U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities
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| Language: | English |
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The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
2017
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1499972338160556 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu1499972338160556 |
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oai_dc |
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NDLTD |
| language |
English |
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NDLTD |
| topic |
Foreign Language Adult Education Military Studies language proficiency expertise domain specific Foreign Area Officer Defense Language Proficiency Test US Military Chinese language training deliberate practice 3rd Space |
| spellingShingle |
Foreign Language Adult Education Military Studies language proficiency expertise domain specific Foreign Area Officer Defense Language Proficiency Test US Military Chinese language training deliberate practice 3rd Space Fife, Kurt D. U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities |
| author |
Fife, Kurt D. |
| author_facet |
Fife, Kurt D. |
| author_sort |
Fife, Kurt D. |
| title |
U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities |
| title_short |
U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities |
| title_full |
U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities |
| title_fullStr |
U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities |
| title_full_unstemmed |
U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities |
| title_sort |
u.s. military in communication with china: the role of chinese language trainingprograms in shaping future capabilities |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1499972338160556 |
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AT fifekurtd usmilitaryincommunicationwithchinatheroleofchineselanguagetrainingprogramsinshapingfuturecapabilities |
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1719452618467573760 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu14999723381605562021-08-03T07:03:22Z U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language TrainingPrograms in Shaping Future Capabilities Fife, Kurt D. Foreign Language Adult Education Military Studies language proficiency expertise domain specific Foreign Area Officer Defense Language Proficiency Test US Military Chinese language training deliberate practice 3rd Space The U.S.-China relationship is “the” most consequential bilateral relationship inthe world. As the U.S. and China engage, even if both sides do not see eye-to-eye on all issues, it is extremely important to find areas of cooperation that are able to have apositive influence on the world. In its role as a superpower, the U.S. is constantly takingon problems that are global in nature, and there is an increasing need for China to play a greater role in addressing global issues.There is an undeniable element of asymmetry in the U.S.-China relationshipwhere the Chinese seem to have the upper hand when it comes to trade, educationalexchanges, and ultimately, the amount of information flow from one country to the other.This asymmetry can never be overcome by quantity. The only alternative is for the U.S.to focus on quality. This focus on quality will result in the need to develop individualswho are trained to understand, appreciate, and interact with Chinese counterparts at anadvanced level. Constructive and stable military-to-military ties between our twocountries is vital to our relationship’s success and could be the key to alleviating some of the asymmetry in the relationship. This means that the U.S. military needs the vision to develop many of its operators and leaders not only to possess “expertise” in theirrespective military career fields, but also to be able to function with “expertise” inChinese language and culture while practicing their individual careers.The preponderance of our Chinese language-trained military members serve in the“intelligence community,” but there is a group of military members known as ForeignArea Officers (FAO) whose focus is developing language and cultural expertise thatmight ultimately aid in national security efforts through direct engagement with Chinesecounterparts.The Department of Defense (DoD) wants these FAOs to function as our “experts”and to conduct the necessary face-to-face interactions with Chinese counterparts.Currently, the DoD focuses on a form of assessment created by the Defense LanguageInstitute Foreign Language Center, called the Defense Language Proficiency Test(DLPT). This test is used worldwide, throughout government agencies, and is the onlyofficial measurement for a member’s language proficiency in listening and reading. Thisproject shows how the DLPT focuses on “proficiency” without the ability to capture whata member can “do” using the language. Ultimately the DLPT drives the foreign language program in the DoD since all goals, decisions, and projections are based upon DLPT results.This project draws heavily upon the author’s personal experiences and those ofother military members, in order to make the case that the U.S. military needs to shiftfrom “proficiency” to “expertise” with our FAO force in order to be truly effective. Theconcept of a “3rd space” is introduced and operating in the “3rd space” is recommended as the goal for our FAOs in the U.S. military. Furthermore, crucial to this concept is the fact that the ability to operate in the “3rd space” is evidence of “expertise” and that “domain” is the key concept for developing this “expertise.” Currently, FAO accession does not occur until the seven to twelve-year point inan officer’s career. This project aims to show that we not only lose the opportunity forthe FAO to deliberately practice Chinese for the seven to twelve years prior to accession, but also lose the opportunity to utilize the officer during his/her approximate three and a half years training needed to become a FAO.The experiences of the author as an Air Force pilot, coupled with graduate studiesand the research in this project, have created the concern for lack of an effective ChinaFAO program. This project proposes a new concept for FAOs, involving a deliberatepipeline, a career-long language developmental focus, and the crucial concept of linkingmilitary specialties to the language. If implemented and managed properly, this course of action will be more cost-effective and will produce FAOs able to operate with language, regional expertise, and culture skills which have previously not been attained. 2017-10-30 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1499972338160556 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1499972338160556 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |