How can I prepare for an Army DLAB test?

2018-07-25T21:49:30-04:00

I want to try out for special forces, so I finally raised my GT score to 119 after 2 months of studying, and now I hear that I have to take another test to qualify for special forces.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Jul 25 at 2018 10:12 PM

2018-07-25T22:12:51-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member You ain’t seen nothin yit! SF is an ongoing series of tests. They never cease! That is where the Respect for Special Forces troops comes from.

Then, you receive a Long Tab; careful, do not step on yourself, indigenous personnel or do anything that might cause your clearance to be challenged.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2018 10:20 PM

2018-07-25T22:20:29-04:00

There is no preparing for a DLAB except stay away from loud noises for 24 hrs before and clean your ears out before you go to hear the test. The DLAB tests how well you can learn a new language by making one up through the course of the test. A new rule is made up for the first few sections, then one section they are all combined to create what was once an English sentence into complete gibberish. Then there is some story board stuff. The higher you score the hard language they can assign you. It's pretty fun though. Good luck.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2018 10:23 PM

2018-07-25T22:23:44-04:00

Get a Border Patrol study guide and study their language portion. Maybe it’s on their recruiting website too but I’m not to certain.

Response by LTJG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2018 10:33 PM

2018-07-25T22:33:04-04:00

Ah man good luck.
I've taken the lsat, gre, two flight tests, and the dlab. The most mind numbing one was the latter of that list.

As far as prep I'm sorry to say but there really aren't many ways to get ahead of it. Part of the point of the test is to throw something out at you that you've never seen and are unprepared for and see how well you adapt and how well you pick up on the information they're presenting you. The point of the test is to see how well you can learn a language.

The only things you can do is a. Be familiar with the style of the test. Feel free to message me if you want to hear what I can recall about my experience. B. Boot up on English grammar. Some questions require knowing some English rules, knowing what antonyms are etc.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2018 11:11 PM

2018-07-25T23:11:57-04:00

I speak fluent Spanish and I did not score high enough on the test. Like others here have said, memorize the rules and know the definitions of grammar. If you already speak another language, it may be helpful. Once you get that good score, then you could pick a language. That means a year at Monterey learning that language. I am in civil Affairs and when I was with a civil Affairs Battalion, our Battalion Commander would ship us all down the Fort Irwin to take the test. Psyop, civil Affairs and Special Forces watch your language skills. Slapping civil Affairs are very closely related to Special Forces and we work together.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2018 11:30 PM

2018-07-25T23:30:18-04:00

Ok. Heres the rundown. Its not a made up language and you can study for it.
1. Its esperanto, the failed global commercial language. Dont study esperanto, I just wanted to set the record straight.
2 study basic English grammar. Like 2nd grade stuff. Subject/object, what parts of speech are, tense and subject verb agreement, etc... that's what it uses to test. The better you understand English, the better score you will receive.

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jul 25 at 2018 11:53 PM

2018-07-25T23:53:20-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member, I think CW2 Private RallyPoint Member has offered some valuable information. His advice might be the best course of action.
I took it many, many years ago and did very well. I didn’t study for it. I didn’t know you could study for it, so I just took it. At the time, I thought the test was to measure one’s natural propensity and aptitude for language, so I saw no point in studying.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 26 at 2018 12:01 AM

2018-07-26T00:01:24-04:00

Another thing, SF does the DLAB at SFAS, you dont need it before going ( though I'd recommend doing it first so u dont have to while there). Remember, if selected, this score will decide which language you are taught. Are you comfortable learning a tonal language with a funky alphabet like Chinese? Or are you more comfortable with a non-tonal, Latin alphabet language like Portuguese? Theres 17 language options for SF, your score on this test will be the major factor in choosing which one.

Response by SSG Brian L. made Jul 26 at 2018 11:28 AM

2018-07-26T11:28:41-04:00

Ive always heard that if you understand grammar then it will be easier for you... I do not and the test was a bit rough for me lol... it starting making more sense as the test went on but it took me a few mods in before then... scored a 93... not retarded but far from good... study English grammar and have a general understanding and a good memory.... good luck

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 14 at 2019 7:38 AM

2019-02-14T07:38:22-05:00

My LT and I both just took it a few minutes ago. He got a 91 and I got a 90. He didn’t study at all, and I bought a study guide a few weeks prior. After taking the test, I will say that there is really no way to study for it. Just know your basic language terms; nouns, adjectives , and processors.

The test was the most difficult test I’ve taken in the military for sure. Especially the last section with pictures...I was guessing at that point.

Response by SFC Melvin Brandenburg made Jul 21 at 2019 6:36 AM

2019-07-21T06:36:05-04:00

Bone up on sentence construction and remember to carry the rule from each step forward to the next. I forgot to do that on part 2 and failed by 1 point.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2019 8:41 AM

2019-07-21T08:41:02-04:00

The DLAB is actually designed to be impossible to study for. It basically invents a language, progressively adds grammar rules to it, and then presents you with passages and asks you questions about the passage (both translation and grammar usage questions.) Its designed to assess your ability to learn languages, not your knowledge of a language. You can’t really effectively study for it. For some reason I scored very high on it and that is how I got Arabic at DLI. But I also know people who were multi lingual who scored very low. Not even sure how to advise someone to be successful on that test.

Response by CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2019 11:03 AM

2019-07-21T11:03:21-04:00

You can't really prepare. It's all based on an artificial language. The only think you can do is avoid alcohol the night before, get a good night's sleep, and eat a solid breakfast.

Response by SFC Melvin Brandenburg made Aug 18 at 2019 10:27 AM

2019-08-18T10:27:07-04:00

Study basic English sentence structure.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 29 at 2019 6:52 PM

2019-11-29T18:52:00-05:00

There are a few good books on Amazon to pick up to study up for the DLAB. When you know what language you are going to be assigned, I recommend Pimsleur through Audible. It's worth the money to study off duty or when on self PT...