VISIT OF MR. MAX HUGEL, DDA, TO THE FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE, SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE STUDIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00890R000800060023-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 23
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 11, 2003
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: April 6, 1981
• Content Type: FORM

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
SUBJECT: (optional)
Visit of Mr. Max Hugel, DDA, to the Foreign Sere ce
Institute, School of Language Studies
FROM:
EXTENSION
NO.
C/LS
426 C of C
DATE
6 April 1981
TO: (Officer designation, room number, and
building)
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COMMENTS (Number each corrrmea' to show from whom
RECEIVED
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FORM 61 0 USE PREVIOUS
I-79 EDITIONS
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6 April 1981
FROM:
iet anguage School
SUBJECT: Visit of Mr. Max Hugel, DDA, to the Foreign Service
Institute, School of Language Studies
1. Mr. Max Hugel. Deputy Director of Administration
accompanied by Chief, Language School visited
the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Language School on
31 March. Our host was Pierre Shostal, Director of the
School of Language Studies. Mr. Shostal introduced Mr. Hugel
to Ambassador Paul Boeker, Director of the Foreign Service
Institute. In a 15-minute conversation with Ambassador Boeker
we were informed that the Foreign Service currently fulfills
67% of its overseas language-designated positions. We also
discussed the language requirement for Foreign Service
Officers which demands a professional level competence in at
least a world language for the Foreign Service Officer to
move from probationary to tenure status. Their incentive
program concentrates on "hard" languages. Competence in any
of the fourteen hard languages will result in a 100 bonus
when used abroad and 15% for native level competence.
2. In Mr. Shostal's office we discussed their language
school which trains about 2,000 per year (600 at any one
time) and is manned by 200 instructors--69 of which have
tenure, i.e., permanent slots. Mr. Shostal stressed the
following points in indicating the direction of language
training at FSI:
a. Training for the assignment. A concentration
on core skills such as how to ask questions, how to
make a presentation (e.g., on arms control), how to
address a complaint to police authorities. The program
is outlined in the attached policy paper dated
28 January 1981.
b. Short courses designed to meet the requirements
of spouses, secretaries, clericals, etc., who need to
have mobility primarily for morale purposes.
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SUBJECT: Visit of Mr. Max Hugel, DDA, to the Foreign Service
Institute, School of Language Studies
c. Overseas training, although a necessary adjunct
up to training given at FSI, will probably be cut.
3. Mr. Shostal spoke of the usefulness of the interagency
process whereby FSI received input regarding course content
and programs from CIA, AID, Defense, Agriculture, and Commerce.
4. Mr. Shostal stressed testing for communicative and
comprehension capacity. He felt that grammar has been over
emphasized. Testing he said to Mr. Hugel's agreement should
measure effectiveness.
5. This appeared to be a useful hour in a school which
is closest to CIA's Language School in method and training
programs.
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POLICY PAPER
The School of Language Studies has recently undertaken
an intensive review of its language programs. A central
objective of the review was to arrive at a determination of
the degree to which these courses prepare students from our
various client agencies for the kinds of communication
tasks they will encounter on assignment overseas. Is a
consular officer, for example, linguistically prepared to
protest the mistreatment of an American prisoner; does an
AID official have the communication tools to convince a
group of village elders of the need for a family planning
program? A corollary aim of the review was to determine
the feasibility of providing comprehensive training in
basic language structures while at the same time main-
taining the flexibility to train for the kind of functional
language use needed in the foreign affairs milieu.
In the past, SLS has often been called upon to make
informal adaptations of its programs to accommodate spe-
cialized student, agency or U.S. mission needs. We have
not, however, taken the further step of formulating a
statement of policy with regard to meeting specific
requirements for language use. The importance of foreign
language proficiency or the lack of it to the conduct of
U.S. affairs is currently the subject of intense public
scrutiny, which clearly indicates this to be an appropriate
time to reexamine our mandate -- as we are doing with the
SLS Program Review -- and to begin to focus our efforts on
the kind of progressive, professionally-relevant, task-
oriented training which will meet the functional needs of
our clientele. We believe such a focus can provide the
School with a unity of purpose that will make language
training more effective and provide client agencies a
better return on their substantial investments in
training. Levels of general language proficiency
previously identified with professional competence are
increasingly being found insufficient. In some instances,
students who succeed admirably in training have encountered
serious difficulty in putting the language to work upon
arrival at post. The need to measure the success of our
programs by the degree to which they prepare students for
the tasks of the agencies served is manifest.
