US embassy cable - 05AMMAN8198

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 008198 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NFATC FOR SLS/CTT - ILDIKO WATKINS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AFSI, AMGT, KFLO, JO 
SUBJECT:  EMBASSY AMMAN REQUEST FOR POST LANGUAGE PROGRAM 
DIRECT FUNDING INITIATIVE 
 
REF: FSINFATC 2356 
 
1. EMBASSY AMMAN WELCOMES THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT A 
PROPOSAL FOR THE FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE'S DIRECT FUNDING 
INITIATIVE (DFI).  POST HAS REALIZED IMPORTANT AND TANGIBLE 
BENEFITS FROM DFI FUNDING IN PREVIOUS YEARS.  AT THIS HIGH 
THREAT POST, DOZENS OF EMPLOYEES AND EFM'S SUPPORT CRITICAL 
U.S. GOALS SUCH AS THE EMERGENCE OF A FREE, STABLE, AND 
PROSPEROUS IRAQ, THE EXPANSION OF DEMOCRACY AND REFORM 
THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM, 
AND DFI HAS MADE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THEIR MORALE AND QUALITY 
OF LIFE AS THEY GO ABOUT THESE MISSIONS.  DFI HAS EXPANDED 
THE POST LANGUAGE PROGRAM (PLP) TO MANY WHO COULD NOT HAVE 
PARTICIPATED OTHERWISE.  PARTICIPANTS EMPLOYED AT THE 
MISSION ARE UNANIMOUS IN EXPRESSING THAT THE PLP HAS 
ENHANCED THEIR WORK PRODUCT AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONS WITH 
KEY POST CONTACTS.  EFM PARTICIPANTS NOT WORKING AT POST 
AGREE THAT THE PLP HAS GREATLY INCREASED THEIR ABILITY AND 
WILLINGNESS TO INTERACT WITH JORDANIANS AND ENHANCED THEIR 
SENSE OF PERSONAL SECURITY.  LOOKING TO 2006, EMBASSY AMMAN 
SEEKS TO MAINTAIN THIS STRONG INTEREST IN PLP ACTIVITIES, 
ESPECIALLY AS POST CONTINUES ITS EXTENSIVE SUPPORT OF U.S. 
EFFORTS IN IRAQ, INCLUDING THE LARGE NUMBERS OF TDYERS WHO 
USE AMMAN AS THEIR ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BASE. 
CONSEQUENTLY, IN THIS YEAR'S REQUEST, POST SEEKS TO MAINTAIN 
THE LEVEL OF LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND TAILOR 
INSTRUCTION TOWARDS PARTICIPANTS' SPECIFIC NEEDS. 
 
2. SITUATIONAL LEARNING/FIELD TRIPS:  THANKS TO DFI, POST IS 
VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A FULL-TIME PLP INSTRUCTOR WHO 
MANAGES A DYNAMIC MIX OF INTERACTIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 
FOR EMPLOYEES IN NON-LANGUAGE DESIGNATED POSITIONS AND 
EFM'S.  THESE OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE REGULAR FIELD TRIPS TO 
RESTAURANTS, COMMERCIAL STORES, RETAIL MARKETS, AND OTHER 
SITES WHERE STUDENTS SHARPEN THEIR ARABIC READING AND 
SPEAKING SKILLS IN NATIVE SPEAKER SETTINGS.  PRIOR TO THESE 
TRIPS, THE INSTRUCTOR CONDUCTS SPECIAL VOCABULARY DRILLS AND 
SPONTANEOUS "ROLE PLAYS" WITH SMALL GROUPS OF STUDENTS TO 
HELP PREPARE THEM.  THE INSTRUCTOR CONTINUES TO IMPROVE 
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES IN ORDER TO MEET DEMANDS FOR 
ENHANCING EMPLOYEE JOB PERFORMANCE.  PAST EXAMPLES HAVE 
INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORDS LISTS, PHRASE CARDS AND 
ROLE-PLAYS SPECIFIC TO SELECT PROFESSIONAL TASKS AND THEMES 
SUCH AS SECURITY, TRANSPORTATION AND TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS. 
WITH A NEW FOCUS ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT ALL EMPLOYEES CAN 
MAKE TO MISSION PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EFFORTS, POST ANTICIPATES 
THAT SOME INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES MAY BE DIRECTED TO HELPING 
EMPLOYEES COMFORTABLY ADDRESS - IN ARABIC - CERTAIN ASPECTS 
OF AMERICAN SOCIETY AND VALUES THAT FREQUENTLY ARISE IN 
CONVERSATION WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS. 
 
3. LAST YEAR'S DFI FUNDING PROVIDED $12,800 FOR INTERACTIVE 
INSTRUCTION/FIELD TRIPS - OR APPROXIMATELY 16.5 HOURS PER 
WEEK FOR 48 WEEKS AT A RATE OF $16/HOUR.  HIGH EMBASSY 
STAFFING LEVELS AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE PLP HAVE RESULTED IN 
CONTINUED STRONG DEMAND FOR PLP PARTICIPATION. 
ADDITIONALLY, MORE STUDENTS HAVE MOVED BEYOND THE COMPLETE 
BEGINNER STAGE, AND CAN NO LONGER BE COMBINED WITH 
INCOMING/NEW STUDENTS.  POST SEEKS TO MEET THIS GROWING 
DEMAND, BUT IS ALSO COGNIZANT THAT THE AVERAGE RATE CHARGED 
BY PRIVATE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS IN THE LOCAL MARKETPLACE 
WELL EXCEEDS $16/HOUR.  CONSEQUENTLY, POST REQUESTS AN 
INCREASE IN THIS AMOUNT TO $15,600, OR 18 HOURS PER WEEK 
INSTRUCTION FOR 48 WEEKS AT A RATE OF $18/HOUR, IN ORDER TO 
COVER BOTH INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND INCREASING COSTS OF 
INSTRUCTION.  TO HELP KEEP COSTS DOWN, POST IS NOT 
REQUESTING FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION AS STUDENTS ARE WILLING 
TO SHARE THE COST OF TAXIS OR USE PERSONALLY-OWNED VEHICLES. 
 
