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Defense Language Proficiency Tests
The Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) is a battery of foreign language tests produced by the Defense Language Institute and used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). They are intended to assess the general language proficiency of native English speakers in a specific foreign language, in the skills of reading and listening. An Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is sometimes administered to Defense Language Institute students to establish the graduate's proficiency in speaking following training there, but it is not part of the DLPT. Description The tests are meant to measure how well a person can function in real-life situations in a foreign language according to well-defined linguistic tasks and assessment criteria. Originally paper tests, they are increasingly delivered by computer. The tests are used to assess the skill level of DoD linguists. Linguists are tested once a year in the skills of reading and listening. Test scores determine the amount of Foreign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other federal agencies and numerous customers around the world. The Defense Language Institute is responsible for the Defense Language Program, and the bulk of the Defense Language Institute's activities involve educating DoD members in assigned languages, and international personnel in English. Other functions include planning, curriculum development, and research in second-language acquisition. Overview The two primary entities of the Defense Language Institute are the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) and the Defense Language Institute English Language Center (DLIELC). DLIFLC is located at the Presidio of Monterey in Monterey, California, and DLIELC is located at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland Air Force Base, Texas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Department Of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. The DoD is the largest employer in the world, with over 1.34 million active-duty service members (soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, and guardians) as of June 2022. The DoD also maintains over 778,000 National Guard and reservists, and over 747,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.87 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security". The Department of Defense is headed by the secretary of defense, a cabinet-level head who reports directly to the president of the United States. Beneath the Department of Defense are th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Language Proficiency
Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy that transfers meaning in production and comprehension. There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to speaking ability, others extend it to cover both productive and receptive language skills and their effective application in varying practical contexts. However, this diversity has implications for its application in other language domains such as literacy, testing, endangered languages, language impairment, etc. There is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it. Native-level fluency is estimated to require a lexicon between 20,000 and 40,000 words, but basic conversational fluency might require as few as 3,000 words. Developing language proficiency Developing proficiency in any language begins with word learning. By the time they are 12 months old, children learn their first words and by the time they are 36 mont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Proficiency Interview
An Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a standardized, global assessment of functional speaking ability. Taking the form of a conversation between the tester and test-taker, the test measures how well a person speaks a language by assessing their performance of a range of language tasks against specified criteria. In the United States, the criteria for each of ten proficiency levels are described in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, devised by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). In an OPI, the test-taker is interviewed by a certified ACTFL tester, who guides the conversation to explore the abilities and limits of the individual’s oral target language abilities. During the course of the interview, the interviewee is guided to engage in a variety of tasks such as describing, narrating, and hypothesizing. The interview is recorded and scored by the interviewer as well as a second certified tester using the following scale: Superior, Advanced High, Advan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguistics is concerned with both the cognitive and social aspects of language. It is considered a scientific field as well as an academic discipline; it has been classified as a social science, natural science, cognitive science,Thagard, PaulCognitive Science, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). or part of the humanities. Traditional areas of linguistic analysis correspond to phenomena found in human linguistic systems, such as syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences); semantics (meaning); morphology (structure of words); phonetics (speech sounds and equivalent gestures in sign languages); phonology (the abstract sound system of a particular language); and pragmatics (how social con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Language Proficiency Pay
{{refimprove, date=January 2013 Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) is a special pay given to members of the United States Military who demonstrate proficiency in one or more foreign languages and is regulated by 37 United States Code Section 353(b) and DoD Instruction 1340.27. Military Foreign Language Skill Proficiency Bonuses. FLPB is one of the skill proficiency bonuses under 37 U.S.C. Section 353(b). Also, consult Chapter 19 of Volume 7A of the DoD Financial Management Regulations (because this chapter is updated more frequently than the DoD Instruction). Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP) for military was changed to FLPB in 2006; it is usually pronounced "Flip Pay." If referring to FLPP after 2006, one is referring to DoD Civilian FLPP, not the military FLPB. By receiving FLPB, a member agrees that they are available wherever and whenever they are needed by the military for the purpose of their language skills. Payment FLPB is usually paid on a monthly, bonus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interagency Language Roundtable
The Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) is an unfunded organization comprising various agencies of the United States federal government with the purpose of coordinating and sharing information on foreign language activities at the federal level. The ILR's primary function is to act as an avenue for the varying participating federal agencies to keep abreast of modern methods and technology regarding the teaching of language, the use of language, and any other language related issues. Membership The ILR membership consists of a large number of people with professional interest in language with regards to the teaching, learning, or use of language in a professional context. About 60% of the membership are federal employees. Committees Aside from general membership, the ILR has three standing special interests committees: *Steering Committee **The Steering committee is responsible for planning ILR direction and events, and is composed of members from eight different federal ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Less Commonly Taught Languages
Less Commonly Taught Languages (or LCTLs) is a designation used in the United States for languages ''other than'' the most commonly taught foreign languages in US public schools. The term covers a wide array of world languages (other than English), ranging from some of the world's largest and most influential, and holds international recognization such as Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Portuguese, Japanese, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Swahili, Italian, and Tamil to smaller regional languages studied in the US mainly by area experts, such as Twi, spoken in West Africa, and Finnish. The term arose out of a need to contrast the more commonly taught languages in US K-12 public education with those normally encountered only at university level, a great divide reflected both in the US textbook industry, which caters to the existing K-12 market by necessarily focusing on the "Big Three," (Spanish, French and German) and in historical US government funding for foreign language edu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CONUS
''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137813 on 2015-11-12 Prior to 2009, cone snail species had all traditionally been grouped into the single genus ''Conus''. However, ''Conus'' is now more precisely defined, and there are several other accepted genera of cone snails. For a list of the currently accepted genera, see Conidae. Description The thick shell of species in the genus ''Conus'' sensu stricto, is obconic, with the whorls enrolled upon themselves. The spire is short, smooth or tuberculated. The narrow aperture is elongated with parallel margins and is truncated at the base. The operculum is very small relative to the size of the shell. It is corneous, narrowly elongated, with an apical nucleus, and the impressi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ACTFL
ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) is an organization aiming to improve and expand the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13,000 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as in government and industry. Founded in 1967 as a small offshoot of the Modern Language Association (MLA), ACTFL quickly became both a resource and a haven for language educators. Since then, the organization has set industry standards, established proficiency guidelines, advocated for language education funding, and connected colleagues at the ACTFL Annual Convention. ACTFL language proficiency guidelines The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines provide a means of assessing the proficiency of a foreign language speaker. It is widely used in schools and universities in the United States and the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview is the most widely us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defense Language Aptitude Battery
The Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) is a test used by the United States Department of Defense to test an individual's potential for learning a foreign language and thus determining who may pursue training as a military linguist. It consists of 126 multiple-choice questions and the test is scored out of a possible 164 points. The test is composed of five audio sections and one visual section. As of 2009, the test is completely web-based. The test does not attempt to gauge a person's fluency in a given language, but rather to determine their ability to learn a language. The test will give the service member examples of what a selection of words or what a portion of a word means, then asks the test taker to create a specific word from the samples given. Preparation for the DLAB includes a number of study guides and practice tests. These resources give one the appropriate means by which to prepare for the test and gauge a possible outcome. However, a study guide for the DLAB i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defense Language Office
The Defense Language Office was an office within the United States Department of Defense. It was officially established in May 2005 under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure a strategic focus on language and regional expertise among Defense Department military and civilian workers.” It was created by the Fiscal Year 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, which accompanied the House Report 108-491, "to provide oversight and execution of the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap." According to the report, the Defense Language Office was set to "ensure a strategic focus on meeting present and future requirements for language and regional expertise among military personnel and civilian employees of the Department. This office should establish and oversee policy regarding the development, management, and utilization of civilian employees as well as members of the armed forces; monitor the promotion, accession and retention of individ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
