FBI - Lanugage Personnel Resources Unit

During a quick trip to Washington, DC, Career Counselor, McKenzie Lawyer Davies visited with Peter Sursi, Unit Cheif at the Language Personnel Resources Unit at the FBI. This unit hires linguists, a strength for BYU where over 70% of our student body speak a second language.

Here are the highlights of her visit

• FBI hires linguists with a wide range of languages including Spanish and Portuguese; mission-critical languages include Farsi, Chinese, Arabic, Pashto, and Spanish with additional native and indigenous languages
• The Government Interagency Language Round Table was established to help students and recent graduates learn more about languages needed in government positions and how to best distinguish one's abilities
• Peter mentioned that often "language decay" occurs and suggests that students continue to improve their language abilities by reading bilingual newspapers and by participating in active use of language (speaking and communicating) in addition to passive use (reading)
• Language decay occurs when language speakers return to the United States and stop progressing because they have reached the point of "I'm communicating", Peter says that many base their skills off of readings and passive use, and suggests that students continue to translate (because it will actively improve language abilities)
• Statistically speaking, if there is a "failure" point on the test, it's speaking or translation; although on the ILR test, a + indicates more of a "failed" higher level

About the Inter-Agency Language Roundtable

On govtilr.org, you can learn about the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) and its history. You can read detailed descriptions of each category of language proficiency such as reading, listening, speaking, and writing. There is also information on audio translation, interpretation, interpretation, and competence in intercultural communication. There are resources to download that explain the ILR scale in detail. There are also self-assessments to give you an idea of where you might fall on the rating scale.  Under “Professional Networking” you can find upcoming conference information, federal foreign language careers (basically links to several government agencies’ websites), and a few other resources for professionals.

---

For more information or to connect with Peter Sursi (or Eric Leach, Regional Program Manager in Salt Lake), contact BYU Career Services via our website or call us at (801) 422-6535.