EXTENDING CHINESE MANDARIN (CM) TRAINING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000415

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y//ADDED DIR FSINFATC//

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: APER AMGT AFSI CM TW
SUBJECT: EXTENDING CHINESE MANDARIN (CM) TRAINING
CORRECTED COPY

Refs: A. STATE 11775

BEIJING 00000415 001.4 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The First and Second Tour (FAST) Committee in
Beijing appreciates the expanded Chinese Mandarin (CM) language
training opportunities as announced by the Director General reftel.
To further expand the Department's corps of Chinese speakers and
strengthen existing competencies, the FAST Committee recommends an
extension of the new training program, with a few modifications, for
those who came into the Foreign Service with Chinese language
skills. Our proposal would leverage the skills of incoming officers
to build a pool of 4/4 or better Chinese language speakers at the
FS-03 and FS-02 levels. This is critical to expanding long-term
professional needs in China. Our specific language training
proposal in paragraph four envisions a program offering two year
continued individualized training opportunities in China. END
SUMMARY.


2. (U) The Beijing FAST Committee appreciates the new Chinese
language training opportunities as outlined reftel. The Director
General and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) have recognized the
importance of ensuring that entry level officers obtain general
professional proficiency in Mandarin early in their careers. This
new program is a very effective way of expanding the Department's
corps of Chinese speakers. Improved Chinese language skills will be
vital in advancing our national interests in what President Obama
has called "the most important" bilateral relationship in the world.



3. (U) There is another group of officers whose language skills the
Department should build on: those who come into the Foreign Service
with a strong base in Chinese language but who with additional
training could reach 4/4 or higher. Due to the success of programs
such as the Critical Needs Language (CNL) program and National
Security Education Program (NSEP) as well as an expanded focus of
U.S. colleges and universities on Mandarin language instruction, the
Department has hired an increasing number of 2/2 or 3/3 proficiency
level CM speakers. Many have not taken the Department's 44- or
88-week Chinese training courses.


4. (U) We propose that the Department provide officers who enter the
Foreign Service with 2/2 or 3/3 Chinese skills the same two-year,
mid-level language training option currently provided to officers
who are starting from 0/0. Offering this training would build
officer's high-level Chinese language skills much earlier in their
careers than would be the case under the current system.
Specifically, that would mean that Chinese-speaking tenured FS-04
and FS-03 officers who bid on Chinese language-designated positions
but who have not gone through the full course of FSI Chinese
language training previously would be given the option to take two
years of Chinese training:

Year one: 12 months of "beyond three" Mandarin study at a field
school (CET in Beijing or CLASS/AIT);

Year two: 12 months of full-time, customized, individual training in
China while assigned to a Chinese language post under the direction
of the Post Language Coordinator in Taipei or Beijing.
Opportunities for year two include but are not limited to graduate
study coursework in Chinese at leading Chinese universities, think
tank research in Chinese institutions, work/study programs, dialect
practicum, or homestays in China.


5. (U) This training opportunity would encourage continued
long-term, high-level language and cultural learning, increase the
pool of 4/4 and above Chinese speakers at the FS-03 and FS-02
levels, and strengthen the appeal of the Foreign Service as a career
for people with existing Chinese language skills--all by providing
training that would routinely be assigned to bring non-Chinese
speakers to the 3/3 level. Moreover, this training opportunity
would help facilitate the transition from private sector to the
Foreign Service, bridge the gap between traditional and simplified
character backgrounds, and equalize disparate reading/speaking
abilities. It is expected that officers who participate in the
above-envisioned two year language training program would follow
training with a full-length tour onward assignment in greater
China.


6. (U) Providing two years of language field study (vice one year at
NFATC and one year in the field for those training to the 3/3 level)
for selected officers would involve additional costs. However, the
pool of officers who already have 2/2 or 3/3 Chinese and want to
spend an additional two years in Chinese language training is not
large. Extending the opportunity to two officers per year would
likely satisfy the demand, and would require a modest amount of

BEIJING 00000415 002.4 OF 002


additional EAP Bureau resources to cover the student's post-funded
allowances and housing.


7. (U) Post also understands that the second year language training
extension is a new concept and we would have to deal carefully with
a variety of security, budget, and logistical problems. Post is
confident, however, that with the Department's support, we can work
within constraints to craft effective training programs to benefit
core U.S. interests and long-term professional needs in China.


8. (U) This cable has been coordinated and cleared with Beijing's
language training center.

HUNTSMAN