US embassy cable - 00STATE228733

UNCLAS STATE 228733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOLLOWING DIR FSINFATC 1966 DTD 21 NOV, SENT ACTION SECSTATE 
RUCNWO/MSMC WATCH OFFICE BEING REPEATED FOR YOUR INFO. 
QTE: 
 
UNCLAS  FSINFATC 001966 
 
SIPDIS 
 
S/S-O PLEASE REPEAT TO ALDAC AND SEP  POSTS 
 
MCO REPEAT AS ALDAC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AFSI, AMGT, KFLO 
SUBJECT: FSI/UMUC SPRING SEMESTER SPANISH ONLINE 
COURSE 
 
1.   SUMMARY:  AS PART OF THE DEPARTMENT'S POST LANGUAGE 
PROGRAM INITIATIVE, THE SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE STUDIES AT THE 
FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE 
FOLLOWING COURSE OFFERINGS ONLINE VIA THE WORLD WIDE WEB: 
ELEMENTARY SPANISH I, ELEMENTARY SPANISH II, AND 
INTERMEDIATE SPANISH.  THESE COURSES ARE OFFERED THROUGH 
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (UMUC). 
ENROLLMENT IS CURRENTLY LIMITED TO STATE EMPLOYEES, 
ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS, SPECIALISTS AND MARINE SECURITY 
GUARDS SERVING AT EMBASSIES WHO MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS 
AS STATED IN THE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS.  INTERESTED 
APPLICANTS SHOULD NOTE THAT STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE 
COMPUTER LITERATE AND TO BE COMFORTABLE NAVIGATING THE ON- 
LINE ENVIRONMENT.  STUDENTS WILL DEDICATE A MINIMUM OF 12- 
15 HOURS PER WEEK TO COURSEWORK.  FSI WILL COVER THE 
COSTS OF THE PROGRAM FOR ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS.  THE 
APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THIS PROGRAM IS 
JANUARY 8, 2001. 
 
END SUMMARY 
 
2.   FSI REQUESTS THAT POSTS AND BUREAUS NOMINATE ASAP 
INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED AND CAN COMMIT TO 
FULL PARTICIPATION AND COMPLETION OF COURSE.  STUDENTS 
ARE EXPECTED TO DEDICATE A MINIMUM OF 12-15 HOURS PER 
WEEK TO COURSEWORK.  ONLY THOSE WHO CAN COMMIT TO FULL 
PARTICIPATION FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE COURSE 
SHOULD APPLY.  PARTICIPANTS WILL COMPLETE A TRAINING 
AGREEMENT AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION AND MAY BE REQUIRED 
TO REIMBURSE THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE IF THE COURSE IS NOT 
COMPLETED. THIS IS A STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR EXTERNAL 
TRAINING SPONSORED BY FSI. 
 
3.   PARTICIPANTS WILL TAKE AN FSI FIELD PROFICIENCY TEST 
FOR SPEAKING AND READING AT THE END OF THE CLASS TO GAUGE 
THE OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COURSE. THE TESTS WILL 
BE SCHEDULED AS SOON AFTER THE COURSE ENDS AS POSSIBLE. 
THE SCORE WILL NOT, HOWEVER, BECOME A PART OF THE 
STUDENT'S PERSONNEL RECORD UNLESS THE STUDENT WISHES. 
RECENT SCORES HAVE RANGED FROM 0/0& TO 1/2 IN SPANISH 101 
AND UP TO 2/2 IN SPANISH 102.  IN ADDITION, STUDENTS MUST 
REGISTER TO TAKE THE UMUC FINAL EXAM FOR THEIR COURSE. 
INFORMATION REGARDING THE FINAL EXAM IS AVAILABLE ON THE 
COURSE WEBSITE.  FSI ASKS THAT STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN 
THIS PROGRAM AGREE TO ALLOW UMUC TO RELEASE THEIR COURSE 
AND EXAM GRADES TO FSI. 
 
4.   SUMMARY COURSE DESCRIPTION: IN AN ON-LINE COURSE, 
STUDENTS ARE LINKED TO FACULTY AND COURSEMATES VIA THE 
INTERNET.  AN INSTRUCTOR MENTORS ALL STUDENTS 
PARTICIPATING IN THE COURSE. THE INSTRUCTOR PROVIDES 
GUIDANCE AND FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENTS, INCLUDING 
PARTICIPATION IN ON-LINE CHATS.  THE INSTRUCTOR LEADS 
DISCUSSIONS, RESPONDS TO STUDENTS' INQUIRIES, AND PLACES 
REVIEWED ASSIGNMENTS IN INDIVIDUAL ON-LINE FOLDERS. 
 
