Foreign Service Institute facts for kids

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the main training center for people who work for the United States government overseas. It helps American diplomats and other experts. They learn how to represent the U.S. and work with other countries. This training helps them achieve U.S. goals around the world.

FSI offers over 800 courses. These include learning more than 70 foreign languages. Each year, over 225,000 people take these courses. Students come from the U.S. Department of State. They also come from over 50 other government groups and the military. FSI is located at the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. This center is in Arlington, Virginia.

The institute trains all kinds of staff for the U.S. Department of State. This includes Foreign Service, Civil Service, and local staff. These people work at U.S. embassies and consulates in other countries. They also work in offices within the U.S. Courses can last from one day to two years. They teach important knowledge and skills. This helps staff work well in their jobs. It also helps them understand different cultures. They learn to lead and manage effectively.

There are also courses for family members. These help them get ready for moving often and living overseas. They learn about important topics like safety and online security. The FSI director is like a main teacher for the State Department. This person is chosen by the Secretary of State. Their job is to make sure everyone gets the best training.

A Look at FSI's History

The idea for the Foreign Service Institute was to create a special school. It would train employees of the State Department. Many training programs existed before FSI. These included the Consular School of Application (1907) and the Foreign Service School (1924).

How FSI Began

In 1946, President Truman signed a law. This allowed Secretary of State George C. Marshall to create the Institute. It officially started on March 13, 1947. The idea for FSI came from a law called the Foreign Service Act. After some planning, Secretary Marshall announced FSI's opening. This happened on March 13, 1947.

FSI first opened in Washington, D.C., in 1947. It was in the Mayfair Building. This building was later taken down for the new State Department building. The institute had four main schools. These taught basic training, advanced skills, management, and languages.

Moving to New Homes

FSI then moved to Rosslyn, Virginia. In October 1993, it moved to its current location. This is the National Foreign Affairs Training Center. In 1954, a report suggested FSI needed more support. So, in 1955, FSI changed its courses. It added longer, special training. It also focused more on language learning. Courses were also made available to spouses of officers.

FSI is still located in Arlington, Virginia, today.

Celebrating 70 Years

In 2017, FSI celebrated its 70th birthday. An e-book was released to mark this special event.

How FSI is Organized

FSI has several important schools and centers. These include the School of Language Studies, the School of Professional and Area Studies, the School of Applied Information Technology, the Leadership and Management School, the Transition Center, and the Office of the Historian. There are also offices that handle administration for the whole Institute.

A selection of language courses advertised in State Magazine by the SLS in July 1997

Learning Languages at SLS

The School of Language Studies (SLS) teaches over 70 languages. It can also test how well someone knows more than 100 languages. Courses can last from 8 to 44 weeks. The length depends on how hard the language is. It also depends on how good a student wants to become.

It also has language schools in other countries. These are in places like Taipei, Yokohama, and Seoul. They offer more training in languages like Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic. Students can also learn on their own. They can take early morning classes or online courses. FSI helped create the language rating scales. These scales measure how well people speak and read languages. They are used by the U.S. government. SLS works with other government groups. They share ideas on how to teach and test languages.

Studying World Affairs at SPAS

The School of Professional and Area Studies (SPAS) teaches special skills for working with other countries. This includes managing offices and understanding politics. It also covers public diplomacy and economic topics. Students learn about the cultures, politics, and economies of different regions. They also study how countries interact with each other.

SPAS has specific programs. These cover topics like consular work and public diplomacy. They also offer deep studies on regions like China and Iran. New employees also get orientation here. It also has a center that studies diplomacy. This center looks at past experiences. It finds the best ways to handle situations. This helps train staff for challenges at U.S. offices worldwide.

Tech Skills at SAIT

The School of Applied Information Technology (SAIT) teaches about technology. It helps all employees use computer programs better. It also trains IT experts for the State Department. New IT staff learn skills for working overseas.

Leading and Managing at LMS

The Leadership and Management School (LMS) teaches leadership and management. It has courses for all levels of staff. They learn how to lead teams and handle tough situations. This includes training for crises.

The Transition Center (TC)

The Transition Center (TC) helps employees and their families. It prepares them for life in the foreign service. It also helps them after their careers end. TC offers information about different work locations. It has workshops on life skills and safety. It also helps employees who are leaving government service.

TC has a special center called CEFAR. It helps people and families deal with stress. It trains them to work well in difficult or dangerous places.

The Office of the Historian (OH)

The Office of the Historian (OH) writes the official history of U.S. foreign policy. It publishes this history in a series of books. The series is called Foreign Relations of the United States. These books have been published since 1861. They show how U.S. foreign policy was made. They include documents from many government groups.

The office also writes historical studies. It helps train staff with history lessons. It answers questions from students, teachers, and journalists. Their website has all the Foreign Relations books online. It also has other information about U.S. foreign relations history.

More to Explore

• Defense Language Institute – military counterpart for language instruction
• Language education
• List of language self-study programs
• National Technical Information Service – US Government sales source for FSI language material.
• A-100 class
• Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy
• Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training