Interagency Language Roundtable - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Interagency Language Roundtable is an unfunded organization comprising various agencies of the United States Federal Government with the purpose of coordinating and sharing information on foreign language activities at the federal level.

The ILR's primary function is to act as an avenue for the varying participating federal agencies to keep abreast of modern methods and technology regarding the teaching of language, the use of language, and any other language related issues.

Membership

The ILR membership consists of a large number of people with professional interest in language with regards to the teaching, learning, or use of language in a professional context. About 60% of the membership are federal employees.

Regularly Attending Entities
Government Agencies and Offices	Academic Organizations, Proprietary Institutions and Other NGOs
Administrative Office of the United States Courts Administrative Office of the United States Courts The Administrative Office of the United States Courts is the administrative agency of the United States federal court system. It was established in 1939.The AO is the central support entity for the federal judicial branch... Arlington County Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of... Schools Bureau of the Census United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data... Coast Guard United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency... Department of Commerce United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903... Department of Defense United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense is the U.S... /Office of the Secretary of Defense United States Secretary of Defense The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries... (DOD/OSD) DOD: Army Foreign Language Program DOD: Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide... DOD: Defense Language Institute Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers... Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) DOD: Defense Language Institute-Washington DOD: Defense Language Office DOD: DLI English Language Center DOD: Office of the Undersecretary of Defense-Personnel and Readiness DOD: U.S. Army Foreign area officer Foreign area officer A Foreign Area Officer is a commissioned officer from any of the four branches of the United States Armed Forces who is a regionally focused expert in political-military operations. Such officers possess a unique combination of strategic focus and regional expertise, with political, cultural,... Program Department of Education United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government... Department of Health & Human Services United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"... Department of Homeland Security United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to... Department of Justice United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated... : Executive Office for Immigration Review Executive Office for Immigration Review The Executive Office for Immigration Review is an office of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases in the United States. The EOIR oversees immigration courts in the United States through the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge... Department of Justice: Language Services Department of State United States Department of State The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries... Foreign Service Institute Department of State Office of Language Services District of Columbia Courts Fairfax County Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population... Schools Federal Bureau of Investigation Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime... Government Accountability Office Government Accountability Office The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:... Intelligence Language Institute Library of Congress Library of Congress The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and... National Cryptologic School National Cryptologic School The National Cryptologic School is a school within the National Security Agency that provides training to members of the Agency.The National Cryptologic School is a Cryptologic Training School within the National Security Agency... National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation... National Security Agency National Security Agency The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S... National Security Education Program National Security Education Program The National Security Education Program is a U.S. federal government initiative in which U.S. citizens are given funding and training in critical languages "to serve the needs of U.S. national security and national competitiveness." Some funding comes in exchange for a commitment to U.S. federal... National Virtual Translation Center National Virtual Translation Center The National Virtual Translation Center is a United States government organization established in February, 2003 which provides "timely and accurate translations of foreign intelligence for all elements of the Intelligence Community."... Office of the Director of National Intelligence Peace Corps Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping... Postal Service United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States... Secret Service United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States... Voice of America Voice of America Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...	American Council on Education American Council on Education The American Council on Education is a United States organization, established in 1918, comprising over 1,800 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education-related associations, organizations, and corporations.... American Council of Teachers of Russian American Council of Learned Societies American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D... American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages is an American organization aiming to improve and expand the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction... American Translators Association American Translators Association The American Translators Association was founded in 1959 and is now the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the United States with more than 10,000 members in 90 countries.... ASET International Services Association of Proprietary Language Schools Center for Advanced Study of Language Center for Applied Linguistics Center for Naval Analyses Coalition for International Education Comprehensive Language Center Council for International Exchange of Scholars Diplomatic Language Services East Coast Organization of Language Testers George Washington University George Washington University The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States... Georgetown University Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States... Howard County Community College Howard University Howard University Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States... ICA Language Services International Center for Language Studies InLingua School Institute of International Education Institute of International Education Institute of International Education - is a non-profit organization promoting international exchange of education and training. It was established in 1919 and is based in the USA.... InterGalaxSystems, Ltd. Joint National Committee for Languages Language Learning Enterprises Linguistic Data Consortium Linguistic Data Consortium The Linguistic Data Consortium is an open consortium of universities, companies and government research laboratories. It creates, collects and distributes speech and text databases, lexicons, and other resources for linguistics research and development purposes. The University of Pennsylvania is... Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America is a professional society for linguists. It was founded in 1924 to advance linguistics, the scientific study of human language. The LSA has over 5,000 individual members and welcomes linguists of all kinds. It works to advance the discipline and to communicate... McNeill Technologies MITRE Corporation Modern Language Association Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature... National Capital Language Resource Center National Foreign Language Center National Language Museum San Diego State University San Diego State University San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system... SCOLA Second Language Testing Transparent Language University of Maryland University College University of Maryland University College The University of Maryland University College is located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, UMUC is the largest 4-year public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance learning... University of Maryland College Park University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... Washington Language Center World Bank World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

Committees

Aside from general membership, the ILR has three standing special interests committees:

Steering Committee
- The Steering committee is responsible for planning ILR direction and events, and is composed of members from eight different federal agencies.
Testing Committee
Training Committee
Translation and Interpretation Committee.

