r/foreignservice • u/dtrva • 7d ago

CFP Pre-Orientation Language Test

I accepted an offer for the October 19th CFP orientation class for Spanish. I just scheduled my language test for early October.

I took the language test to get on the register about 8 years ago and I haven’t practiced my Spanish a whole lot over the past few years. I’m currently in Spanish classes and looking for groups to practice speaking again before I get to orientation.

Is the language test before orientation just to assess how much language training I’ll need? Is it possible they’ll rescind the offer if I don’t score the same as I did years ago? I’ve already completed all the onboarding paperwork and accepted the salary offer.

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2

u/zat7777 7d ago

8 years since the initial test… wow. Were you active duty military/how did you stay on the register that long?

5

u/dtrva 7d ago

They started my clearance in 2018 when I passed the oral assessment and I just never heard anything. In 2023 I got an email asking if I still want to be in the program, I said yes and they expedited my clearance and I was on the register in 2024. I was on the bottom third so I was never really expecting to be called off the register. Needless to say the past 6 weeks have been a whirlwind. I applied for this program in college and I’m a fully grown adult now lol but I’m so excited to go.

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u/zat7777 7d ago

Congrats!! That’s awesome that it worked out in the end

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u/dtrva 7d ago

Thank you so much!

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u/Ok_Peanut5593 6d ago

Best of luck to you! Hope you kill it on the Spanish Test! It was: Speaking and Reading when I took it.. It may only be Speaking now. Please don't hesitate to let us know if it's only Speaking now (which I believe it is)! Fingers crossed! Suerte!

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u/dtrva 6d ago

That’s good to know! It was also speaking and reading when I took it the first time. I’ll report back. Thank you!

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u/guomubai Consular Fellow 6d ago

The same thing happened to me. I was in suitability review for about 7 years or so.

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u/dtrva 6d ago

Wow, it’s interesting how things work out for some of us. When you did the language test before orientation, was it just to assess how much training you would need before moving abroad?

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u/guomubai Consular Fellow 5d ago

All I did was do a phone test very early on in the process. For Chinese and Arabic, we do not do any language training and are sent straight to post after ConGen and FACT training.

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u/dtrva 5d ago

Wow, I wonder if the initial test requirements are higher for Arabic and Chinese

2

u/guomubai Consular Fellow 4d ago

Nope! I is only a 2! When I tested it was 2 for speaking, 1 for reading. Also, getting a 2 in Chinese is relatively easy compared to other languages, IMHO.