SLS will henceforth have as its central objective the
provision of language training which develops language use
competence appropriate to the job needs of U.S. Government
employees serving abroad. We will endeavor to prepare
students for the duties and functions of positions in U.S.
missions abroad which carry language requirements. Our aim
will be to provide the motivated, hard-working student with
the functional equivalent of S-3/R-3 or better. We are
fully aware that professional and social language needs
frequently overlap in the realm of foreign affairs and this
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will not go unrecognized in the adaptation of programs. We
intend to train for language use in the context of job-
related needs, whatever the scope of the job or the variety
of speaking, reading, writing and comprehension skills
required.
Reference to the new thrust of SLS training as "job-
related" does not mean simply the addition of specialized
vocabulary to existing courses, but the development of
communication skills dedicated to problem resolution and
tasks to be performed. It is not only words and forms
which must be practiced and learned if language is to be
made a usable communication tool, but the communications
tasks themselves. Acknowledging the difficulty of adapting
programs in specific terms to the diverse job requirements
of the many agencies serviced by SLS, we intend to concen-
trate training efforts on the broader functional aspects of
foreign affairs work which cut across job and agency
lines. If, for example, the functional objective of the
moment happens to be the ability to formulate inquiries
aimed at eliciting useful information, a communication task
is defined which can encompass the needs of a visa officer
doing interviews, a political officer seeking opinions on
upcoming elections, a military attache trying to gain
information about troop deployments, an Agricultural
attache looking for projections on crop yields, etc. In
the area of aural comprehension skills, a functional
objective might be the ability to follow an exposition or
conversation in the target language in which the student is
not a participant. The appropriate classroom activity
might involve some team teaching with two or more native
speakers working together with combined classes. We
believe that by viewing "job-related" language needs in
this way, rather than redesigning traditional drill and
dialogue exercises around an exhaustive analysis of over-
seas job descriptions, we will be serving true communica-
tive competence. Moreover and more importantly, it will
allow the student practice in accomplishing tasks which are
germane to needs and can be worked with and practiced at
all levels of language proficiency. Thus, immediately
after the student has been introduced to a given structural
or syntactical point he/she will be required to "get
something done" with it in a meaningful communication
context.
Persons on assignment who do not have a directly job-
related need for the language (spouses, non-LDP officers,
officers not assigned abroad, people on language probation)
are welcome to enroll in the new courses, provided they
have an interest in functional communication goals and
foreign affairs subject matter, and with the knowledge that
many areas of language use which may be pertinent to their
needs (shopping, recreation, household problems, non-
professional travel) will not be integral parts of the
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 long-teAPP stIM93/QJI7dPIA 4W0$$'! Q@ ApO@A h
they may be addressed peripherally. The same high
standards of performance and achievement in the language
will apply to all students.
Students' success in language training will not be
evaluated solely against the absolute measurement of the
language itself but also against functional objectives.
Utilizing the same scale of relative proficiency as at
present, SLS testing will give greater emphasis to func-
tional communicative competence and will interpret
proficiency level definitions to include the professional
context and task resolution, with the ultimate goal of
measuring the student's ability with the language rather
than in it.
Development and implementation of the training program
described here extends beyond SLS, and will require cooper-
ation and participation of other parts of FSI, especially
SAS. Much of the subject matter of the new program will be
area-relevant. Thus, the program both builds on and
broadens the joint program of language and area studies
which SLS and SAS have been developing.
IMPLEMENTATION:
1. FSI will be in touch with the agencies serviced by
the School in the coming weeks to procure information as to
their field needs for eventual incorporation into the
design of all programs. The nature of the information
sought will be along broad functional lines rather than
detailed "job descriptions." The data collection process
has already begun with a questionnaire concerning job-
related language use which has gone out to some 50 posts.
2. The next phase of the SLS Program Review will
identify for each program the steps to be taken in adapting
current curricula to the new orientation. The Program
Review will be taken over at this stage by the newly
created Department of Program and Staff Development (PSD).
3. A series of seminars and working groups will be
undertaken by SLS to prepare staff members in both an
informational and pedogogical sense to adapt to new
requirements. The design and implementation of this
program will be the responsibility of the PSD.
