DEFENSE SECURITY COOPERATION AGENCY  2800 DEFENSE PENTAGON  WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-2800	10/30/2003

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SUBJECT :

FYO4 ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION LEVEL (ECL) AND ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW REQUIREMENTS

1. THE FOLLOWING PROVIDES THE FYO4 ECL AND OPI COUNTRY EXEMPTION LISTS BASED ON REVIEW BY THE COMBATANT COMMANDS, MILDEPS, DLIELC, AND DSCA.
2. THE FOLLOWING 22 COUNTRIES ARE EXEMPT FROM IN-COUNTRY AND CONUS ECL TESTING: ANTIGUA, AUSTRALIA, BAHAMAS, BARBADOS, BELIZE, BRUNEI, CANADA, DOMINICA, GRENADA, GUYANA, INDIA, IRELAND, JAMAICA, MALTA, MAURITIUS, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, ST. KITTS, ST. LUCIA, ST. VINCENT, TRINIDAD, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.

3. THE FOLLOWING 38 COUNTRIES ARE EXEMPT FROM IN-COUNTRY ECL TESTING: AUSTRIA, BANGLADESH, BELGIUM, BOTSWANA, DENMARK, FIJI, FINLAND, FRANCE, GAMBIA, GERMANY, GHANA, ICELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, KENYA, LUXEMBOURG, MALAWI, MALAYSIA, NETHERLANDS, NIGERIA; NORWAY, PAKISTAN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PHILIPPINES, SIERRA LEONE, SOLOMON ISLANDS, SOUTH AFRICA, SRI LANKA, SURINAME, SWAZILAND, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TONGA, UGANDA, VANUATU, SAMOA, ZAMBIA, AND ZIMBABWE.

   NOTE 1: STUDENT INVITATIONAL TRAVEL ORDER (ITO) SHOULD BE APPROPRIATELY MARKED TO INDICATE EXEMPTION FROM IN-COUNTRY ECL TESTING AND REQUIREMENT THAT THE STUDENT BE ADMINISTERED AN ENTRY ECL TEST UPON ARRIVAL AT THE FIRST TRAINING INSTALLATION IN CONUS.

   NOTE 2: IN-COUNTRY ECL TESTING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR CRITICAL COURSES OR IF A SPECIALIZED ENGLISH TRAINING (SET) WAIVER IS REQUESTED.

