Posted on Apr 10, 2017
If you were a recruiter, which secondary language of an individual is more preferred to enlist?
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If that someone had one semester each of French and German in a college course or if that someone had taken a semester of Arabic in college? One or the other. French and German or just Arabic. Spanish was already taken in high school and one semester of it in college. I have to decide and I schedule my classes tomorrow. French and German are both 3 credits so I can take both while Arabic is 5
Recruiter
NCOs
Enlisted
Foreign Language
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 8
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Arabic, by far.
I would point out that what is important in the military is the ability to read, understand, and speak the language. A semester's worth wouldn't get you very far.
Many Army billets offer additional training and a few offer Foreign Language Proficiency Bonuses. If you can test out at a high enough evaluation on the DLPT, it is well worth your while.
I would point out that what is important in the military is the ability to read, understand, and speak the language. A semester's worth wouldn't get you very far.
Many Army billets offer additional training and a few offer Foreign Language Proficiency Bonuses. If you can test out at a high enough evaluation on the DLPT, it is well worth your while.
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Any foreign language that is spoken fluently is a bonus. wouldnt matter to me what the language is
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It is only relevant if you are 100% fluent- speaking, reading, and writing, and can pass an oral and written exam administered by a native speaker employed by the Defense Language Institute (DLI). Otherwise, if you are seeking to enlist for a linguist MOS, you have to pass the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) to determine if you are eligible for language training at the DLI. Your college courses may help you get a better score on the DLAB, but it alone has no bearing on what you are qualified to enlist for.
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Are you breathing? Can you pass a drug screen and physical? Can you make a 28 on the ASVAB? Can you almost speak English? That is all they want.
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SGT William Howell
SFC (Join to see) - Give it another 6 months. There will be another hiring binge. Still no enlisted recruiter is looking for multi-language recruits. If you walk in and speak Farsi and sign the papers nobody is going to give out high fives.
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I would say Arabic because we're not currently in conflict with France or Germany. Arabic on the other hand can be very useful to prevent possible issues due to miscommunication. It's also good when people don't know you speak the language. I've always loved walking into a room and people start speaking a different language, not knowing that I still understand them and what they're saying about me. It's not something that happens often in the States, but I'm sure overseas that'd be quite useful.
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1SG (Join to see)
French speaking countries (particularly in Africa) pop up quite a bit on the operational radar, but Arabic does even more.
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As a former recruiter I can tell you that taking a course or two in a language won't make a difference at all. If you're fluent it might open some doors, however.
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