GAO report finds US State Department language skills dangerously lacking

[Francis Hult]

Via lgpolicy...
 
Exclusive: GAO report finds State Department language skills dangerously lacking

Tue, 09/22/2009 - 12:31pm

 About a third of Foreign Service officers in jobs that require
language skills don't have the proficiency required to do their jobs,
hurting America's ability to advocate its interests around the world,
according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. The
report, which has not yet been released, but was obtained by The
Cable, spells out the consequences of having a Foreign Service that in
many cases can't communicate with local officials or populations,
relies too heavily on local staff for critical functions, and can't
respond to bad press when it appears in foreign languages.Substandard
skills were found in people holding 31 percent of the approximately
3,600 jobs that require a certain level of language proficiency, known
as language-designated positions, up from 29 percent in 2005. In
critically important regions such as the Near East and South and
Central Asia, that number rises to 40 percent.

Full story:
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/09/22/exclusive_gao_report_finds_state_department_language_skills_dangerously_lacking


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