How can I best prepare myself for reenlisting to learn a new language through DLI?

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 May 2019 02:24:49 -0400

Greetings! Currently, I'm in my reenlistment window. I'm weighing my options on my next career move, and am leaning towards attempting to reenlist in order to attend DLI in order to learn Arabic. My retention NCO says it's possible, but he's unfamiliar with the exact steps I need to take. While he's getting back to me, I'm trying to gather as much info as possible. I have a GT score of 136. So here are my questions:

- What can I do in the meantime to prepare and set myself up for success?

- Should I take the DLAB beforehand?

- Are there any other requirements aside from the usual (HT/WT standards, GT score, etc.) I need to fulfill to attend the course?

- Has anyone had any experience with this?

- I also have around 40 or so college credits. If I take the course, can I use this towards an associate's degree?

- If I am able to secure a class date, will I also be able to pick the language?

- Will I be fluent in the language by the end of the course? Enough to score superior on the DLPT?

- Does anyone know the course length for Arabic?

- What sort of enlistment obligation would I be looking at after completion of the course?

Any input would be appreciated!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 29 at 2019 3:06 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 May 2019 03:06:58 -0400

I can answer some of your questions. I am a 35P Korean linguist who went to DLI straight out of BCT.
* You DO need to take the DLAB.
* You can leave DLI with an Associate's degree as long as you have the required math and technical classes completed.
* You will be as fluent as the effort you put into it. Some people are just better at picking up the language. I have friends who graduated DLI with a 3/3 while the highest grade I've ever scored is a 2/3. If you successfly complete the course you will absolutely have at least a basic level of fluency.
* The Arabic course is 64 weeks long.

Good luck. DLI is really, really hard.

Response by SFC James Pritchert made May 29 at 2019 3:23 AM

SFC James Pritchert — Wed, 29 May 2019 03:23:36 -0400

Nick; As a retiree, guidance counselor, and a corporate trainer, I might suggest that you step back a bit and examine your approach here. The one item missing form your list is your desired outcome. It is obvious that you have given this a lot of thought and most, if not all of us on the board here can appreciate the thinking and time you have invested here. Yet, if you and were discussing this one-on-one, my first question is what do you really want? What goal in your life will you achieve by learning Arabic? When I went to Saudi Arabia, I learned all I need through Arabic cassette tapes from DLI and yes I said cassette tapes because it was a long time ago. If language mastery is your goal then take a Rosetta Stone course or Mango, or Belitz, or any number of language courses.
I see that college credits are one of your concerns so perhaps you should talk to your college counselor about that and ask what the language requirement is for the particular degree you are pursuing. My two semesters of French and two semesters of German got me all the way through to my second Masters degree and I have not really used either since. Well, I tried to help my granddaughter with French in middle school but that was a bust.
Naturally, I could go on forever since I am an old man now and can't sleep through tonight anymore but that won't help you. What I suggest is some straightforward discussions with professional counselors who are experienced in guiding you through the process making some critical career decisions. And I am not talking about your battalion career counselor because God knows I once help that job. You need someone who is experienced and that may be an older person, male or female who can give you perspective from the other side of life.
In the meantime, I wish you the best of luck for a long and productive, if not happy career.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 29 at 2019 8:40 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 May 2019 08:40:12 -0400

You and your retention NCO might be miscommunicating a bit. It's possible to go to DLI, but not as a 68W. You can go as a Reclass into MOS 35P or 35M. Or if you're an MOS that is language enhanced like SF, CA, PSYOPS, or 35L.
If one of those are the route you choose, bare minimum you will require a DLAB and a TS clearance. When you graduate you will be expected to maintain a 2/2 the read t of your career or lose your new MOS.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 29 at 2019 10:30 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 May 2019 10:30:18 -0400

Making a nomination for SFC Boyd to be considered wisest NCO in RP. I was a 35PAD for 7 years before I went OCS. I went through DLI in 2002. Everyone who has written before me was correct (except it was 74 weeks when I went through. Guess it’s shorter now). On day one you will not speak English. You will have no clue what they are saying, so it might be a good idea to learn the alphabet and a few of the basic words first. That first few weeks was hard when you sat through 8 hours of Arabic and then you were furiously writing words down using English transliteration to try and look the words up later without knowing much of the alphabet. I don’t know your proficiency with languages. Many people have a DLI vacation because they pick stuff up quick. I was on academic probation the entire time because I didn’t pick it up quick. That meant you went to class until 1600, did PT, had dinner, then went back to the schoolhouse from 1900-2200. I didn’t have a DLI vacation. The good thing is, the schoolhouse taught you above the DLPT, so getting a 2/2 wasn’t that hard.

