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and North America.

INTERLINK and Al Yamamah University have  shared values and educational philosophies. They believe in the  student-centered approach that includes an innovative, experiential and project-based curriculum. As a result,  both institutions have been growing steadily as they have been recognized for their quality of instruction,  client-focused services, customer satisfaction and focus on student success.

We are part of a process of change in the Saudi educational system – one that the Saudis are initiating. We are there to help Al Yamamah University students improve their English for academic and professional purposes as well as help them strengthen their academic, cultural awareness and critical thinking skills in preparation for seeking further studies and/or employment. This requires teachers to work collaboratively and cooperatively to reinforce each other’s efforts, to make needed additions to, or adjustments in, our curriculum, and to lead students gently but firmly toward the ownership of responsibility for learning. The onus is on us to enable students to be successful.

Offered currently in two colleges of Women and Men, it is an eighteen month, three-semester program that INTERLINK and Al Yamamah University jointly manage. The program consist of six levels: the Pre-Orientation level, which is a beginner level; and the Orientation levels (ORN 1 to ORN 5) that are the five intermediate and advanced levels. Each level consists of a Reading/Writing class and a Communications class. At entry, students are screened for proficiency and placed in one of the six levels.

Students are a majority of young Saudis (18 – 25 years old) who have recently graduated from high school. However, there are some international students and students from a wide range of age groups.

Students are generally very respectful especially of parents and teachers, but often lack experience with getting assignments done on time. Managing time, etc. is a challenge for them which means sometimes students try to negotiate deadlines and/or important projects.

Most young Saudis use their mobile phones and tablets profusely as they are up-to-date with the latest social media apps and programs (such as Instagram, Snapchat, etc.). Students also love video games such as PlayStation, Wii, etc. and they also like to surf the Internet. To some, music is forbidden, but many like modern music, either Arabic or Western. Cinemas and theaters are now opening; but there are no night-clubs or similar entertainment so they spend most of their time either at home or in restaurants with their families and friends. Many Saudis also travel quite frequently to a variety of international locations. Football (soccer) is a major interest. Many men (and more recently women) attend events at the King Fahad Stadium as they are proud supporters of their local and national teams. The students are also interested in their specific technical fields because getting a job is important to most.

This varies as is the case in any institution in any country. Our role is to increase their skill and confidence for academic studies and work. We help them using written and spoken communication scenarios, in and out of class, which provides them with the opportunities to practice and develop these skills and confidence. Some can already be charming and friendly in English, but it is important to help them add substance to style.

Yes, such interactions are highly encouraged since they will be in English. However, as with any interaction between students and instructors, it is necessary that the relationship remains formal and that we are mindful of situations that might involve cultural misinterpretations or misunderstandings.

Students studied English for at least six years in their general education at government schools and eight or more if they come from private and/or international schools.  That said, actual proficiency varies, and while some would place in ORN 1 and 2 or higher.  Orally, some students can speak somewhat fluently while others are true beginners. Most have very limited reading and writing skills and sometimes critical thinking skills.

Many students are motivated to study English, since they want to study via the English language or are on scholarship. Generally, in either case, students are products of a rote-learning system. INTERLINK’s mission involves development of critical thinking skills and instilling learner responsibility among students who have had limited experience with these concepts. Thus, the instructors are expected to assist students as much with motivation, time management, and learning strategies as with the language itself.

The biggest challenge lies in taking students who have been trained in a highly authoritarian school system (where memorization and examinations are all-important) and inculcating a new approach to learning. We want our students to become critical thinkers, take responsibility, to be independent, autonomous learners, and to get used to group work, with regular, continuous assessment. It is a continuing challenge to get them to truly understand how a system alien to them will be much better for them than what they are used to.

The weekly number of class contact hours is 20 hours plus office hours (one hour daily). This consists of two, two-hour class sessions (one for Reading/Writing, the other for Communication or Listening/ Speaking). The teaching load can also be reached by teaching one two-hour class in addition to two sections of the Academic English (5-hour-a-week courses).

Typically, you will find 15 to 20 students per class.

Working hours begin at 8:00 am and end at 4:00 pm, with a one-hour lunch break (during noon prayer time). From 8:30 to 10:30 all students at all levels take the Reading/Writing class.  Communication class is from 1:30 to 3:30. Many Orientation students take academic subjects in conjunction with English. The specific schedule for academic classes and Continuing Education College may vary: it may start later in the day—perhaps even in the afternoon.