Committees are chaired by federal employees from five different agencies.

Additionally, the ILR hosts the ILR Special Interest Group (SIG) on the Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL). CASL SIG meetings, unlike ILR plenary meetings, are not open to general membership, allowing only federal representatives in attendance.

Joining the ILR

Any interested person may attend unrestricted ILR plenary meetings and events, requiring only two days advance registration via the ILR home page. To become an ILR member, a person must first join their mailing list. Joining a specific committee requires only notifying a co-chair of the committee involved, and regularly attending meetings. Further details are listed on the ILR website. Membership is free.

Meetings

Plenary meetings are held monthly between September and June. Lectures and demonstrations on linguistic general interest topics are featured at every plenary meeting. Prior to each plenary meeting, each committee meets to discuss specific topics of interest. Some committee meetings are not open to general membership, due to coverage of certain topics of federal interest. These meetings' attendance restrictions are announced in advance.

Most plenary meetings boast between 75 and 100 attendees.

Officers

All officers of the ILR are volunteers who hold full-time federal positions elsewhere.

Current Officers
Office	Officer
ILR Coordinator and Chair of the Steering Committee	Dr. Scott McGinnis
Co-chair, Testing Committee	Christina Hoffman
Co-chair, Testing Committee	Beth Mackey
Co-chair, Training Committee	Lea Christiansen
Co-chair, Training Committee	Doug Gilzow
Co-chair, Translation and Interpretation Committee	Maria Brau
Co-chair, Translation and Interpretation Committee	Pardee Lowe
Co-chair, UARC SIG	Rachel Brooks
Co-chair, UARC SIG	Cynthia Taskesen
Webmaster	Dr. Bogdan B. Sagatov

The Foreign Service Institute, the National Cryptologic School, and the Defense Language Institute lend additional minor clerical assistance.

Formation

The origins of the ILR can be traced back to 1955, when the Foreign Service Institute's

Foreign Service Institute

The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...

Howard Sollenberger, the CIA's Clyde Sargent, and James Frith of the Air Force Language Program, conversed regarding the need for communication and coordination between federal agencies in training, policies, and practices of foreign languages.

Subsequent meetings included attendance by members of the local academic community as well as Charles Ferguson

Charles A. Ferguson

Charles Albert Ferguson was a U.S. linguist who taught at Stanford University. He was one the founders of sociolinguistics and is best known for his work on diglossia. The TOEFL test was created under his leadership at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC...

, Director of the Center for Applied Linguistics

Center for Applied Linguistics

The Center for Applied Linguistics is a private, nonprofit organization that describes its mission as “working to improve communication through better understanding of language and culture”...

.

The ILR was formally institutionalized in 1973, after a study conducted by the General Accounting Office demonstrated the value of the organization.

Contributions to the Field of Linguistics

Since the 1950s, the ILR has made a number of contributions to the field of linguistics, both for American and foreign linguists, including, but not limited to:

ILR Proficiency Level Descriptions
ILR scale
The Interagency Language Roundtable scale is a set of descriptions of abilities to communicate in a language. It was originally developed by the Interagency Language Roundtable, which included representation by United States Foreign Service Institute, the predecessor of the National Foreign...

- This is a system of measuring the language proficiency of an individual, on a scale of 0 to 5. Proficiency level of 0 equates to no knowledge of a language, while the proficiency level of 5 equates to a highly educated foreigner or native speaker. Proficiency levels in excess of a whole number, but not reaching the next whole number are represented with the 'plus' sign, for example, a linguist who speaks at a near native level might be represented as having a 4+ level proficiency. (A similar system is used in the Userboxes of WP:Babel.)

ILR Translation Performance Skill Level Descriptions - Translation proficiency measurements based on the ILR Proficiency Level Descriptions, developed in 2005.

ILR Interpretation Performance Skill Level Descriptions - Interpretation proficiency measurements based on the ILR Translation Performance Skill Level Descriptions , developed in 2006.

Co-sponsorship with the National Virtual Translation Center of the “Languages of the World” website.

The development of a widely-used interagency training manual for oral proficiency testing candidates.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.