REVISION OF (SANITIZED) CIA LANGUAGE INCENTIVE AWARDS PROGRAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00780R003700100011-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2006
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: October 29, 1970
• Content Type: MF

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SUBJECT: (Optional)
'STAT uommiit>:ee
TO: (Officer designation, room number, a
building)
I ? Director of Trainin
STAT
DDS Representative/
Language Development
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5 A,c;au .Zeputy Director
for Support
6. ChefTRC?B~DDS
712 Mag. Bldg.
Chairman, Language Development
ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
OFFICER'S
INITIALS
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Distribution:
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COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
to whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
5 to 6:
Request this draft be edited and
coordinated. Your transmittal to the
coordination points should include a
statement that "this draft was recom-
mended by the Language Development
Committee and each member of the
Committee has obtained the concur-
rence of his principal."
Please return to me a copy of
edited draft that you are coordinating
so Mr , Coffey can bring up at the
Deputies' meeting on Wednesday, 27
January 1971,
USE PREVIOUS -"~ r F --- [~1 2 ClA-RD 8 4 ?00 80037
EDITIONS A E,11rJ or-
I 0 0 1~LIF!
Rene IsJC
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2 9 OCT197Q
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Training
SUBJECT : Revision CIA. Language
Inc entiv gram
1. Attached is the revision o CIA Language Incentive Awards
Program, as approved by the Lan opment Committee. The Com -
mittee requests that the proposed revision be coordinated only with the Deputy
Directors.
2. The members also request that, if possible, the current regulation,
dated 12 June 1970, be rescinded immediately. Experience of the past four
months has shown that the wording of the existing regulation is too general,
with the result that many claims are being made by and for individuals who
are not qualified thus creating unnecessary administrative problems. In
addition the high cost of the program, buried within the system of step
increases, prohibits our applying it to all languages.
3. The Committee considers the current incentive program to be
inadequate since it is meant to encourage only the study of "hard" languages
when, in fact, Agency managers need to encourage the study of any language
that is in short supply. While the assumption that study of "hard" languages
must be encouraged is valid, the Agency's language data base reveals that
our needs are not limited to "hard" languages. A comparison of stated lan-
guage position requirements and actual proficiencies reveals that few CS
Area Divisions have sufficient resources to meet even the modest require-
ments so far identified. Only in 17 out of 57 distinct needs listed by the CS
Area Divisions and Staffs do we have sufficient skills to meet these needs.
A good example of the problem may be seen in the case of Spanish: the CS
has 238 requirements for Spanish as opposed to a bank of 577 skills; yet, due
to the distribution of the individuals with these skills, the WH Division is
short by as many as 225. This figure, based on a three-to-one ratio which
assumes that it takes three individuals to keep each language position filled,
is probably quite sound given the fact that 242 of the 577 skills are identified
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Subject: Revision of I CIA Language
Incentive Awards Program
with employees who have limiting assignment characteristics, being either
women, clericals, over 50 years of age, in the 45 to 49 age bracket, or in
the supergrade category. Also, among the remaining 335, important but
unknown factors may exist such as medical holds, unacceptability for or
unwillingness to accept assignment overseas which further reduces the num-
ber actually eligible. Even in our most common language, French, the
Agency cannot fill its modest requirements. While there is a total of 614
tested skills and only 195 requirements, 327 individuals with the necessary
skills fall into the "limiting factors" category. The shortage in French is
calculated to be close to 200 proficiencies.
4. Since we are going to open the incentive program to all languages,
it is the opinion of the Committee that cash payments for achievement
should be less costly than the accumulative effect of step increases but
enough of a monetary incentive to push the development of new skills.
Instead of granting an LPSI of approximately $500 for achieving the elemen-
tary level of a "hard" language, which would continue to be factored into
PSIs and promotions for the remainder of an awardee's Agency career, a
one-time cash award of $600 to $800 would be paid for that same achieve-
ment in any incentive language. The largest payment possible under the
new regulation for one language would amount to $3, 500 and that would be
for attaining four levels, up to fluent in a "hard" language. The accumula-
tive effect of a step increase could in given circumstances cost as much as
$15, 000 or more.
5. In revisin e have built in controls at the executive level
of the Agency and have specified the criteria for an employee's participation,
including the probability that an individual designated as a participant in the
incentive program will be assigned to a position in which the awardable
language will be used. We have retained the basic principle of the current
regulation in that incentive awards will be granted only for achievement of
skills; there is no recognition for one's maintaining a proficiency.
