Foreign Language Needs of the Federal Government: Implication for Early Language Learning Programs

The federal government is arguably the nation's largest single user of foreign language skills. Every working day, thousands of federal employees, both military and civilian, use scores of different languages to perform their jobs, which include everything from reading or listening to and translating foreign media, to broadcasting the news in foreign languages, to translating and interpreting in a variety of contexts, to administering and teaching in U.S. government (USG) language schools. . . .

The Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Guidelines define proficiency in the four skills commonly recognized in language performance: reading, understanding (listening comprehension), speaking, and writing. The writing skill is not systematically tested in USG agencies. The training objective in most federal language instruction is Level 3, professional competence, which means that the individual is capable of doing substantive work in the language. An individual whose language skills are rated at a Level 3 controls adequate vocabulary to discuss, for example, current trends in the local stock market, their causes, and general implications. He or she has mastered grammar to the extent necessary, for example, to deal with hypothetical situations and sequence of events in past and future. In the speaking skill, the Level 3 can be understood by native speakers who are not used to speaking with foreigners.

This level of language proficiency takes significant time to acquire. In a language such as Spanish, government classes teaching three skills typically are scheduled for 24 weeks. If one assumes five hours of class time per day, five days a week, the total hours of class contact totals 600 hours. If the student spends four hours per day preparing for class, the total hours spent learning the language climb to 1,080. For a language such as Korean, the government schedules two full academic years of a similar regime, with the second year typically held overseas. With hundreds of employees, military and civilian, undergoing this amount of training per year, the USG makes a major investment in foreign language skills. . .

Language skill requirements depend on the nature of the job to be done. For instance, government employees posted overseas whose jobs involve frequent contact with local officials or citizenry usually are required to develop proficiency in all skills. For those whose work involves scanning printed material or monitoring radio or TV broadcasts, proficiency in the single relevant modality is usually considered adequate. Where the job involves translation or interpretation, the government recognizes the need for competence beyond proficiency in the foreign language and tests for competence in these skills.

It is important to put the government's need for foreign language skills in context. As critical as they may be for some functions of the government, the everyday language of business is English—at this writing the major computer networks of the USG are English only—and an ability to communicate orally and on paper is essential. In all but the most special cases, an applicant's skills in English are a higher priority than foreign language skills in hiring. Similarly, expertise in one or more substantive areas, e.g., international affairs, economics, area studies, military affairs, science and technology, virtually always is a factor in hiring and usually is more important than foreign language proficiency taken by itself.

The following are recommendations for early language programs that can apply to all languages:

• An early language program should be designed to lay the foundation for significant proficiency development, either in the curriculum itself (such as in immersion programs) or through the instilling of an enthusiasm for languages that will lead to such skill acquisition through academic study and, particularly, travel and study overseas in the future.

• Program designers should be mindful of the paramount importance of communication skills in English to be successful in any endeavor in the post-industrial world. To the extent possible, early language programs should include learning objectives that support development of this competence.