FSI language ratings

[Karla Huebner]

Sorry, I initially sent this only to Dr. Goering...

This is wandering a bit off topic, but I recall that some time ago this 
list had some discussion of the ratings, with links to documents about it 
all. I found it quite interesting, and was intrigued that the ratings are 
pretty much for how easy it is to attain an initial level of competency, 
rather than how easy it is to become really fluent and near-native. Does 
anyone know if there is research that gives some idea of the relative 
difficulty in the more advanced stages of language learning? Or are most 
languages just difficult to "master" once the learner is beyond the basics?

Karla Huebner
University of Pittsburgh

At 11:35 PM 10/12/2005, you wrote:
>Does anyone have a copy of the Foreign Service Institute language ratings 
>from the 1970's?  I seem to remember that along with the four groups 
>(Russian is group 3) there was a table giving approximate numbers of 
>contact hours to attain a certain level of proficiency in each group.  On 
>the Internet I have found one version that appears on many commercial 
>sites, but which lumps groups 2-4 together.
>I would be grateful for replies to me at lgoering at carleton.edu or by snail 
>mail to the below address.
>
>Spasibo!
>
>--
>**************************
>Laura Goering
>Professor of Russian
>Chair, Dept. of German and Russian
>Carleton College
>Northfield, MN 55057
>lgoering at carleton.edu
>
>Office: (507) 646-4125
>Dept. office: (507) 646-4252
>Fax: (507) 646-5942
>Home: (507) 663-6142

>
>Alice Omaggio Hadley's "Teaching Language in Context" gives a couple of
>tables in Part One.
>
>--C.
>
>
>---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
>From:         Laura Goering <lgoering at CARLETON.EDU>
>Reply-To:     lgoering at carleton.edu
>Date:          Wed, 12 Oct 2005 16:35:15 -0500
>
> >Does anyone have a copy of the Foreign Service Institute language
> >ratings from the 1970's?  I seem to remember that along with the four
> >groups (Russian is group 3) there was a table giving approximate numbers
> >of contact hours to attain a certain level of proficiency in each
> >group.  On the Internet I have found one version that appears on many
> >commercial sites, but which lumps groups 2-4 together.
>
>---
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