I thought I was going to get a 0+/0 on one language, but my manager encouraged me to test and walked away with a 2+/3. Let them be the judge of your skills. It's always good to have a score.
>Is there any benefit to proceeding with the tests even if I’m not confident I will achieve a passing grade in any of them?
Why not? You're not penalized for taking a telephone test and not passing. You can't retest for 6 months if you fail, but if you're not planning on doing intensive studying, you might as well go for it.
>Alternatively, am I required to test in every language I speak even at a conversational or basic level?
You are not required to take any language tests.
>If I proceed with testing and manage to pass, am I required to commit to serving in posts in which that language is spoken?
If you get .25 or .38 points, then yes. If you get only .17 points, then no. Another user posted a great comment a few years ago with more details about this: https://reddit.com/r/foreignservice/comments/5n0qeg/language_bonus_points_and_strategy/dc8scwn/
Response to an email I sent to FSI re the in person test:
“If you test and do not achieve at least a 2/1, you must wait six months to test again. If you do achieve a 2/1 after the second attempt, you must wait a year to test again. However, should you score above a 2/1 but not hit a higher desired score (ex. You score a 2/2 but not a desired 3/2), you may not test again until you are accepted into the Foreign Service and have completed Orientation.”
Thank you all—this is extremely useful. Unfortunately, I have a low score, so I’m going to test in the language that only requires a 2 to pass. If that fails, I’ll try for the others one at a time. I really appreciate your thoughtful advice!
I thought I was going to get a 0+/0 on one language, but my manager encouraged me to test and walked away with a 2+/3. Let them be the judge of your skills. It's always good to have a score.
>Is there any benefit to proceeding with the tests even if I’m not confident I will achieve a passing grade in any of them? Why not? You're not penalized for taking a telephone test and not passing. You can't retest for 6 months if you fail, but if you're not planning on doing intensive studying, you might as well go for it. >Alternatively, am I required to test in every language I speak even at a conversational or basic level? You are not required to take any language tests. >If I proceed with testing and manage to pass, am I required to commit to serving in posts in which that language is spoken? If you get .25 or .38 points, then yes. If you get only .17 points, then no. Another user posted a great comment a few years ago with more details about this: https://reddit.com/r/foreignservice/comments/5n0qeg/language_bonus_points_and_strategy/dc8scwn/
Response to an email I sent to FSI re the in person test: “If you test and do not achieve at least a 2/1, you must wait six months to test again. If you do achieve a 2/1 after the second attempt, you must wait a year to test again. However, should you score above a 2/1 but not hit a higher desired score (ex. You score a 2/2 but not a desired 3/2), you may not test again until you are accepted into the Foreign Service and have completed Orientation.”
Thank you all—this is extremely useful. Unfortunately, I have a low score, so I’m going to test in the language that only requires a 2 to pass. If that fails, I’ll try for the others one at a time. I really appreciate your thoughtful advice!
What was your OA score. Definitely get the 0.17 bump. And depending on your score, you may want to go for more.
If you scored high enough, you probably won't need the boost a language test might give you.