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RUEHFSI/DIR FSINFATC
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE

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