4. LANGUAGE PARTNER PROGRAM:  AGAIN USING DFI FUNDS, THE PLP 
INTENDS TO CONTINUE A SUCCESSFUL NEW LANGUAGE PARTNER 
PROGRAM IN WHICH STUDENTS USE THE ARABIC LANGUAGE ONE-ON-ONE 
WITH A NATIVE SPEAKER IN AN INFORMAL, REAL WORLD SETTING 
SUCH AS AN OFFICE, MUSEUM OR CAFE.  PARTICIPATING STUDENTS 
PAIR UP WITH AN APPROPRIATE JORDANIAN LANGUAGE PARTNER, AND 
THEN ARRANGE TO MEET TOGETHER ON A REGULAR BASIS TO PRACTICE 
THEIR ARABIC CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS.  THESE "MICRO-IMMERSION" 
OPPORTUNITIES ALLOW STUDENTS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JORDANIAN 
SOCIETY AND CULTURE.  CURRENT PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROGRAM 
HAVE BEEN UNIFORMLY POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE, 
REMARKING THAT IT HAS BOOSTED THEIR LISTENING COMPREHENSION 
AND GIVEN THEM MORE CONFIDENCE TO TRY AND SPEAK IN ARABIC. 
 
5. THE DFI HAS ALLOTTED $4,050 FOR THE LANGUAGE PARTNER 
PROGRAM LAST YEAR, ALLOWING FOR 10.5 HOURS OF PARTNERING A 
WEEK (FOR 48 WEEKS) BASED ON A RATE OF $8/HOUR.  POST 
REQUESTS THIS SAME AMOUNT TO ALLOW PLP LANGUAGE PARTNER 
PARTICIPANTS TO SUSTAIN THEIR COMMITMENT. 
 
6. LANGUAGE INTRODUCTION EVENINGS:  IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 
COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICE (CLO), THE PLP SPONSORED TWO WELL- 
ATTENDED EVENING LECTURES THIS YEAR, PRESENTED BY A VETERAN 
LANGUAGE PROFESSOR FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF JORDAN, DESIGNED 
TO GIVE NEW MEMBERS OF THE EMBASSY COMMUNITY A CRASH COURSE 
IN ARABIC LANGUAGE SURVIVAL SKILLS.  AUDIENCE MEMBERS, WHO 
WERE ALSO GIVEN A PRESENTATION BY THE CLO ON JORDANIAN 
CULTURE, WERE INTRODUCED TO BASIC ARABIC WORDS AND PHRASES 
TO EASE THEIR TRANSITION TO POST AND ENHANCE THEIR 
EXPERIENCE HERE.  FOR TDYERS AND OTHER WHO CANNOT 
PARTICIPATE IN THE PLP, THIS IS AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE. 
 
7. DFI FUNDING LAST YEAR FOR THE LANGUAGE EVENINGS TOTALED 
$210 FOR THE ESTIMATED COAST OF THE LECTURER AND RELATED 
SUPPLIES.  POST REQUESTS $210 FOR THIS PROGRAM THIS YEAR, 
ALL OF WHICH WILL GO FOR THE COST OF THE LECTURER; NO 
SPECIAL SUPPLY NEEDS ARE ANTICIPATED. 
 
8. RESOURCE MATERIALS/SUPPLIES:  THANKS TO PRIOR-YEAR DFI 
MONEY, POST HAS BEEN ABLE TO PURCHASE PREVIOUSLY REQUESTED 
BOOKS, AUDIOTAPES AND SUPPLIES.  POST SEEKS THE PURCHASE OF 
ONE NEW INSTRUCTION BOOK OR AUDIO-VISUAL RESOURCE 
RECOMMENDED BY FSI IN THE UPCOMING YEAR.  BASED ON PAST 
PURCHASES, THIS COST WOULD TOTAL NO MORE THAN $150.00.  IN 
ADDITION, THE PLP REGULARLY REQUIRES STACKS OF DIFFERENT 
TYPES OF PAPER -- FOR THE PRINTING AND COPYING OF VOCABULARY 
CARDS, WORD LISTS, ETC. -- ESTIMATED TO COST APPROXIMATELY 
$100 PER YEAR, FOR A TOTAL COST OF $250.00. 
 
9. TOTAL REQUEST:  COMBINING THE INDIVIDUAL FUND REQUESTS 
ABOVE, POST CALCULATES AN OVERALL REQUEST OF $20,110.00 
BROKEN DOWN AS FOLLOWS:  SITUATIONAL LEARNING/ FIELD TRIPS 
($15,600), LANGUAGE PARTNER PROGRAM ($4,050), LANGUAGE 
INTRODUCTION EVENINGS ($210) AND RESOURCES/SUPPLIES ($250). 
POST WOULD LIKE TO THANK FSI FOR ITS CONTINUING SUPPORT TO 
EMBASSY AMMAN'S PLP, AS WELL AS FSI'S POSITIVE CONSIDERATION 
OF THIS REQUEST.  ANY QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO POST 
LANGUAGE OFFICER MADISON CONOLEY. 
 
RUBINSTEIN