4. PSD will be tasked with review of proficiency
definitions and the development of testing procedures to
measure the kind of functional communicative competence
appropriate to foreign affairs work. To be completed by
August 1981.
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 ter.
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5. In the adaptation of present courses cultural
and area studies components will be incorporated into the
course rather than identified as appurtenances to a
basically grammar-focused approach. In order to facilitate
this, appropriate SAS staff members will be designated to
work with PSD.
6. All courses will be required to reflect
substantial job-related methodological and conceptual
content by August 1981. Fully-developed job-related
programs are targeted for August 1982. Standards for
course content will be promulgated by SLS Management.
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Summary
In the past, SLS linguists and staff have been
called upon to take the initiative in determining what
the appropriate content of individual programs should
be. Consequently, we have seen considerable variance
in terms of priorities and little continuity in the
School curriculum. There has also been a lack of spec-
ific guidance that would help course designers focus
on the professional foreign language needs of the SLS
clientele.
Steps are currently being taken by SLS management
to provide the School with unifying policies, objec-
tives, priorities and standards by which the success of
its curriculum may be measured. An investigatory
phase, the Program Review, marks the beginning of the
promulgation of these specifications. This paper will
discuss the findings of the review committee, the is-
sues involved in adapting training to perceived needs
and the actions recommended to implement new policies.
The discussion will necessarily concentrate on areas
requiring change, which should not give the impression
that there is not a great deal about current programs
worth preserving or that the negative aspects are being
unduly emphasized. The process of adaptation to new
requirements will take time, and we do not intend to
rush things to completion at the expense of clarity or
quality. The process will also take everyone's help in
SLS, but in our view this does not represent additional
work so much as a recasting and reemphasis of present
efforts.
It is our belief that many of the language ele-
ments now included in the long-term courses are rele-
vant, and necessary for 3/3 competence in any context.
The problem is that these elements are "studied"--dis-
sected, analyzed, memorized--rather than absorbed and
practiced in the kinds of communication tasks which
will be encountered overseas.
Our initial objective, then, will be to implement
some philosophical and methodological changes and
innovations by the August, 1981 starts, an undertaking
which we believe can be made within the confines of our
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FY-81 Financial Plan at least to the extent that we can
reprogram some activities. What will thereafter emerge
in terms of resource implications from the contracting
sessions with individual program designers (Program
Review, Phase III) about the adaptation of their
courses remains to be seen. We do expect, however,
that additional resources may be required in the FY-82
budget to cover costs of some materials development
projects and staff development, but it would be pre-
mature to attempt at this time to place a dollar figure
on what they might be. We expect to have a good grasp
of this issue in a few weeks.
Language vs. Language Use
Perhaps the most difficult assumption, philoso-
phically speaking, with which management must come to
grips in SLS is that of the primacy of language itself
in the training. Some programmers appear to have con-
fused the need to provide a thorough grounding in the
language with their professional desire to be compre-
hensive, even exhaustive, in explaining it. Hence some
courses, rather than take up a point of grammar or
vocabulary strictly in the context in which it appears,
attempt to deal with it at once in every context in
which
it
could possibly appear. Training is, after
all,
for
an assignment, not for a lifelong relationship
with
the
language, and there is neither time nor a real
need
to
teach everything.
Decisions must be made in SLS about which aspects
of language are appropriate for students given their
professional objectives. Ultimately, the assignment
needs of the student must take precedence in reaching
such decisions.
it is management's intention to pursue a prag-
matic, professionally relevant course in training which
emphasizes language use over an encyclopedic theoret-
ical knowledge of language.
Dealing More Effectively with Students' Assumptions,
Expectations and Anxieties
All SLS courses need to provide the student with
an adequate explanation of what lies in store for them
in the course, what the purposes and objectives are for
various activities, the rationale for methods employed,
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the nature of the effort that is expected of them and
the results that could conceivably be anticipated.
Various reasons for the fact this is not currently
being done became manifest during the review: some
linguists believe they must ultimately accommodate to
the expectations and opinions of students, rather than
convince them of the appropriateness of another way of
doing things; some are loathe to create expectations
that might not be realized; some take no active part in
the conduct of the course. Basically, however, most
courses have not defined any long or short term objec-
tives about which students could be informed other than
that of learning "as much of" the language in question
as possible.
