Foreign Language Needs in the U.S. Government

The federal government has a great number of designated positions that require foreign language competence. The scope of these positions is quite broad and encompasses such diverse fields as intelligence collection, treaty and commercial negotiations, and individual survival skills. The language-competence levels required by these positions are just as varied, ranging from survival to professional skill levels. Many of these needs go unfilled. The government's foreign language jobs can be divided into two categories. The larger includes jobs where the foreign language skill is an adjunct to a professional skill or preparation. In the smaller, the foreign language ability is the critical skill. The number of federal agencies with foreign language requirements is great; the needs of the government's major foreign language employers are described briefly. Due to the significantly changing world and our growing economic interdependence, linguistic needs are growing tremendously. To meet these needs the education system would have to lengthen the instructional sequences and increase tenfold the number of languages taught. Foreign language instruction should move to a proficiency-based system at all levels. Better communication between the educational community and government agencies is also needed.