Foreign Language at the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency has a comprehensive program to
foster the acquisition and maintenance of foreign language skills.
The Central Intelligence Language Institute uses native speakers
and the latest instructional technology to teach 16 different
foreign languages. All employees who attain tested levels of language
expertise through full-time training, part-time classes or self-study
are eligible for monetary incentives. (For a description of each
proficiency level, go to www.govtilr.org
and consult the Unabridged Version of the Interagency Language
Roundtable Scale.) New employees who already possess excellent
language skills may be eligible for a significant hiring bonus.
The CIA has two language incentive systems: the Corporate Language
Hiring Bonus Program and the Corporate Language Program.
The CIA's Corporate Language Hiring Bonus Program is designed
to attract individuals with superior language skills. Bonuses
will be paid to new employees who have been hired into a language-specific
occupation after they have entered on duty, been tested in the
claimed language and met other eligibility requirements. The amount
of a language bonus will be determined on the basis of three criteria:
tested proficiency, difficulty learning the language, and criticality
of the language to CIA's mission. New employees can qualify for
a hiring bonus in more than one language, but the maximum amount
is $35,000 per individual. Bonuses will be paid in a one-time,
lump sum payment.
The CIA's Corporate Language Program (CLP) is for Agency
employees whose jobs require them to use foreign languages or employees
who maintain the language proficiency necessary to support a crisis
or surge requirement. New employees who receive a language hiring
bonus will be enrolled automatically in the CLP. The CLP includes
language maintenance payments, language use payments and language
achievement awards. For any given language, qualifying employees
may receive either maintenance or use payments, but not both.