4. THE FOLLOWING 46 COUNTRIES HAVE A 55-ECL EXEMPTION: AFGHANISTAN, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANGOLA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BENIN, BOSNIA, BULGARIA, BURKINA FASO, BURUNDI, CAMBODIA, CAPE VERDE, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, COMOROS, CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE), CONGO KINSHASA, EAST TIMOR, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, GABON, GEORGIA, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, HAITI, IRAQ, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYSTAN, LAOS, MACEDONIA, MADAGASCAR, MALI, MAURITANIA, MONGOLIA, MOZAMBIQUE, NIGER, RUSSIA, RWANDA, SERBIA- MONTENEGRO, SAO TOME, TAJIKISTAN, TOGO, TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, VIETNAM, AND YEMEN.
5. THE FOLLOWING POLICY GUIDANCE IS PROVIDED FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION LEVEL (ECL) TEST AND THE TEST OF ENGLISH-AS-A-FOREIGN-LANGUAGE (TOEFL).
   1. STUDENTS FROM COUNTRIES LISTED ABOVE THAT ARE EXEMPT FROM ALL ECL TESTING REQUIREMENTS OR IN-COUNTRY ECL SCREENING MUST CONTINUE TO DEMONSTRATE SUCCESSFUL ENGLISH LANGUAGE PERFORMANCE DURING TRAINING OR COUNTRY EXEMPTION WILL BE WITHDRAWN.
   2. CANCELLATION CHARGES WILL BE APPLIED WHEN A STUDENT FAILURE TO MEET THE PREREQUISITE ECL ON CONUS DIRECT ENTRY ECL TESTS RESULTS IN RESCHEDULING OR CANCELLATION OF THE DIRECT ENTRY TRAINING DUE TO LANGUAGE DEFICIENCY. CANCELLATION CHARGES WILL ALSO BE APPLIED WHEN STUDENTS ATTENDING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING AT DLIELC FAIL TO MEET THE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT FOR FOLLOW-ON TRAINING, RESULTING IN RESCHEDULING OR CANCELLATION OF THE FOLLOW-ON TRAINING.
   3. COUNTRIES EXEMPT FROM THE MINIMUM 55 ECL SCORE FOR DLIELC ENTRY UNDER IMET SPONSORSHIP SHOULD MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ESTABLISH A MINIMUM 55 ECL CAPABILITY. COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO PURCHASE APPROPRIATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS TO DEVELOP AN IN-COUNTRY ABILITY TO REACH A 55 ECL DUE TO A SMALL IMET PROGRAM, OR OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR WHICH IT WOULD NOT BE ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE, WILL REMAIN ON THE EXEMPTION LIST. COMBATANT COMMANDS ARE REQUIRED TO PRESENT NLT 30 OCTOBER EACH YEAR, A PROPOSED PLAN OF ACTION TO UPDATE THE EXEMPTION LISTS FOR CONUS AND IN-COUNTRY TESTING. THIS PLAN WILL BE SUBMITTED TO DLIELC AND FORWARDED TO DSCA. THE GOAL IS THE EVENTUAL GRADUATION OF COUNTRIES FROM THE EXEMPTION LIST OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE JUSTIFICATIONS FOR COUNTRIES REMAINING ON THE EXEMPTION LIST.
   4. STUDENTS FROM COUNTRIES NOT REFLECTED ON THE ABOVE EXEMPTION LISTS MUST HAVE THE MINIMUM 55 ECL BEFORE ATTENDING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING AT DLIELC.
   5. SAO I S HAVE THE OPTION OF CONDUCTING ECL TESTING REGARDLESS OF COUNTRY EXEMPTION IF CONCERNED WITH THE STUDENT CAPABILITIES.
   6. ALL STUDENTS FROM COUNTRIES LISTED IN PARAGRAPH 2 ARE EXEMPT FROM TOEFL, WHEN THEY ATTEND POSTGRADUATE COURSES AT THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL (NAVPGSCOL) OR APPLY FOR ADMISSION TO MASTERS DEGREE PROGRAMS AT THE NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY (NDU) AND THE ARMY WAR COLLEGE. STUDENTS FROM ALL OTHER COUNTRIES MUST MEET THE DIRECT ENTRY TOEFL SCORE OF 540 (PAPER-BASED TEST) OR 207 (COMPUTER-BASED TEST) IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR NAVAL POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION OR ENROLLMENT IN MASTERS DEGREE PROGRAM AT NDU. THE ARMY WAR COLLEGE TOEFL STANDARD IS 557 (PAPER-BASED TEST) OR 220 (COMPUTER-BASED TEST). STUDENTS WITH SCORES BELOW 540/207, BUT ABOVE 500/173 ARE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THE DLI TOEFL PREPARATORY ACADEMIC WRITING COURSE, MASL D177022, PRIOR TO ATTENDING NAVAL POST GRADUATE EDUCATION OR MASTERS DEGREE PROGRAMS AT NDU AND THE ARMY WAR COLLEGE. TOEFL RESULTS ARE VALID FOR TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE OF THE EXAM AND MUST BE CURRENT WHEN THE STUDENT REPORTS TO NAVPGSCOL, NDU OR ARMY WAR COLLEGE FOR CLASSES. THE TOEFL INSTITUTION CODES ARE: 4831 FOR NAVPGSCOL, 7026 FOR NDU AND 8274 FOR ARMY WAR COLLEGE.
   7. REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS SHOULD BE FORWARDED BY THE COMBATANT COMMANDS TO DSCA WITH INFO TO DLIELC AND THE MILDEPS.
6. THE FOLLOWING 22 COUNTRIES ARE EXEMPT FROM AN OPI REQUIREMENT: ANTIGUA, - AUSTRALIA, BAHAMAS, BARBADOS, BELIZE, BRUNEI, CANADA, DOMINICA, GRENADA, GUYANA, INDIA, IRELAND, JAMAICA, MALTA, MAURITIUS, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, ST. KITTS, ST LUCIA, ST. VINCENT, TRINIDAD, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.