For INTERLINK, a curriculum is not a set of textbooks or materials, a sequence of grammar points, etc. It is instead ideas and guidance about teaching approach/methodology and a set of desired ability/skills outcomes (benchmarks) that a teacher is responsible for helping students to achieve and demonstrate. Teachers are not responsible for “covering material”; they are responsible for helping students develop and demonstrate specified language abilities. In INTERLINK classes, to as great an extent as possible, materials are generated by the students themselves, with guidance from the teacher, to assure the relevance of content to the benchmarks and the active engagement of students in the learning process. The Curriculum Description and Instructional Guidelines, as well as the Benchmark and Objectives documents provide copious information and ideas

In addition to pedagogical principles and learning objectives, the curriculum contains suggestions and ideas for class activities. The teacher has considerable latitude to use this framework to devise activities and classroom dynamics that suit his/her own benchmark-focused objectives and the needs/interests of the students. At the same time, through collaborative work, teachers will need to assure that the quality and amount of work in the Reading/Writing and Communication level/class are complementary to each other. Teachers of the same level across sections and campuses meet regularly and are expected to follow guidelines to ensure fairness for students in expectations about assignments and assessment. On-going curriculum discussions will allow curricular improvement and enable us to learn from one another’s experiences. While some traditional resources in the form of commercial textbooks, audio, and video resources have been compiled over the years and are made available to teachers in a resources center, and in line with student-centered approaches, the focus remains on using  student-produced materials as resources and not relying on commercial textbook for learning. Those who are not willing to change to and buy into a different – albeit not new — philosophy of teaching/learning, are not suited for the INTERLINK students or programs.

The student, rather than the teacher, must be the active principal in the learning process, responsible for transforming information, discovering the language, and constructing hypotheses regarding language use. The teacher uses techniques which foster motivation, encourage student involvement, minimize obstacles to learning, promote independent learning, and aid in the development of critical thinking skills. Lesson content is a means to an end, not the end itself, and language is utilized as a tool rather than the actual subject of study. Class activities focus on using language for communicative purposes rather than learning about the elements of language (vocabulary, syntax) for their own sake. For example, students might have as an assignment to interview one or several persons they know about a topic. A class might then work on determining questions that they would ask (this would involve reflection on form/grammar, context, etc. by students, prompted in part by teacher questions), then doing interviews which they record with their mobile phones or another recording device, before reporting on the interview, listening to other students’ interviews, etc. and perhaps then doing a second round, or other spin-off activities.

We believe that the best resources are the students themselves and we discourage lockstep use of textbooks, decontextualized worksheets, and photocopied exercises from textbooks and workbooks. To the degree possible, we believe that many lessons can start from students’ own experience and knowledge, and from sufficient numbers of different examples from which students can form hypotheses and discover language functions and nexus. The success of the learning process greatly depends on the teacher’s creative ability to set up communicative situations (oral and written), elicit language from students, and devise (and eventually enable students to devise) activities based on what students produce or provide. Online resources are useful, and much of what we prepare initially will eventually be modified by you or in response to your creations or experiences, in conjunction with your Instructional Coordinator, as we determine more specifically what generic skills students’ need for their future jobs.

It is important for students to develop ability to create the questions, topics, etc. which serve as the basis for work on language, and what they create can be the basis of group and individual response, rather than canned exercises.

The curriculum sets outcome objectives/benchmarks for students, in terms of “student demonstrates ability to ______”. The list of target outcomes for each level/group will serve as the starting point for determining how teachers or administrators will know/determine that a student has met all or some of the objectives. Much of the assessment approach, for both oral and written production, centers around portfolio collection and evaluation. A student’s collected output, over time, tells the story, so the teacher’s focus is on making sure that a student has many opportunities each week to produce language, and that there is a steady flow back from the teacher of individualized, constructive feedback that points the student toward the areas he needs to focus on and specific suggested actions to take to make progress toward the benchmark abilities. Teachers produce written mid-term reports in Week 4 of the term in which they evaluate and comment on progress. Students take a “standardized test” commonly called CATs (Common Assessment Tasks) at mid-term and end-of-term points. These provide a “point in time” measure, predicated on the same benchmarks used in portfolio assessment, and weighted toward both receptive and productive skills. Grades are given, based on a clear formula for point distribution.