A systematic approach to keeping the student
informed about course design and procedures need not
signify rigidity or inflexibility. Certainly the staff
cannot be expected to lay out a firm schedule of events
applicable to all students for an entire year. It is
equally certain, however, that choices have been made
about the best way to teach the course--what to focus
on, how to sequence the material, what the benefits
might be of a given exercise, what students should
be able to do to achieve various results. It is a
basic tenet of adult education to make such things
explicit, both verbally and in writing, in order to
reassure students about the efficacy of what they are
doing and to keep the training on track. Doing this in
some formalized fashion will address the most frequent
post-training complaints which are about disorganiza-
tion, wasted time and irrelevance of various elements
of the course. For those SLS courses which depend for
their success upon the talents, motivation or person-
ality of a single instructor, even that fact should be
explained, as well as what the advantages are to such a
system.
The more students know about what is expected of
them, the easier it will be to provide proper guidance
and counseling and to do something about inadequate
performance. There is a schoolwide need for improved
guidance and counseling, and we will be informing the
staff of requirements in this context.
Ultimately, each course will develop a set of
written guidelines to be provided to students
explaining in general terms the procedures, objectives,
methods and expectations which characterize the
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course. To initiate this effort, we intend to develop
sample guidelines for one current language program,
under the direction of the new Department of Program
and Staff Development, to be completed by May 1, 1981.
All other courses will be expected to produce such
guidelines by August 1981, though these may need to be
altered somewhat in the course of adaptation to new
requirements.
Flexibility of Materials
One characteristic of SLS noted frequently in the
program review is the significance attached to the
development of "perfect" long range materials,
requiring years to develop, which are intended ulti-
mately to be the foundation of the course. If the
objective of such an emphasis is merely to find better
ways of teaching the grammar, rather than of using the
language, then the effort--relative to the time and
resources consumed--is misplaced. The effort to
develop such an "anchor" to the course must not lead
to the neglect of other important aspects: pedagogy,
counseling, the development of functional capabilities,
etc.
It is worth noting that some of the most success-
ful programs are taking advantage of short-range, ad
hoc, current and disposable materials (relatively
quickly designed) which provide flexibility and high
relevance to functional, job-related tasks. While
students are generally more comfortable with a compre-
hensive text from which they can study independently
and which provides theoretical background to what is
being done in class, this does not mean that such a
text need dominate, much less comprise a course. It
may be sufficient to provide a springboard to an array
of useful materials without making the student too
heavily dependent on it.
We must avoid any focus on textbook materials
which might lead to the treatment of work-related and
cultural elements as optional add-ons which have come
at the end of the course after the grammar has been
covered. Otherwise the implication to students will be
clear: anything not focused on the text will be seen
as disruptive, distracting, and unnecessary and hence
rejected. The School to some extent makes this a
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Materials development projects will be evaluated
by the Department of Program and Staff Development
according to how they are intended to meet functional
course objectives as opposed to any universal applica-
bility they may have. Course design should be the
determinant from which the utility of a textbook should
follow. To the extent possible, texts should be
designed as an impetus to other pedagogical classroom
activities and provide the student with a reliable
reference and workbook for self study.
Management of our Methods
it is essential that the responsibility not be
left to the students for the job-related and cross-
cultural aspects of language use which are to be
focused on in the courses. The assumption that
students know what they will need in the country of
assignment is easily made and often untrue. Situations
can be deceptively similar in a field as broad as
foreign relations and experience is of limited help to
someone who may indeed have done similar work in
another country, but under an entirely different set of
assumptions and conditions. It should be the responsi-
bil.}ty of the individual programs to make the best
possible assessment of the kinds of language and
cultural interaction which will be most useful and to
impress upon the students the reasons why what they are
doing is relevant. To force students to make these
decisions about what is important is to invite
criticism about the disorganization of the course.
Special professional materials and activities must
be accompanied by guidance to the student regarding
objectives and task orientation. Only limited peda-
gogical use is being made of the materials that are
available at present. The objective in most cases
seems to be conversation about the materials at hand
(VTRs, newspapers) and acquisition of vocabulary from
them rather than the performance of prescribed tasks
and functions involving them. Once again the impetus
is left to the students to define the purpose of such
activities by the degree to which they participate in
the conversations. This seems yet another bias in
favor of language itself rather than accomplishing
anything with language.
