Embassy Press Release

U.S. English Language Mobile Training Team Visit Romania

June 4, 2008

The latest visit of the U.S. English Language Mobile Training Team to Romania begins on June 2 and will continue through June 13. The visit of the Mobile Training Team is only the latest step in a long term program to build interoperability between the U.S. and Romanian armed forces through an aggressive English Program. There are three aspects to the program: individual training, mobile education teams, and the procurement of equipment for language laboratories.

The U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) has sent over 140 English language teachers from the Romanian Ministry of Defense to U.S. Defense Language Institute (DLI) schools. These teachers attend various courses where they learn methods of instruction, hone their English language skills, and certify as English language instructors. These teachers return to Romania where they work for the three Romanian service academies, the Defense Ministry, the National Defense University and the three service headquarters; and individual units across the country. A unit may train some 50-75 soldiers in a year so we estimate the number of service-members indirectly benefiting from ODC’s language program to be in the thousands.

ODC has sent some 25 Mobile Education Teams from the U.S. Defense Language Institute to Romania. These teams of two or three professional instructors provide refresher training to Romania’s English language teachers, and often spend time working with the military students themselves to afford them the opportunity to discuss select topics with native English speakers. ODC has provided two teams this year that worked with teachers and students from the National Defense University, the Land Force Academy, and the Air Force Academy.

Finally, some 17 language labs and five learning centers were procured through ODC security assistance funding. Procured equipment varies from location to location but includes language books and tapes, audio equipment, desks, chairs, and sometime computers. ODC established the latest laboratory last year at the Air Force’s main language center in Chitila. The laboratory includes 15 computer driven workstations and a main switchboard for the teacher.

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