Polish Language

The Foreign Service Institute, or FSI, is the branch of the US government charged with providing diplomatic staff with the necessary training before being assigned to postings abroad, and a large part of this involves language instruction.

FSI has been teaching languages to diplomats for around 75 years, and for those who can dedicate the necessary time, FSI’s intensive six-month Basic courses were designed to give students a high degree of competency in their target languages in a relatively short amount of time.

However, for those who couldn’t attend a full-time study program that lasted half a year, FAST courses were created to provide at least some level of language training before diplomats left to assume their roles in their host countries.

FAST stands for Familiarization And Short-Term Training, and these courses were intended to give students a foundation in the basics of the language as well as teaching them a bit about the culture and customs of the countries where they were being sent.