tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post541485351318339049..comments2023-12-14T11:26:51.959-05:00Comments on Life After Jerusalem: GAO report finds State Department language skills dangerously lackingDiggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-57469537136055455702011-11-22T06:31:30.507-05:002011-11-22T06:31:30.507-05:00I really appreciate your post and you explain each...I really appreciate your post and you explain each and every point very well.Thanks for sharing this information.And I’ll love to read your next post too.<br /><br />livamedical translation serviceshttp://www.affordableinterpreters.com/translation-services.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-17007448410359446552009-09-28T12:43:50.894-04:002009-09-28T12:43:50.894-04:00The language bonus is useless. My friend got a PD ...The language bonus is useless. My friend got a PD offer for the 149th A-100 in October the day after he placed on the register. His score was a 5.3.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-6029439742933865092009-09-28T09:16:50.827-04:002009-09-28T09:16:50.827-04:00Wow, an incredibly similar report was released in ...Wow, an incredibly similar report was released in 2006.<br /><br />http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06894.pdf<br /><br />Staffing and Foreign Language Shortfalls Persist Despite Initiatives to Address Gaps. GAO-06-894Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-10921190354231835342009-09-26T22:22:08.465-04:002009-09-26T22:22:08.465-04:00The CNL hiring focus is good - when I came into th...The CNL hiring focus is good - when I came into the service in 2007, my CNL language boost took me from 80+ to 7 on the hiring list for my cone, and back then classes were pretty small. However, language training and staffing in EL have to catch up with the hiring. <br /><br />Out of A-100 I was assigned to a post requiring a 2/2 in Arabic, which I already had, but because of the way the assignment schedule worked out, I was required to take 8 months of Arabic in DC. At the time, there was no advanced Arabic available there, and I was not allowed to TDY to a short-staffed post during the summer moving crunch or to work at a desk somewhere in HST because of funding woes (no one wanted to pick up my per diem, evidently). <br /><br />I hear things are getting better now - there's no sense in hiring people because they're already proficient in a language and then training them in thumb twiddling!hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14664942400486395078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-79270627258259214102009-09-25T09:07:04.734-04:002009-09-25T09:07:04.734-04:00It is true that the boost is once you pass the ora...It is true that the boost is once you pass the orals. I knew lots more folks were getting offers these days, but I didn't realize it was nearly everyone who passed (this was not the case when I joined six years ago). Even so, a boost of up to .5 will certainly get you an offer quicker than a barely passing 5.25 will.Diggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-38047925985671276372009-09-25T01:42:43.222-04:002009-09-25T01:42:43.222-04:00Actually, candidates only get the language boost a...Actually, candidates only get the language boost after they pass the orals, by which time it doesn't matter since most people on the Register nowadays are getting an offer. The language bonus can't be used to push an oral score above the 5.25 passing limit if you score below it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-42402110857483846892009-09-24T09:27:13.207-04:002009-09-24T09:27:13.207-04:00Voice of Reason: yes, posts usually have a post la...Voice of Reason: yes, posts usually have a post language officer. I served this role in Jerusalem and arranged training for folks in both Hebrew and Arabic.<br /><br />Citatus: We do send people to posts using their language skills. People coming in with a critical needs language can get a boost in their oral assessment score if they test in that language. but the trade-off is that they have to serve in a country using that language during one of their first two tours. And there are significant financial incentives to return to countries that use those languages.<br /><br />D Biggs: You often won't get additional training for your second tour, but once you get tenure, you can get additional training. So I got language before my first post and have done a few years in DC since then. Now I am bidding to go back out, and I will get language again. People do roughly specialize in a region, but you don't want to overspecialize in (or over sympathize with) because we do represent the US. The idea is that if you stay too long in a country, you are not as in touch with US interests.Diggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-14456093511176069642009-09-23T12:50:25.646-04:002009-09-23T12:50:25.646-04:00I'm just now going through the FSOT procedure ...I'm just now going through the FSOT procedure (I'll be going to the next round of OA in a few months), so I don't have the experience or on-the-ground understanding of an FSO yet, but it strikes me that Generalists are trained for their first post - language and all - but then don't seem to have much chance after that (that I can tell) to prepare for the next. This seems from my PoV that a new Officer will be trained for, say, Russian, but then her second post will be in Chile with less training. Would it make more sense to keep Officers in regions where their current training will be useful (ad enhanced)? That would lead to generalist becoming very specialized in particular regions, but would that be a bad thing? I ask out of ignorance, mind you. But the way Officers are moved entirely around the world every 2-3 years seems to get in the way of training for posts.D Biggsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-22578113421905299792009-09-23T12:06:34.325-04:002009-09-23T12:06:34.325-04:00> we are generalists. We go all over.
Why? Wh...> we are generalists. We go all over. <br /><br />Why? Why does that have to be the rule?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-16762051579176704982009-09-23T11:34:17.591-04:002009-09-23T11:34:17.591-04:00Great article. I have an idea. How about sending...Great article. I have an idea. How about sending people that already have language skills to Posts where their language is needed?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-1951485305867339472009-09-23T10:21:41.709-04:002009-09-23T10:21:41.709-04:00This is an interesting post, and one that brings u...This is an interesting post, and one that brings up something I was wondering about the foreign service: Is there opportunity/time for formal language training once at post?Abbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01265157709852131277noreply@blogger.com