Languages studied at DLI run the gamut from Spanish and French to Russian and Serbo-Croatian to Farsi and Arabic to Korean and Chinese. The basic French and Spanish courses last little more than six months, while courses such as basic Arabic and Korean can take more than a year to complete. To be considered for language training, candidates must score well on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and Defense Language Aptitude Battery. Yet each year many students fail to complete the course because of the grueling workload. Students must pass a series of examinations that test their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities in the languages they are pursuing.
Most students find themselves spending every spare second studying and practicing.
It's not unusual to overhear dining facility banter in Farsi or late-night conversations held in Russian. You have to pack so much into your brain so fast. But the teachers were great. Teachers and students work very closely, Stone said, and the teachers often take a personal interest in the success of their students. Kanbar's feelings are shared not only by her fellow civilian instructors, but also by the soldiers who work at the institute.