Chairman, Language Development Committee
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4. CIA LANGUAGE INCENTIVE PROGRAM
a. GENERAL. The CIA Language Incentive Program is intended to en-
courage achievement of skills in selected foreign languages.
b. POLICY
(1) To help upgrade the foreign language capabilities of Agency em-
ployees and to assist Deputy Directors in satisfying the foreign
language requirements of their Directorates, Language Profic-
iency Cash Awards (LPCAts) (see schedule -- Attachment A)
will be granted for achievement of language proficiencies.
Awards will not be granted solely as a bonus for possession of
foreign language proficiency.
(2) Any language for which a Directorate finds it necessary to en-
courage study in order to meet its language requirements may
be designated as an incentive language. Each Directorate, in
coordination with the Language Development Committee, will
draw up .its own list of languages. These lists will be reviewed
annually by the LDC.
(3) LPCA's will be granted after a designated participant has been
tested and certified by OTR as having achieved for the first time
an awardable level of proficiency in an incentive language or for
having progressed from a previously established and recorded
proficiency base to a higher proficiency level in the designated
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language. Awards will be made for achievement in the Compre-
hensive (RSU) program or in the Specialized (Reading, Speaking
or Understanding only) program. An award may be earned only
once for each awardable level of proficiency achieved in the same
foreign language.
(4) After receiving the award for which he was designated, an em-
ployee must be redesignated to the program to be considered for
further awards.
(5) Employees who have been designated as participants in the Pro-
gram and who are in formal language training will be tested for
proficiency only at the end of their training to determine eligi-
bility for awards. Other designees to the Program may be tested
when their supervisors believe an awardable level has been reached.
A participant who has reached two or more levels without receiving
an award may qualify for two achievement awards at the same
time.
(6) The definitions of proficiency levels and language groupings devel-
oped and published by OTR will be the criteria for testing and
certification.
c. ELIGIBILITY
? (1) To be designated a participant in the LPCA Program, there should
be the probability that an individual will be assigned to a position
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in which the language will be used.
(2) Staff employees, staff agents, career agents and other contract
personnel, with grades through GS-15 or equivalent who are
selected for participation in the Program, are eligible for con-
sideration for LPCA's provided they have:
(a) Been designated as participants before beginning training or
self-study;
(b) Recorded in Agency records a tested or certified proficiency
level in the specified language at the time of designation as
participants;
(c) Been certified, as a result of an OTR -administered test or
another test approved by the Director of Training, as having
achieved an awardable level.
(3) Those who are studying a language at the time it is designated as
an incentive language are eligible for awards only for progress
made after they have been designated participants in the Program.
No awards will be granted for language skills achieved prior to
the designation of .a language as an incentive language or prior to
the designation of an employee as a participant in the Program.
(4) Personnel who qualify for awards while overseas must await
certification until their return to Headquarters and testing.
(5) Those personnel participating in the Program for more than 90
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days prior to the effective date of this regulation will receive
the benefits provided b dated 12 June 1970. How-
ever, only one additional LPSI will be granted under the pre-
vious regulation. Subsequent awards: will be made as defined
in this regulation.
d. RESPONSIBILITIES
(1) Operating Officials will
(a) Initiate the form (Attachment B) recommending an em-
ployee for participation in the Program.
(b) Authorize the granting of LPCA's.
(c) Provide funds for awards granted within their components
(2) Deputy Directors will
(a) Identify incentive languages for their Directorates.
(b) Approve selection of Headquarters and overseas participants
in the Program, basing selection on current and projected
language requirements of their Directorates.
(3) The Director of Training will
(a) Establish proficiency criteria for LPCA=s.
(b) Verify the beginning proficiency level of personnel designated
to the Program.
(c) Test and certify the language proficiency of. employees and
report the results to the appropriate Directorate.
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(4) The Director of Personnel will
(a) Authenticate the action authorizing LPCA's and notify the
Heads of Career Services of all such action.
(b) Maintain records of participants in the Program and of cash
awards granted.
(c) Provide statistical reports on the Program for the LDC.
(5) The Language Development Committee will
(a) Assist Deputy Directors in identifying and designating incen-
tive languages.
(b) Review annually the lists of incentive languages.
CONFIDENTIAL
5
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j Ll i. iii tU .t
CONFIDENTIAL
Skill
Comprehensive (RSU)*
Level
1
2
3
4
5
Languages
GROUP I
--
$400.
$600.
$800.
--
GROUP II
--
$600.
$800.
$1000.
--
GROUP III
$500.
$800.
$1000.
$1200.
--
*Awards can also be earned for achieving proficiency levels in the
Specialized (Reading, Speaking or Understanding only) program.
These awards will be one-half of the Comprehensive (RSU) awards.
No award will be made for Understanding when any other award has
been made in the same language.
Awards for the Comprehensive program will be determined by the
level achieved in speaking.
