QUARTERLY REPORT ON LANGUAGE PROGRAM- - THIRD QUARTER, CALENDAR YEAR 1966

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-06202A000100050002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 6, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: September 30, 1966
• Content Type: MF

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30 September 1966
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Training
SUBJECT . Quarterly Report on Language Program--
Third Quarter, Calendar Year 1966
The following report covers the period from 1 July
through 23 September 1966. It describes action taken
during the current quarter and includes statistics
cumulating since the inception of the Agency Language
Policy on 1 February 1966.
I. Testing
Language proficiency testing continued during the
third quarter on a slightly diminished basis for regular
and intensive testing, a result largely of the usual
summer lull in testing activity. However, testing of
EOD's rose sharply due to the increased influx of new
employees during the summer months.
Since the first of the year LTS has conducted a
total of 1264 oral proficiency tests and 1126 reading
or reading and writing tests. This represents almost
as large a testing effort as that achieved during the
peak of the Language Awards Program testing drive in
1958 to 1961. The above figures include all categories
of testing, i.e., the intensive testing drive, testing
of EOD's, overseas returnees, etc.
From the start of the intensive testing program
we have been working with the figure of 4069 untested
foreign language proficiency claims as the number of
claims to be disposed of by the end of 1966. This
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original backlog of 4069 claims was arrived at by a
hand count of over 14,000 entries from the 31 December
1965 machine run. From the best hand counted figures
available to us 3110 of these claims had been disposed
of as of 23 September 1966. Total claims remaining to
be disposed of out of the original backlog are 959.
The following figures elaborate somewhat on our
intensive testing drive:
Original backlog (8 February 1966) :
4069
Total tested through 23 September 1966:
727
Total disclaimed through 23 September 1966:
2074
Resigned, retired, gone overseas or
otherwise unavailable:
309
Total disposed of as of 23 September 1966:
3110
Total claims remaining to be disposed of:
959
During the past quarter the number of untested
claims to be disposed of has been reduced from 1855
on 22 June 1966 to the current 959.
These latest figures represent a refinement of
previously submitted testing statistics, since the
latter also included figures not belonging in the
original backlog. Although we still use the original
backlog of 4069 as the best available figure to work
from, the number of discrepancies in untested claims
keeps growing with the continuing input into the
current machine run of new EOD's, returnees from
overseas, etc. We will not have completely accurate
figures on all phases of the testing situation until
we are able to obtain a special machine run which will
sort out all of the disparate elements mentioned above.
We expect to have this machine run available in November.
According to the best available figures the
intensive testing program is now better than 75%
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completed and should be completed by the target date.
From previous experience we estimate that of the 959
remaining claims at least two-thirds will disclaim,
leaving LTS with an estimated testing load of 275-325
tests remaining to be conducted out of the original
backlog. Included among those remaining to be tested
is a hard-core group of employees who have shown
themselves to be reluctant to come in for testing.
Every effort is being made to spur the "reluctants"
to help us complete our task.
II. Language Requirements
a. Position Requirements
The initial target date of 30 June 1966
for submission of position requirements by the
components was extended to 15 July and the total
package was not available until 20 August.
Our overall impression is that the components
have done a good job in this first attempt at
stating position requirements. In many instances
the data submitted will have to be checked out
with the components concerned for additional
data on clarification.
As soon as we have finished processing and
confirming the position requirements they will
be turned over to the Office of Personnel for a
study on the total number of qualified individuals
needed to maintain the staffing patterns indicated
in the requirements.
A preliminary analysis of the proficiency
requirements submitted indicates that the Agency
as a whole recorded 2564 position requirements
in 56 different languages. Of this total 2079
were for Spoken language proficiencies and 485
for Reading only. Four languages, i.e., French,
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German, Spanish, and Portuguese accounted for
1392 positions, or 54.3% of the total. If
Russian is added to the other four, then the
five languages account for 68.4% of the total
requirements.
The following is a breakdown by components
of the position data as submitted:
Speaking or Speaking-Reading
Reading Only
DDP
1598
159
DDI
171
326
DDS
310*
0
DDS&T
0**
0
Total
2079
485
DDI Requirements are all Headquarters, DDS
requirements are all for Field (except OTR). DDP
requirements are 242 at Headquarters, 1515 in the
Field.
b. Training Requirements
With minor exceptions the submissions on
training requirements have been disappointing,
since they do not make possible in their present
form any orderly prediction of classes which
will be required. The Language Development
Committee has agreed that estimates of Training
Requirements should be submitted twice each year
for the succeeding six months. We hope to obtain
better results on the next trial, based on our
experience the first time around.
*This number contains 201 requirements at the Slight
level, which equates with Courtesy Level required of
all officers overseas.
**DDS&T reported a very small number of language
proficiencies which were desirable, but not stated
as requirements.
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III. Issuance of Directives
The Language Development Committee is working
on a draft of Regulation = Work on the Regulation
will continue to occupy most of the Committee's time
during the next few meetings, now held about every
two weeks.
IV. Buildup of LTS Capabilities
For the first time we have been able to fill
the staff T/O of the Language School, with the addition
of two new linguists to the staff, one during July and
the other in August. Both of these men are contributing
substantially to our program at this time.
We are also continuing our buildup of instructor
personnel, particularly,WAE instructors, in anticipation
of an increase in full-time students later in FY 1967
and particularly in FY 1968.
During this quarter two of our part-time instructors
in French and Italian, were converted to full-time
contract instructors. We have also recruited an additional
7 WAE instructors, 2 each in Portuguese and Vietnamese
and one each in Arabic, Greek and Spanish.
V. Language Training
After the usual summer decline in enrollments
we now have over 200 students in daytime language
training at Headquarters, with an additional 42
students studying Spanish in the recently organized
extension program at JMWAVE. More than 25% of our
students are in full-time training. We are expecting
a relatively small number of CT's from the July class
for full-time training late this month. One major
development during this quarter has been the substantial
upsurge in Vietnamese training which we have experienced.,.
We currently have 25 students in full-time training in
Vietnamese. Fifteen of these students are in eight-
week Vietnamese orientation courses; the remaining
ten are in a 26-week sequence designed to produce
Intermediate proficiency.
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The new Courtesy-level Language Program (CLP)
began on 19 September 1966 with 1 class in French
consisting of 6 students. Of the six students in
the class 2 could be considered legitimate, i.e.,
they were enrolled in-the class to satisfy the Agency
Courtesy Level Policy.
We anticipate more out-of-hours classes in
the second semester of the CLP, scheduled for mid-
February 1967.
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Development Committee
Chairman, Land _iage
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