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Project Details:
Principal Investigators on this project:
Doughty, Cathy
Pathways to Success: NSA and State Foreign Language Professionals
Becoming a Level 4 FLP: How did they get there?
Project Objective: To identify factors contributing to the attainment, maintenance, and effective use of foreign language skills by very high functioning (ILR Level 4) foreign language professionals (FLPs).
Project Definition: High functioning FLPs have attained an ILR Level 4 proficiency score in one or more skills (listening, speaking, reading) in a foreign language. These FLPs are able to
Project Importance:
- Achieving high-level foreign language skills as an adult learner is a daunting challenge. With the USG's growing need for highly proficient FLPs, it is important to understand how to identify and develop potential for success in effective and efficient ways. We expect to identify:
- factors that contribute to high-level FLP's success
- a variety of pathways to success for adult foreign language learners
- personal strategies FLPs use to achieve high-level language performance while on the job
- Through this research CASL aims to:
- identify effective methods for selecting and training of FLPs to facilitate a higher level of job performance
- improve foreign language pedagogy to address the FLPs' language needs on the job
Project Background: While it is certainly evident that U.S. foreign language capacity is not sufficient to meet current needs, there are a number of highly qualified and talented foreign language professionals throughout the U.S. Government. CASL is currently documenting and investigating these remarkable language learning success stories.
Project Products:
- Compendium of Case Studies: Pathways to Success: NSA and State Foreign Language Professionals
- FSI Interview and Survey Findings
- NSA Interview and Survey Findings
Project Reports:
Project Activities:
CASL researchers are:
- interviewing language professionals at NSA and State Department
- conducting surveys of NSA's FLP job-related foreign language abilities
In order to:
- gather data on factors and pathways potentially leading to successful attainment of high-level language ability
- better understand the FLPs' language needs, strengths and weaknesses on the job
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