LPCA's are cumulative, e.g., a participant, with no language pro-
ficiency, designated to achieve a 3level of a Group II language
could earn $1400.
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This is to be a manifold form, NCR, with copies designated Senior Training Officer
Copy, OP/QAB Copy, OTR/LS Copy, Originator's Approved Copy, and Originator's
10
Hold-back Copy.
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Attached are the criteria which an Agency employee must satisfy in
order to be rated at a particular proficiency level. The demon-
strated (tested) ability of an individual to cope with the criteria
for each level will be the determining factor in rating his profi-
ciency. The levels described are based upon a relative scale of
0 through 5, where 0 reflects no practical proficiency and 5 equates
with an educated native-born individual.
The rating scales described have been developed to provide a meaning-
ful method of characterizing the desired language skills of Agency
personnel. Unlike academic grades, which measure the achievement in
mastering the content of a prescribed course, the ratings are based
on'the absolute criterion of the command of an educated native speaker
of the language.
.The definition of each proficiency level has been worded so as to be
applicable to every language; obviously the amount of time and training
required to reach a certain level will vary widely from language to
language, as will the specific linguistic features of the language in-
volved. With this reasoning, persons with a "3" (Intermediate) rating
in both Chinese and French, for example, should have approximately
equal linguistic competence in the two languages. In the upper levels,
stress is placed on accuracy of structure, precision of vocabulary suf-
ficient to be both acceptable and effective in dealings with the edu-
cated citizen of the foreign country, and cultural nuances, as well as
fluency.
All ratings except the "5" level may be modified by a plus (+), indi-
cating that proficiency substantially exceeds the minimum requirements
for the level concerned but falls short of those for the next higher
level.
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ORAL/AURAL SKILLS
()
Level An individual must be able to:
1 (Slight) Satisfy minimum courtesy requirements, usually with frequent
errors and with sharply limited vocabulary. Handle simple
situations of daily life and travel, such as getting tempo-
rary lodging, asking and giving simple directions, ordering a
plain meal, and making purchases. Pronounce the language at
least well enough to be understood by a native speaker accus-
tomed to dealing with foreigners. Understand simple questions
and statements, allowing for slowed speech, repetition, or
paraphrase.
2 (Elementary) Satisfy routine social demands, such as formal introductions
and casual conversations about current events, work, and auto-
biographical information. Converse confidently, if not with
facility, with people he deals with in the course of daily ac-
tivities. Use basic constructions accurately, with acceptable
weaknesses in more complex structures and some deficiencies in
vocabulary. Pronounce the language generally intelligibly,
though occasionally producing misunderstood words or phrases.
Get the gist of most conversations on general subjects which
require no specialized knowledge..
3 (Intermediate) Speak with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to
participate effectively in most formal and informal conver-
sations in social, professional, and other daily situations.
Respond in unfamiliar situations with reasonable ease, using a
vocabulary broad enough so that he rarely has to grope for a
word. Speak with good control of grammar, making occasional
minor.errors which do not interfere with communication. Pro-
nounce the language with an accent which, though obviously
foreign, is always understandable. Comprehend most of what is
said at a normal conversational rate of speech.
4 (High)
5 (Native)
Use the language fluently, idiomatically, and accurately in all
non-technical situations, with extensive and precise vocabulary,
nearly perfect grammar, and an accent closely approximating that
of native-born speakers. Understand the content of all conver-
sations and formal presentations within the range of his exper-
ience, missing only those further refinements mentioned in the
"5" category.
Use the language in a manner equivalent to that of an educated
native-born speaker. Speak fluently and accurately in all prac-
tical and social situations, and freely and idiomatically in his
special fields. His speech on all levels will be fully accepted
in all of its features, including breadth of vocabulary, idioms,
colloquialisms, and pertinent cultural references. Understand
all non-technical conversations and formal presentations, as
.well as technical discourse in his field.
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READING COMPREHENSION
(R )
Level An individual must be able to:
1 (Slight) Read basic material, consisting of uncomplicated sen-
tences and phrases concerning common everyday ac-
tivities.
2 (Elementary)
Read factual material on non-technical subjects, such
as simple news stories and routine correspondence.
Comprehend the most commonly used structures and
idioms.
Read most newspaper items, as well as social, political,
and economic material written for the general public.
Comprehend the more complex structures and low-frequency
idioms with some difficulty.
4 (High) ' Read difficult prose on general subjects, such as edi-
torials. Read all styles and forms of the language
except those further refinements included in the "5"
category.
5 (Native) Except for highly specialized or technical material,
read anything in the language, including subtleties,
innuendoes, literary allusions, slang, and newspaper
headlines.
. 3 (Intermediate)
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