Because this group of students can benefit from more structure, the program uses the university-provided Classroom Management System to make sure that assignments, feedback, assessment, blogs, discussion groups, etc. are all organized in ways that enable students and teachers to keep track of performance, instructions, etc.. Teachers are also encouraged to explore other more level-appropriate or user-friendly applications such as Edmodo, Dropbox and to regularly use email for assignment reminders, sharing of progress reports and individualized follow-up on students’ progress. This means that teachers need to become familiar with this (training modules are provided to train teachers in the use of technology) then enable students to use it—from students’ own computers or personal devices.
Al Yamamah University classrooms have projectors and internet connections, and some classrooms are equipped with smart boards. You will need to ensure you have your own laptop, speakers and connectors that work for use in the classroom.

Program instructors have their own office on campus. In most, if not all cases, these are located in partitioned areas.

As with classrooms, teachers have access to the Internet on campus, and an IT department is in place to provide the technical support needed on campus. Also, an INTERLINK e-mail address will be provided to each teacher to use for work-related communications.

Instructors have access to printers and copying machine (though, as indicated above, the role of the copying machine is not to enable reversion to traditional present and explain teaching), library, resource room, gymnasium, food court, and lunchroom.

As with all societies, Saudi society is governed by its own rules: social, religious, and governmental. Overall, life in Saudi Arabia is guided by the rules which prescribe that we are modest in dress, behavior, and conduct. An employee does not meet expectations if s/he goes to class inappropriately attired in wrinkled, worn-out, and/or dirty clothes, blue jeans, tennis shoes/sneakers/trainers/sandals, T-shirt, or if their “appropriate” clothes are worn sloppily, or if a man comes in a thobe or a woman teachers in an abaya. If we want to be transformative (and we do), then we have to “walk the talk” and demonstrate in our own “presentation of self” the respect we accord and want to be accorded, and the respect for self and others that is a part of effective companies and organizations. (See examples below of unacceptable dress for the workplace and classroom).

When in public, women are required to be covered and dressed modestly: this means that all women in Saudi Arabia and outside their own homes are dressed in black abayas (a long outer covering) and black headscarves (although these are now going in all colors as well). On campus, wearing abayas is inappropriate. Head covers are required for religious and cultural reasons when in the presence of men.

Inappropriate dress for men:

The Abaya, head scarf, and professional attire for women:

 

We aim to have instructors join us for the beginning of the new academic year so preferably August/September. If instructors do arrive at the start of the school year, they will participate in a five-day series of workshops –called Training and Orientation (T&O) on different aspects of life and work in Riyadh before they integrate their classes. Instructors hired at other times of year will be assigned a reporting date as contracts are signed, visa process permitting, and are given a T&O on the go based on the specific schedule assigned to the instructor upon arrival. While the training is mainly under the supervision of the specific teacher’s Instructional Coordinator, some sessions are facilitated by other management members as well.

INTERLINK at Al Yamamah  provides comfortable accommodations for its single and married staff. The accommodations are two-bedroom apartments in the Diplomatic Quarters compound. The housing policy is as follows:

1. All apartments have basic furnishings — bedroom and dining room furniture.
2. A single-status instructor is expected to share a two-bedroom apartment with another (same gender) single-status instructor.
3. Single instructors who wish to live in company-furnished housing without a roommate will be expected to pay 35% of the apartment rent.
4. Married instructors will have a furnished one or two bedroom apartment (the latter if the family is larger than two people).
5. Instructors are responsible for their own utilities, including electricity, gas, Internet, and telephones, (water is generally included in the rent). Electricity costs around 600 SR per month in KSA.
6. Housing or a housing allowance is not provided to instructors whose spouses may be receiving housing or housing allowances from their employers.
7. Transportation to and from work, and also two, weekly shopping trips for food, etc. will be provided by INTERLINK/Al Yamamah. Other trips should be arranged by instructors themselves. Taxi services are available in Riyadh for reasonable prices.
   

No. Any activity for additional remuneration is strictly forbidden by Saudi law and by INTERLINK/Al Yamamah policy. Those not obeying the policies of INTERLINK and Al Yamamah or the rules and regulations of the country will be subject to immediate deportation and loss of contract.