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It is essential to make task completion and
problem resolution an integral part of job-related
language study; to carry classroom activities to some
logical conclusion, even if it involves nothing more
than making a telephone call to set up an appointment
or doing a memcon from a video-taped speech. Something
should be achieved which makes sense in the profes-
sional realm but is not so specific as to limit its
relevance to a class of diverse students.
To help the SLS staff become better acquainted
both with the tasks to be performed by its clientele
using the language and with methods which allow
meaningful practice of such tasks during training, a
series of seminars and workshops under the Department
of Program and Staff Development will commence in
March.
Making S/R Scores Work for Us
A characteristic of many programs is, in the
absence of schoolwide performance criteria, the heavy
reliance on S/R ratings to define both the objectives
of a course and success in completing it. In view of
our new orientation and the need to define proficiency
in broader ways it is clear that S/R definitions need
to be interpreted in functional terms to take into
account performance objectives which go beyond the
traditional mastery of grammar and vocabulary. The
attention of the various agencies sending people to
language training will inevitably be fixed on the
designation of the position that is being trained for.
It is therefore incumbent upon the School to translate
the various S/R ratings into meaningful, concrete,
functional terms which will be recognized as the
objectives of the training itself rather than a general
competence defined by a number.
SLS needs to give S/R scores broader significance
to encompass communicative competence in a formal way.
PSD will be tasked with reviewing proficiency
definitions and development of testing procedures.
Training Objectives
While most linguists and instructors with whom we
have spoken see no insurmountable obstacles to students
achieving at least S-3/R-3 scores in the time allotted
(Chinese, Arabic, Korean and Japanese are exceptions),
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the response to such a proposition in those languages
taught for only 20 weeks (Spanish, French, Italian,
Portuguese and German) was highly sceptical. Neverthe-
less, we must aim for a significantly higher proportion
of students achieving S-3/R-3 in all languages. More
practice in functional language use will help, as will
other program adaptations currently underway or contem-
plated. However, we will need to experiment with other
techniques as well, including materials enrichment and
an accurate measurement of the extent to which a some-
what longer training period produces meaningfully
higher comptence. This will be a long-term effort and
no general change in the 20-week duration of these
courses is now planned, though a pilot program of 24
weeks may be undertaken in one of them on an experi-
mental basis.
Training the Trainers
SLS is undertaking an ambitious and extensive
self-evaluation and restructuring, the success of which
ultimately relies on the dedication and creativity of
the staff. It is, therefore, essential that new
linguists and instructors be offered training oppor-
tunities which adequately prepare them for the tasks
they are to perform.
To meet this need, SLS/PSD will begin to prepare
separate orientation programs for new linguists and
instructors to acquaint them with both organizational
objectives and job requirements and standards. The
target date for the completion of these programs is
August, 1981.
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'IT
CORRECTION FOR PROGRAM CONCEPTS PAPER
The last sentence on nage 4 should read:
The School to some extent makes this a self-fulfilling
prophecy in its materials by establishing the primacy
of language structure over language use.
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 Funct dv sL B/06I~27tIMA 0 3bMN0 MHUMISt
by Doug Jones, M/FSI/SLS/PSD
Two basic approaches appear to me to characterize
present SLS courses regarding the objectives of classroom
language training. The first is procedural, cumulative,
and additive, stressing fundamentals, structural control
and comprehensiveness, patterns and variations, mimickry
and dialogues. It is basically linear. The second may
involve aspects of the first, but in a less systematic
fashion, focussing on student-perceived needs and having as
a primary objective some student-generated attempts at
natural conversation in the target language; working with
what a student wants to say. It is basically cyclical.
A problem with the first method is that the student
may become too passively dependent on a language stimulus
to which he must respond. The second, on the other hand,
presumes conversational ability to be an end in itself.
Neither really focusses on seeing to it that the student is
able to accomplish anything with the language he knows.
SLS management has called for a reorientation of our
language training efforts around task resolution and func-
tional, job-relevant language use. Among the many problems
that will be taken up by the Department of Program and
Staff Development in SLS (PSD) will be that of defining
"jobs" and job needs in the foreign affairs agencies in a
way which will be useful in the design of program activ-
ities. No less a problem will be that of designing courses
for students with a wide variety of professional needs and
tasks to perform without fragmenting the training.