Here’s the kicker. Those academic DLI vacationers with a head for Arabic? I often outperformed them on mission. The reason is DLI teaches modern standard. Unless you are on an open source intelligence mission, you will never use MSA. The academic bookworms had trouble because they constrained themselves to the grammar and structure rules of MSA making it harder for them to really pick up dialects. Now I hear at DLI they will now allow you to DLPT in the dialects, but unless that dialect is magically the same one you will use at your first unit, I still see my experience applying here. When I was doing the job every day, you still had to maintain your 2/2 in the MSA DLPT even if you were dealing with Iraqi. Now you can DLPT in Iraqi to maintain proficiency.

Last thing. This was one of the biggest reasons why I chose to drop my language later in my career. Though we have made significant headway through the years with a better linguist regulation and better education of our leadership, there are still commanders (especially MICO commanders) who believe maintaining one’s language proficiency rests solely on the Soldier for completion when they get off duty. The Army is the worst military service when it comes to this and CLPMs are constantly working hard to fix this. Bottom line, you need to be prepared to figure out a way to maintain your 2/2 on your own if need be. The average non-linguist does not understand what it takes to maintain your skills to a advanced HS early college level proficiency and they tend to ignore their CLPMs who are their primary advisors in this matter. I never found a good way to maintain my language on my own especially since days typically ended at 1900 and I started having a family.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 29 at 2019 12:54 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 May 2019 12:54:31 -0400

Appreciate all the input. I'll be taking the DLAB next week and continue working with retention. I'll update this post once I've settled on my decision for reenlistment.

Response by CPL Gary Pifer made May 29 at 2019 1:58 PM

CPL Gary Pifer — Wed, 29 May 2019 13:58:59 -0400

Think long and hard about Arabic and it's civilian applications....the Arabic conflict is winding down.....I myself was using cassette tapes....for Arabic.....The future is Mandarin...

Response by PO1 A C. made May 30 at 2019 2:09 PM

PO1 A C. — Thu, 30 May 2019 14:09:08 -0400

Hello, You have already received some great and accurate information but I'll also attempt to answer some of your questions. I went through DLI 2009-2010 and learned Mandarin Chinese. Your questions:
- What can I do in the meantime to prepare and set myself up for success?
All of the suggestions you've received already (like learning some basic grammar and vocabulary beforehand) are good but I'd say the best preparation may be just preparing yourself to not have any hobbies, personal life, family life, etc. for the duration of the course. DLI is no-joke difficult. My class had an over 50% drop-out rate and even missing 2-3 consecutive days of class for illness can get you rolled back.
- Should I take the DLAB beforehand?
Yes, this is a requirement.
- Are there any other requirements aside from the usual (HT/WT standards, GT score, etc.) I need to fulfill to attend the course?
Others have answered this well.
- I also have around 40 or so college credits. If I take the course, can I use this towards an associate's degree?
Possibly. DLI grants Associate's degrees provided certain requirements are met. I also had about 40 credits of college credit when I attended and I only had to CLEP a computer course to have enough to get my Associate's upon graduation from the Chinese program. The key is, do you have the right courses completed? The staff at the schoolhouse can provide you with a list of requirements to fulfill the Associate's degree. If you have 40 credits, you're likely pretty close.
- If I am able to secure a class date, will I also be able to pick the language?
Class start dates depend on the language you are learning. So your start date will vary based on the language, not the other way around. As others have said, it's needs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. that determines what languages are assigned to potential linguists. However, some folks are lucky with requesting a particular (reasonable, not French) language.
- Will I be fluent in the language by the end of the course? Enough to score superior on the DLPT?
Not sure what superior means, but the aim/requirement is to have every graduate at least at a 2/2/1+ (listening, reading, speaking, respectively) upon graduation. This is proficient enough for basic day-to-day communications, watching the news, etc. It really does depend on how much effort you put in to learning the target language, but even 9-10 years later with not much on-the-job usage of my language I'm still able to get around in Chinese just fine.
- Does anyone know the course length for Arabic?
64 weeks.
- What sort of enlistment obligation would I be looking at after completion of the course?
Not sure in your case, but I incurred a 6 year obligation to learn Mandarin (roughly 2 years for training and 4 on the job).

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at DLI, even if my wife did forget who I was. If you're willing to put in the work, you won't regret it.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2020 3:14 AM

PFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 03:14:13 -0400

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