When a grievance arises, the instructor first tries to address it with his/her Assistant Director. If this fails, he then submits a description of the issue in writing to the INTERLINK at Al Yamamah General Director. Only if that office is unable to provide a satisfactory resolution is the INTERLINK office in the U.S. brought in, as a final arbiter.

A work visa is the standard visa for instructors.

Saudi embassies abroad differ in their requirements for granting work visas. Please visit the webpage of the Saudi embassy in your country for the most current requirements:

Canberra, Australia Homepage Visa Info

Ottawa, Canada Homepage Visa Info

Dublin, Ireland Homepage Visa Info

Auckland, New Zealand Homepage  Visa Info

Pretoria, South Africa Homepage Visa Info

Washington, D.C., United States Homepage Visa Info

London, United Kingdom Homepage Visa Info

When it is possible—either before you come, or, more likely, at a break when there is enough time for the process, the INTERLINK/Al Yamamah office in Riyadh will provide you with three documents:

1. Your official contract which should be signed and stamped by INTERLINK/Al Yamamah. You should print a copy of this document, sign it, and submit it with your visa application to the Saudi embassy (If applying for a work visa).
2. A visa authorization document required by the Saudi embassy for issuing a visa. This document includes the employer’s name, your name, your job title, the visa number, and the place where the visa should be issued. When this document is issued, it means that your visa is already registered in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and put online in the Enjaz visa system, which the Saudi Embassy to which you will apply for your visa needs to access in order to issue a visa.
3. An invitation letter from YU addressed to the Saudi embassy or consulate in support of your application.

(Please note that some Saudi embassies websites are not updated and contain old information requiring such information as the company’s registration document, or a letter stamped by the chamber of commerce and MFA, etc. Those requirements were waived after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented the Enjaz visa system, which allows authorized agents to input all the necessary information in the system.)

There is little uniformity in regulations, procedures or practices of the different Saudi embassies around the world. Some require credential evaluation while others do not; some require detailed medical examinations while others require only that their forms be filled out by a medical doctor. However, in general, the documents that you should submit with the documents we send you are:

1. Original copies of your credentials and diplomas. These are required by the embassy as well as by INTERLINK/Al Yamamah. Without these, no visa can be issued. Please contact your educational institutions to send you or us original copies of your degree diplomas and transcripts..
2. Medical examinations and certain blood tests. Medical examinations are to be reported on the embassy’s medical forms. These must be done in the country from which you are applying for the visa—probably your home country. If you have a regular physician, s/he may be able to use your medical history to shorten the exam. (Medical tests are usually only valid for 90 days.) Prior to undergoing the medical exam or tests, inquire about the cost. Medical costs should not exceed $300. Should a doctor or a clinic quote you a higher figure, you must contact the INTERLINK office for permission to exceed that limit.
3. A police clearance: Some embassies/consulates will accept a report from the police in your country of residence, while others will only accept a report from the police authorities in your country of birth. For British Citizens, for example, this means applying directly to Scotland Yard through the Criminal Records Office in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. (The agent will provide you with the exact cost and may be able to speed up the process).
4. A valid passport (valid for 6-18 months, depending on the embassy) with at least two facing, blank pages.
5. If you have a spouse/dependant(s), proof of relationship (a copy of the marriage certificate for the spouse and a copy of the birth certificate for the child(ren)
6. If you have not been out of Saudi Arabia for at least two years since your last employment in the Kingdom, you should have a release letter from your previous employer (“Letter of No Objection – or “LONO”).
7. If you are working in a country other than your own, a certification of work or employment authorization from your current employer may be necessary. Please check the specific requirements with the embassy to which you are applying for a visa.

N.B.: Most Saudi Arabian embassies now work through agents; please check the website of the Saudi Embassy to get the contact information of the local agents that you should deal with. When mailing documents to the embassy, if appropriate, make sure that you always send a self-addressed, pre-paid return envelope or pre-paid FedEx envelope with your documents. Otherwise, they may not ever be returned to you. Always keep photocopies of the documents you send.

Read carefully everything that we have written about this process and note nationality specific information so that you are fully familiar with the different regulations and requirements before formally applying for a visa.