I believe most of my Foreign Service colleagues would
agree that it would serve little purpose to try to describe
in detail the role and functions of the "typical" political
officer, cultural affairs officer, security officer, etc.,
and to try to design courses around their job descrip-
tions. The variables of country, specialty, mission
requirements, job scope and personal work habits and style
combine to make distortions of such stereotypes. The same
is no doubt true of the job specialities of the many other
agencies whose employees receive training at SLS. Anything
specific enough to help tailor a language program would not
have sufficient applicability to all students; anything
general enough to be acceptable to all would not be work-
able.
The key to resolving this dilemna lies, I believe, not
in the job characteristics themselves (though it is useful
to know as much about them as possible), but in the nature
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of the tasks required to carry them out and in the
varieties of language useful in doing so. An analysis of
these factors may have more meaning for course designers
than one centering on various job specialties. We can
probably generalize with less distortion about language
functions than about job functions. This paper will deal
in both an analytical and a descriptive way with some of
the typical broad tasks and language use requirements
common to foreign affairs work. It is hoped we will soon
have additional data from the agencies other than State to
supplement and refine my examples, which are drawn largely
from my own Foreign Service experiences.
A. Oral Proficiency.
Several aspects of language production common to the
Foreign Service milieu will be discussed here and more will
undoubtedly suggest themselves. Each can be worked with at
various levels of language proficiency and in a variety of
situational settings. What is important is to make them
count for something rather than to allow speaking practice
to stand alone as an accomplishment -- to focus on the
utility of what is being rehearsed.
1. The ability to formulate questions aimed at
eliciting useful information of a professional nature. A
distinction should perhaps be drawn here between soliciting
fact and opinion. A consular officer conducting a visa
interview generally requires only a simple, polite,
straight-forward questioning skill. His clients are, after
all, coming to him for services and he is primarily
interested in determining the facts in order to make a
responsible decision: "May I see some evidence that your
family will support you while you are studying in the
U.S.?" "What were the circumstances of your arrest and
conviction in 1946?" Such questions need to be focussed,
direct and clear, aimed at an illuminating response.
Though a certain delicacy may be required in obtaining such
information, the situation is somewhat different from that
of an officer trying to elicit an informative opinion or
information which has larger, less personal implications.
Thus the Labor Attache may draw out a union official with:
"I don't suppose these rumors of a transportation strike
should be taken too seriously?" Or an internal political
officer might resort to flattery with an important regional
official: "In view of the popular support for your
programs, might you be considering running for national
office next year?" Or an economic officer to a local
entrepreneur: "But don't you think a tariff on imported
widgets would ultimately hurt local industry more than it
would help?"
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Such questions look somewhat artful and stilted on
paper. In these and the other examples which follow, the
cultural context in which they would sound appropriate is
of course missing. Each language would have to rephrase
them in the manner most appropriate to the prevailing
cultural parameters, before they can aspire to realism.
Nevertheless, I think the functional need is clear enough
in this case: the use of language as a catalyst to gain
information.
2. The ability to raise a concern or objection,
politely but firmly. To express disagreement with an
action or position. To make a point or to persuade a
listener. A lot of ground is covered here. The consul may
need to protest to prison officials the mistreatment of an
American prisoner; a commercial attache might try to con-
vince a potential investor to "buy American"; the press
attache may take umbrage, on behalf of the Ambassador, at a
misrepresentation of a U.S. position in the opposition
press; the DCM may wish to communicate to the Foreign
Ministry that the local record of human rights violations
could lead to the curtailment of economic aid; the cultural
attache may wish to convince a leading author to make an
exchange visit to U.S. universities; a military attache may
inquire why a region of the country has been declared off
limits to U.S. personnel; an AID technician may have to
convince local farmers of the need for a better irrigation
system.
The important characteristic here is that such situa-
tions involve the volitional, aggressive production of
language by someone who has a point to make in achieving a
professional objective. In some cases, a high degree of
formality may be required, in others almost none. The
important thing in practicing this skill is to fulfill a
verbal "assignment" in getting one's point across; some-
thing that can be worked with, even at primitive levels of
language competence. In designing classroom activities
appropriate to this kind of language use, program devel-
opers may wish to consider working with simulated adversary
relationships which put a controlled amount of "construc-
tive pressure" on the student to make his point.
