Even DLI itself doesn’t have a database of this sort and could not readily produce a similar analysis, according to former commandant Dino Pick. To our knowledge, this is the first time such a project has ever been carried out. It took more than three months to gather, analyze and visualize the data. With the help of optical character recognition and data extraction tools, the Weekly transformed the scanned printouts into a proper database, allowing for in-depth analysis of the history of foreign language education in the U.S. The data first arrived from the DLI in a format that made it hard to use: computer printouts that were scanned and turned into digital images. Trust me, the link is fantastic and makes up for the drabness the Monterey County Weekly had the brilliant idea of asking the Defense Language Institute for enrollment rates for each language of instruction from 1963 to the present, and Asaf Shalev’s article is the result: “You know, we got linguists right now in Japan helping with earthquake relief in that country.Drab title, I know I was tempted to call the post “Why Provençal?” but I opted for the tediously factual one. And I will tell you, we can show proof and things going on today how well prepared our linguists are,” said Col. “We would not send them out of here to their individual units and individual services unless we were confident that they were fully prepared. allies, DLI will likely have a key role to play in that mission. special operations forces to advise local U.S. military campaign against IS in Iraq and Syria by boosting U.S. They dress in local clothes and communicate in the target language.Īs the Obama administration broadens the U.S. Once at the facility, all students leave English at the door. Souzy Guirguis teaches military students in Egyptian dialect at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (Courtesy - DLI).īesides comprehensive language training, students are also sent to what DLI calls the Immersion Facility where they are exposed to real-life scenarios. “With the future engagements of these soldiers going out, it helps them at least communicate with the local population and once the population feels that the soldiers are speaking their language, they will try to do the same thing and be very helpful,” said William Sameer al-Wahab, a department chair at Middle East School II. There are various schools within DLI with focus on various regions of the world. “My primary role is to help bridge the gap between Pashto and English coming from that of an English native speaker’s background,” said Bartlett. Army Sergeant Garrick Bartlett received four years of education in Pashto before he became an instructor. military instructors who are educated in various languages. Students not only learn from native speakers, but also from U.S. “If we tell someone that our students learn a language in a 9-month period or 35 weeks or 47 weeks, nobody believes that,” said Christopher.Įvery student who comes to the school is assigned a local name. About 30 percent of DLI students spend four weeks immersed in the culture of the languages they are studying at the institute.
“The United States and specifically our military understands that in order to be the best partner with all nations around the world we not only have to understand the language but the culture embedded with that as well.”ĭLI accommodates about 3,500 soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen and select civilians sponsored by their agencies.įILE - DLI students of Modern Standard Arabic tour the ancient town of Fes, Morocco. “We are worldwide renowned for producing some of the best culturally and professionally based military linguists,” said Col. He told VOA that cultural education is a key component of the educational curriculum. Deppert is the commanding officer of the Defense Language Institute (DLI), located in Monterey, California. Deppert is tasked to help soldiers avoid these mistakes.
Though few and far between, these tactical level mistakes can take a toll on the overall mission and its credibility. A tactical decision made by a soldier in a war theater can have strategic political, social, and cultural implications at the national and international levels.
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