7. THE FOLLOWING 17 COUNTRIES ARE EXEMPT FROM IN-COUNTRY OPI TESTING: AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BOTSWANA, DENMARK, FINLAND, FRANCE, ITALY, LUXEMBOURG, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, GERMANY, GREECE, ISRAEL, SWEDEN, AND SWITZERLAND. NOTE: IN-COUNTRY OPI TESTING MAY BE REQUIRED IF A SET WAIVER IS REQUESTED.

   NOTE 1: STUDENT INVITATIONAL TRAVEL ORDER (ITO) SHOULD BE APPROPRIATELY MARKED IN THE ~S BOX TO INDICATE EXEMPTION FROM IN-COUNTRY OPI TESTING AND REQUIREMENT THAT THE STUDENT BE ADMINISTERED AN ENTRY OPI TEST UPON ARRIVAL AT THE FIRST TRAINING INSTALLATION IN CONUS.

8. THE FOLLOWING POLICY GUIDANCE IS PROVIDED FOR ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEWS:
   1. STUDENTS FROM COUNTRIES LISTED ABOVE AS EXEMPT FROM AN OPI REQUI~ MUST CONTINUE TO DEMONSTRATE SUCCESSFUL PROFICIENCY SKILLS DURING TRAINING OR COUNTRY EXEMPTION WILL BE WITHDRAWN.
   2. COUNTRIES EXEMPT FROM IN-COUNTRY OPI TESTING NEED TO ENSURE THEIR STUDENTS ARE LANGUAGE QUALIFIED. THE APPROPRIATE CANCELLATION CHARGE WILL BE APPLIED TO THE TRAINING WHEN A STUDENT FAILURE TO QUALIFY ON DIRECT ENTRY OPI TESTING RESULTS IN A RESCHEDULING OR CANCELLATION OF TRAINING.
   3. SAO' S FOR COUNTRIES NOT REFLECTED IN ABOVE EXEMPTIONS NEED TO SCHEDULE TELEPHONIC OPI'S WITH DLIEC.
   4. AS WITH ECL TESTING, SAOS HAVE THE OPTION OF REQUIRING OPI TESTING REGARDLESS OF COUNTRY EXEMPTION IF CONCERNED WITH STUDENT CAPABILITIES.
9. THE ABOVE IN-COUNTRY LANGUAGE TESTING EXEMPTIONS IN PARAGRAPHS 3 AND 6 DO NOT APPLY TO EXERCISES AND COMPETITIONS THAT MAY REQUIRE LANGUAGE TESTING IAW STANDARDS ESTABLISHED BY THE U. S. HOST ORGANIZATION. THESE LANGUAGE PREREQUISITES/TESTING REQUIREMENTS MAY BE REFERENCED IN THE MESSAGE/ INVITATION ANNOUNCING THE EXERCISE/COMPETITION AND ARE DEFINED IN THE APPLICABLE EXERCISE/COMPETITION PLAN AND/OR LOA. ANY REQUEST TO WAIVE TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EXERCISES OR COMPETITIONS WILL BE DIRECTED TO THE U.S. HOST ORGANIZATION.
10. DSCA PQC IS KAY JUDKINS, AT COMMERCIAL: (703) 601-3719. DSN: 329-3719 OR BRION MIDLAND AT COMMERCIAL: (703) 601-3672, DSN: 329-3672. COMMERCIAL FAX: (703) 604- 6540. DSN FAX: 664-6540.

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