3. The ability to formulate a request that an action
be taken. This function gets us very solidly into the
realm off` problem solving and is common to all overseas USG
agencies in one way or another. The speaker is required to
request assistance in some matter which he cannot resolve
personally. There is, therefore, a need for both precision
of expression and an element of "manipulative" explanation,
thus:
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Consular officer to local coroner: "I realize an
autopsy isn't required in a case like this, but the family
and employer of the deceased would like one done for
insurance purposes. Can you help us?"
Political officer to Foreign Ministry contact:
"Congressman Crass would like to lay a wreath at the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier during his visit. Can this be
arranged?"
Regional Security Officer to Chief of Police: "In
view of the recent demonstrations, I believe it is
necessary to increase the guard around the Ambassador's
residence. Can you assign an extra man to this detail?"
Air Attache to Defense Ministry official: "Please
arrange flight clearances for the two aircraft transporting
the official U.S. delegation to the state funeral of Prime
Minister Gurke."
U.S. narcotics official to Security Officer: "Would
you please check on the status of our extradition request
involving Irving Smack and inform us whether we need to
submit any further paperwork?"
Obviously the situation is the determinant in all
these examples, but generally speaking the objective is to
obtain an agreement or a commitment to take some specific
action; to impress upon the contact the responsibility for
that action.
--
4. The ability to explain -- even in simple terms
a U.S. position, action, policy, point of law, national,
value, etc. This may be seen as the obverse side of #2
above. Here a more defensive language "posture" is empha-
sized in response to a stimulus: a challenge, inquiry,
misinterpretation, etc. Generally, some narrative skills
are required -- the ability to put together an argument,
exposition or explanation cohesively and to hold the
floor. Ambassador Harry Barnes has identified this as the
need to be able to advocate a position. At higher language
levels it may also involve debate. Related to this may
also be the need to stall, evade, filibuster or defuse the
argument. Some examples:
Political officer to a student group: "I know this is
an important issue between our countries, but I don't think
we can expect a decision as early as you suggest. Let me
explain how our treaty ratification process works...."
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Visa officer to applicant: "Under U.S. law your
affiliation with the Communist Party renders you ineligible
for a regular tourist visa. There are, however, waiver
procedures which may be invoked. This is what you must
do...."
Cultural affairs officer to local artist: "I'm afraid
the U.S. government cannot sponsor your project. I would
be happy to suggest some private institutions, but I just
don't think you would get much support for a twelve foot
statue of Benedict Arnold. Here's why...."
Ambassador's Secretary: "I'm sorry, we cannot accept
a collect call. Please tell the General we will return his
call."
5. The ability to speak effectively on the telephone.
Each country seems to have its own idiosyncratic telephone
behavior which can totally confuse the unprepared
foreigner -- even those with considerable language
competence. This is an ability which cuts across the
functions previously mentioned -- questioning, requesting,
explaining, narrating -- compounding the difficulty of all
of them by taking away the visual cues normally involved in
personal communication. On the other hand, the speaker has
the advantage of preparing what he wants to say (provided
he is initiating the call). In view of the amount of USG
business conducted by telephone, this is perhaps an aspect
of language competence which should be given more attention
and practice in SLS.
6. The ability to "say the appropriate thing" in a
social context, based upon cross cultural awareness. This
is not simply a matter of small talk or ritual greetings
and niceties, but involves an informational use of language
which can help establish a person's professional creden-
tials, indicating an awareness of the inner workings of
society, knowledge of local sensitivities, etc. Cultural
affairs officer to Education Ministry official: "I under-
stand your son has been admitted to the university. This
must be a great relief and a proud time for you." Consular
officer to District Attorney: "The behavior of these two
tourists is of course deplorable, but unfortunately it is
not uncommon for our young people to take foreign flags as
souvenirs of their travels without considering the implica-
tions. It is certainly not something we would tolerate at
home. I think, however, that if we can avoid prosecution,
full restitution and an apology will be made."
This function applies to all employees who need to
"get something done" with language but will, of course vary
as a person's professional contacts vary. Thus, while the
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cultural officer may well decry the chaotic Athenian
traffic to a university professor, he will probably not
add: "Things were no doubt more orderly under the Junta."
A military attache, however, might well allude to the Junta
period in a professional sense when talking with a Greek
counterpart about comparative state of military prepared-
ness, and do so without giving offense.
