Defense Language Aptitude Battery
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The Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) is a test used by the
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 secu ...
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 is not like traditional studying - you are not learning content that will be on the DLAB, but rather learning the style of the DLAB. Someone failing the test or getting a low score can always retake the DLAB but only after a wait of 6 months. For most service members, this is too long and will cause them to miss the deadline for submitting their scores. Adequate preparation is thus a near-necessity. The languages are broken into tiers based on their difficulty level for a native
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
speaker as determined by the
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 f ...
. The category into which a language is placed also determines the length of its basic course as taught at DLI. To qualify to pursue training in a language, one needs a minimum score of 95. The
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
will waive it to 90 for Cat I and Cat II languages and the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
will waive it to an 85 for Cat I languages, a 90 for Cat II languages, and a 95 for Cat III languages. The
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
does not currently offer a waiver and requires all applicants to qualify for Cat IV languages, requiring a 110 or better. The Army National Guard is able to waive a score of 90 into a Cat. IV language. The DLAB is typically administered to new and prospective recruits at the United States Military Entrance Processing Command sometime after the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is taken but before a final job category (NEC, MOS, AFSC) is determined. An individual may usually take the DLAB if they score high enough on the ASVAB for linguist training and are interested in doing so. The DLAB is also administered to ROTC cadets while they are still attending college. The DLAB is also used for the
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
. The DLAB is a required test for officers looking to either join the Foreign Area Officer program or the Olmsted Scholar Program. The required grade for these programs is a 105, but the recommended grade is at least a 130 or above. Military personnel interested in retraining into a linguist field typically also must pass the DLAB. In few select cases, the DLAB requirement may be waived if proficiency in a foreign language is already demonstrated via the
DLPT 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 proficienc ...
.


Language categories

*Category I language: 95 or higher (
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
, French,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
,
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
,
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
) *Category II language: 100 or higher (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
,
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
,
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
,
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
) *Category III language: 105 or higher (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
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], Punjabi language, Punjabi, Russian language, Russian, Serbo-Croatian language, Serbian Croatian, Tagalog language, Tagalog, Thai language, Thai, Turkish language, Turkish, Urdu, Uzbek) *Category IV language: 110 or higher (
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], Chinese [Standard Mandarin, Mandarin], Japanese language, Japanese, Korean language, Korean, Pashto language, Pashto) While these scores are required to enter a language program of that category, often placement is based upon ''need'' rather than ''score''. For example, a
service member Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank (officer, non-commissioned officer, or e ...
that receives a score of 115 (good enough for Category IV) may be placed in Russian (Category III). Previously, the maximum score on the DLAB was 176, but as of 2016 has been lowered to 164. As of 2010, Category I languages had 26 weeks of study, Cat II had 35 weeks, Cat III had 48 weeks, and Cat IV had 64 weeks. By 2022, Cat I and II had 36 weeks of courses, Cat III had 48 weeks, and Cat IV had 64 weeks.


See also

*
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 ...
*
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 f ...
*
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 lang ...
*
Language-learning aptitude Language learning aptitude refers to the "prediction of how well, relative to other individuals, an individual can learn a foreign language in a given amount of time and under given conditions". Foreign language aptitude itself has been defined as ...


Notes


References

. http://dlabprep.com/how-is-the-dlab-test-organized/ Retrieved 24 April 2016. http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dlab.htm Retrieved 24 April 2016. {{SLA topics United States Department of Defense Second-language acquisition Language aptitude tests Defense Language Institute