Last Friday marked a date I’d circled on the calendar during September’s first week of Burmese class: November 1st, our initial Burmese speaking and reading progress evaluation.
Language-designated positions
FSOs study languages at FSI to prepare for overseas language-designated positions (LDPs). LDPs have a #/# score attached. Each number indicates the level a student must reach in speaking and reading, respectively, by the end of the course.
LDP scores generally reflect the difficulty of the language, and indicate the length of the training based on the seniority of the position:
-When bidding on LDPs with more difficult languages, bidders may notice lower-than average required scores or even jobs with a 0/0 designation (an English-speaking post, or simply no language training required). For example, some jobs in Mandarin or Arabic might be 2/1 or even 0/0.
-A manager in the same language class as a first-tour officer headed to the same post often needs a 3/3 score, while the more junior officer only needs a 2/2.
-The training length is directly correlated with the required score: the higher the score needed, the longer the training duration.
We all review required language scores when bidding on positions as one of many considerations around onward tour timing and our own goals.
When I bid on Rangoon in June 2023, the required language score for my job was listed as 3/2. Only needing a 2 in reading wasn’t surprising to me because the Burmese script is so difficult. However, when I received my handshake on the position in July 2023, I was a little surprised to see the score instead listed as 3/3. I keep forgetting to clarify which score accurately reflects the requirement, but will eventually do so.
The role of evaluations
Why do students need evaluations? It’s part of measuring success – of FSOs and language training programs. Sometimes evaluations are meant to gauge how fluently you speak a language you already knew pre-employment, so you can get the appropriate training top-up.
When I studied Russian at FSI (2014-2015) I needed to achieve a 2/2; when I studied Spanish (2019-2020) I was required to get a 3/3. (You can read about how those final evaluations turned out at the links.)
The end-of training evaluation (usually referred to as the end-of-training test, or EOT) happens during the last week of an FSI language training course.
The EOT is a tool to determine not only whether an FSO is ready to go to post and meet their job requirements, but also a metric by which the Department assesses the effectiveness — and sometimes recalibrates the timing and curriculum — of its language training.
Using language training well is being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. The investment in FSOs (including housing for those in between overseas tours) is significant.
But a formal EOT is not our only evaluation. Throughout language training, students also undergo periodic informal evaluations to check whether we’re learning the course material. As a student, it’s better to course-correct learning as you go than to crash and burn at an EOT.
If an FSO doesn’t pass their EOT, they will have to either get a language waiver to go to post without the required score, or obtain an extension of training. Extending training often screws up a tight PCS timeline. Most language students depart FSI for post within a week or two of passing their EOT. Timelines are worked out up to a year in advance; not arriving to one’s new job on time may gap a position at post. Your predecessor will likely need to depart for their own onward as planned.
Although not passing an EOT might scare students or make them feel ashamed, there aren’t serious “consequences.” The learning environment is there to help you be successful. We all come to training with busy lives and our own problems that can make adult language learning more difficult.
Week nine evaluation
Despite informal evaluations having even less weight than an EOT, I’ve always found them to be a little nerve-wracking. Call it the power of suggestion; I’m not afraid to sit in a classroom and read, or talk in a structured way with my instructors. We do it in class all day, every day.
But something about the additional formality of being scheduled, being recorded, and being assessed as “doing well” or “getting a little behind” triggers my Doing a Whole Lot To Succeed behavior.
Although I feel no competitive urges towards my classmates and have little ego on a day-to-day basis about how I’m doing in class, in the larger scheme of things, I take my work seriously. I want to perform well. I care about seeming competent and smart, if I’m honest, even if it feels lame to type it. I play along with all of these expectations and am harder on myself than any evaluation could be. If the instructors say they want to see whether I’m learning the material they’re teaching, of course I’m keen to demonstrate that I am.
There was a 4.5-hour gap between my one-hour reading and one-hour speaking progress evaluations on Friday. My three fellow classmates and I all read silently together in one location for the first portion.
The reading evaluation had been harder than I’d anticipated, but I understood this was because our instructors were trying to find our “ceiling.” When I first started looking at the page, I felt confident because I’ve generally been good at reading in class. But I immediately encountered so many things I didn’t recognize, it’s like my Burmese “eyes” for decoding script briefly turned off and I felt a moment of panic. When that happens, you’re apt to glaze over and miss things you know. But character by character, phrase by phrase, and line by line, I began to work it out.
The following speaking portions would be individual. I’d volunteered to go last, so my classmates could test earlier and take off for the weekend. I didn’t mind the extra quiet brain time to prepare; I had missed two days of class in the preceding week due to illness. Staying until 3pm hardly felt “late” anyway.
We didn’t have class on evaluation day because both our teachers administered the testing. So I found a quiet empty room on campus and reviewed all my material. I rehearsed both mentally and out loud how I would talk about certain subjects, or ask questions to elicit information.
The speaking portion felt a bit like an out-of-body experience. According to my Oura ring, my heart rate was elevated and my physiological stress level higher for almost five hours before the test than normal.
On the one hand, I wish all the reframing I do to not get nervous about these evaluations worked better. On the other hand, I usually find ways to successfully mitigate my worries by just preparing the best I can, staying focused during the evaluation itself, and taking whatever results I get in stride. It all truly turns out OK. And I’ve never freaked out and bolted yet, even if I secretly wanted to.
Afterwards, I got overall positive feedback, as well as helpful and constructive advice on how to best move forward.
At this point, concerns of whether I will be able to reach 3/2 or 3/3 by week 44 seen very far away. For now, I will keep plugging away where I am and trust that eventually, it will all work out. I’m not going to work harder if I know I need a 3, or slack off if I “only” need a 2. I need to understand everything just to keep up from day to day in class, and will keep my fingers crossed I can build upon it fast enough.
Collecting Postcards 
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