7. Soloing. Three functions are linked here, which
are somewhat specialized but require a significant amount
of practice and preparation: delivery of prepared public
remarks; delivery of extemporaneous public remarks and;
functioning as an interpreter. The first two are most
frequently indulged in by our ICA colleagues, though FSOs
are sometimes called upon to represent the Mission on some
special local occasion or holiday and to make remarks.
The interpreter function is also very much ad hoc.
The Ambassador or DCM may take a language qualified officer
along to a professional meeting because he does not wish to
rely on local interpreters, or on a show-the-flag visit to
a local factory, Trade Fair, etc. Or, an officer may be
designated as control officer for a CODEL or other visiting
U.S. dignitary and serve as interpreter as well.
B. Aural Comprehension.
It has been said that, as a people, Americans are far
more willing to talk than to listen. One hopes this is not
true of professionals in foreign affairs, where it is
crucial not only to understand the meaning of what is said
but the significance as well.
1. The ability to follow an exposition or conversa-
tion in which one is not necessarily a participant.
Whether one is following events at a public gathering
(political rally, trial, etc.) or just plain eavesdropping
on someone else's conversation at a cocktail party, the
information gathered constitutes data unedited for effect
on the incidental listener and therefore theoretically a
more reliable measure of opinion.
Most language programs place heavy emphasis on
participatory conversation, which leaves the student
probably more concerned with what he wants to say next (and
how to say it) than what is being said to him. The impor-
tance of participatory conversation for the production of
language is undeniable, but no less emphasis should be
placed on hearing the language spoken between (or among)
native speakers in a manner which makes no allowance for
what the student is likely to know or understand. And
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this, preferably, with a host of background noises and
other disturbances -- a setting far more in keeping with
what is actually encountered abroad. The ability to follow
this kind of conversation and provide feedback is very much
in line with professional requirements.
2. The ability to follow and understand the broadcast
media. It is particularly important for political and ICA
officers to understand the way news is covered by the local
media and therefore the impression the populace is likely
to have based on this coverage. It is, of course, also
important for everyone in order to know what is going on.
Most programs in SLS that I know anything about have
materials which reflect an understanding of this need.
3. Having a feel for the national humor. There is a
perceived need on the part of many foreign service person-
nel to be able to participate actively in jesting, both
folk wisdom and X-rated humor. The reasons are fairly
obvious: it helps create rapport by loosening formality
and establishing a communality; it helps release tensions;
it establishes an aura of friendliness quickly. On the
other side of the coin, a knowledge of what one may and may
not joke about can enable us to avoid giving unintentional
offense.
C. Reading Skills.
1. The ability to gist articles from the print
media. FSOs and other agency officers generally need to
have at least skimmed the headlines and spotted articles of
interest before ever settling down to work for the day.
Being caught unaware at the Ambassador's morning staff
meeting can be acutely embarrassing. A lot of classroom
time can be wasted sitting with a dictionary translating
articles word for word. A better exercise might be to hand
each student a paper and give him 15 minutes to locate all
articles on a general subject before selecting one or two
to gist.
2. Ability to recognize documents of an official
nature. This is particularly important for consular
officers who are constantly called on to notarize strange
looking documents or to make decisions (visas, citizenship,
Federal Benefits eligibility) based upon the authenticity
of documents submitted.
3. Some knowledge of the national literature (if
there is one). This should include, I suppose "national
thought" as well. It is of course particularly important
for ICA work, but advisable for all, to have read a few
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things in the original. While it is perhaps asking too
much to require students to read Nietzsche or Freud in
German, they should at least be aware that these were among
the great stylists of the language. Surely some exposure
to poetry, drama, prose and folk literature is possible in
most languages.
D. Orthography.
Orthography has only limited direct applicability to
professional needs, except for those who want to take notes
directly in the language. Writing skill should probably
remain an optional objective for most students. The
serious student who becomes proficient in other aspects of
the language usually makes an effort to pick this up indi-
vidually. I do not believe much classroom time should be
devoted to the task. Orthography seldom presents a problem
in most languages.
In conclusion, I am not suggesting that these func-
tional categories represent a comprehensive approach to
language instruction. They represent rather some possible
linchpins which can help focus and hold our courses
together, providing the atmospherics for culminating
classroom activities which will allow students meaningful
practice in applying their newly-acquired skills.
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