5.   STUDENTS USE TEXTBOOKS, THE VIDEO COURSE "DESTINOS," 
AN ON-LINE SYLLABUS, AND OTHER COURSE MATERIALS TO 
COMPLETE THE COURSE. STUDENTS MAY ASK QUESTIONS IN 
WRITING, E-MAIL THE POST LANGUAGE PROGRAM OFFICE, OFFER 
RESPONSES, PARTICIPATE IN LANGUAGE CHATS, AND COMMUNICATE 
ONE-ON-ONE WITH FACULTY AND OTHER STUDENTS ON-LINE IN A 
BULLETIN BOARD FORMAT.  STUDENTS PARTICIPATE WITH 
FACULTY, CALLING OR CHATTING WITH THEM DURING ASSIGNED 
OFFICE HOURS. THEY CAN ALSO CORRESPOND WITH THEIR 
COURSEMATES AT ANY TIME. AFTER REGISTERING, STUDENTS HAVE 
ACCESS TO A DETAILED SYLLABUS, INFORMATION ON THE COURSE 
STRUCTURE AND TECHNICAL HELP. 
 
6.   UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE 
  DESCRIPTION 
OF COURSES: 
 
-SPAN 101 (4) 
ELEMENTARY SPANISH 1 (TARGETED FOR STUDENTS WITH FEWER 
THAN TWO YEARS OF SPANISH), INTRODUCTION TO THE FUNCTIONS 
AND STRUCTURES OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, WITH EMPHASIS ON 
THE FOUR SKILLS OF LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND 
WRITING. 
 
-ELEMENTARY SPANISH II (4) 
PREREQUISITE:  SPANISH 101 OR EQUIVALENT. FURTHER STUDY 
OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE FOUR SKILLS 
OF LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING. 
SPANISH 201 
 
-INTERMEDIATE SPANISH (4) 
PREREQUISITE: SPANISH 102 OR EQUIVALENT. CONTINUED 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURES OF THE 
SPANISH LANGUAGE, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE FOUR SKILLS OF 
 
LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING. 
 
-SPANISH 201 STUDENTS MAY BE ASKED TO HAVE A BRIEF 
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION IN SPANISH WITH AN FSI TESTER TO 
VERIFY PLACEMENT ACCURACY. 
 
7.   THE ONLINE NATURE OF THESE COURSES ENTAILS CERTAIN 
TECHNICAL PREREQUISITES, PARTICULARLY REGARDING INTERNET 
CONNECTION SPEEDS.  TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE ON-LINE WEB 
COURSES, STUDENTS SHOULD MAKE SURE THEY HAVE ACCESS TO 
THE FOLLOWING: 
 
A PENTIUM II (OR EQUIVALENT) COMPUTER WITH A SOUND CARD 
AND MICROPHONE, 
A RELIABLE, HIGH-SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION (56K BPS MODEM 
IS THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM; T1, T3, DSL, CABLE MODEM 
PREFERRED),  AN ACTIVE EMAIL ACCOUNT. 
 
STUDENTS WILL NEED TO PURCHASE OR DOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING 
SOFTWARE (INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING THEM ARE AVAILABLE 
ON THE COURSE WEBSITE): 
NETSCAPE 4.0 (OR EQUIVALENT) OR BETTER 
YAHOO MESSENGER 
MICROSOFT NETMEETING 
REALPLAYER 
 
8.   REQUIRED COMPUTER SKILLS: STUDENTS MUST HAVE A SOLID 
GROUNDING IN COMPUTER AND INTERNET SKILLS TO COMPLETE 
THESE COURSES.  PERSONNEL WITH LITTLE PREVIOUS EXPOSURE 
TO THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF ACTIVITIES ARE STRONGLY 
ENCOURAGED TO ACQUIRE THEM BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR THESE 
COURSES. 
 
AMONG OTHER THINGS, STUDENTS MUST BE COMFORTABLE 
NAVIGATING AND SEARCHING THE INTERNET AND BOOKMARKING 
WEBSITES, 
DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING PROGRAMS, 
USING ADVANCED FEATURES OF AN EMAIL PROGRAM, SUCH AS 
ATTACHING FILES TO EMAIL MESSAGES, 
PARTICIPATING IN ONLINE CHATROOMS (PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF 
TIME ZONE DIFFERENCES AS CHATROOMS ARE BASED ON 
SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION), 
SAVING AND RETRIEVING FILES. 
 
9.   AN INTRODUCTION TO THE UMUC ONLINE COURSE FRAMEWORK 
IS AVAILABLE ON THE ONLINE EDUCATION PAGE OF THE UMUC 
HOMEPAGE.  STUDENTS ARE URGED TO TAKE THIS "WEBTYCHO 
ONLINE TEST DRIVE."  CONTACT INFORMATION FOR A HELP DESK 
IS ALSO AVAILABLE. 
 
10.  COURSE MATERIALS: FSI WILL POUCH ALL NECESSARY 
COURSE MATERIALS (BOOKS, CD-ROM AND VIDEOS) TO REGISTERED 
PARTICIPANTS.  THEREFORE, INTERESTED PARTICIPANTS ARE 
URGED TO APPLY AND REGISTER EARLY IN ORDER TO RECEIVE 
THEIR MATERIALS ON TIME.  STUDENTS MAY KEEP THE BOOKS AND 
CD-ROM.  HOWEVER, UNLESS STUDENTS ENROLL IN A SUBSEQUENT 
COURSE, THEY MUST RETURN THE VIDEOTAPES TO FSI VIA POUCH 
UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM. 
 
APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION: 
THE UMUC COURSES ARE COLLEGE COURSES AND CAN PROVIDE 
CREDIT TOWARD A COLLEGE DEGREE OR TOWARD AN EVENTUAL 
CERTIFICATE IN SPANISH.  THEREFORE, IN ORDER TO REGISTER 
FOR THE COURSES, YOU MUST FIRST BE ADMITTED TO THE 
UNIVERSITY. ADMISSION IS QUICK, SIMPLE, AND NON- 
COMPETITIVE. 
 
THE APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THIS 
PROGRAM IS JANUARY 8, 2001.  BY THIS TIME STUDENTS MUST 
HAVE INFORMED FSI OF THEIR INTENT TO ENROLL, APPLIED FOR 
ADMISSION TO UMUC AND REGISTERED FOR THEIR SPANISH 
COURSE.  CLASSES BEGIN ON JANUARY 27 AND END ON MAY 14. 
 
BEFORE COMMENCING THE APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION 
PROCESS AT UMUC, PLEASE INFORM FSI OF YOUR INTENTION TO 
ENROLL.  THIS WILL GUARANTEE OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE 
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND MATERIALS AND ENSURE A GOOD LINE OF 
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN UMUC, FSI AND THE STUDENT. 
APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION IS DONE ONLINE AT THE UMUC 
WEBSITE, WWW.UMUC.EDU.  FROM THE MAINPAGE, THE FOLLOWING 
STEPS WILL GUIDE YOU TO THE APPLICATION: 
CLICK ON ONLINE EDUCATION, THEN CLICK ON ADMISSIONS (LEFT 
SIDEBAR).  NEXT CLICK ON UNDERGRADUATE AND THEN CLICK ON 
UNDERGRADUATE APPLICATION.  ON THE NEXT PAGE, INDICATE 
WHETHER YOU ARE A U.S. CITIZEN OR NOT AND AN APPLICATION 
FORM WILL OPEN IN YOUR BROWSER.  PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM 
IN ITS ENTIRETY. 
 
NOTE: FSI WILL COVER THE APPLICATION FEE AND TUITION.  AT 
THIS TIME THERE IS NO METHOD OF INDICATING YOUR 
AFFILIATION WITH FSI ON THE APPLICATION.  FOR THE 
"ADMISSION FEE" AND "REGISTRATION PAYMENT INFORMATION" 
SECTIONS OF THE APPLICATION, INDICATE "CHECK OR MONEY 
ORDER IS IN THE MAIL," BUT DO NOT SEND A CHECK TO UMUC. 
 
ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED YOUR APPLICATION TO 
UMUC, YOU MUST STILL REGISTER FOR THE CORRECT COURSE.  TO 
REGISTER, FILL OUT THE REQUIRED INFORMATION IN THE 
"COURSE SELECTION" SECTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE 
APPLICATION PAGE. 
 
NOTE: FSI RECEIVES A SUBSTANTIAL DISCOUNT FROM UMUC FOR 
MILITARY PERSONNEL.  IMMEDIATELY AFTER APPLYING TO UMUC, 
MARINE SECURITY GUARDS MUST FAX A COPY OF THEIR MILITARY 
ID (FRONT AND BACK; PLEASE MAKE SURE IT IS READABLE) TO 
FSI, ATTN: CHRIS CONNELL (703) 302-6738. 
 
ONCE ADMITTED, YOU ARE A UMUC STUDENT.  IF YOU ARE 
CONTINUING IN THE UMUC SPANISH PROGRAM, YOU DO NOT HAVE 
TO BE ADMITTED AGAIN.  HOWEVER, YOU MUST STILL REGISTER 
ONLINE FOR YOUR COURSE. 
 
11.   PLEASE ADDRESS RESPONSES TO DIR FSINFATC AND SLUG 
FOR SLS CHRISTOPHER CONNELL, OR REPLY BY EMAIL TO 
CONNELLCE#STATE.GOV OR BY DEPARTMENT OF STATE OPENNET TO 
CHRISTOPHER E. CONNELL. UNQTE: MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
TALBOTT