Defense Language Aptitude Battery
Encyclopedia
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. It is used to determine who may pursue training as a military linguist. It consists of 126 multiple-choice questions, and the test is scored out of a possible 176 points. The first half of the test is audio, and the second half is written. 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. To qualify to pursue training in a language, one needs a minimum score of 100. The Marines
will waiver it to 90 for Cat I and Cat II languages, and the Navy
will waiver it to a 95 for Cat I languages only. The Air Force
does not currently offer a waiver. The languages are broken into tiers, based on their difficulty level for a native English speaker, as determined by the Defense Language Institute
.
The DLAB is also used for the Australian Defence Force
.
(French
, Italian
, Portuguese
, and Spanish
)
(German
, Indonesian
)
(Dari, Hebrew, Hindi
, Persian
, Punjabi
, Russian
, Serbo-Croatian
, Tagalog
, Thai
, Turkish
, Urdu
and Uzbek
)
(Modern Standard Arabic, Pashto, Chinese
, Japanese
, and Korean
)
The various categories also determine the course length of the basic course as taught at DLI, if taught at all.
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. It is worth mentioning that DLAB scores are not directly indicative of one's ability to learn a language. While the test may remain an effective method of determining aptitude, one who scores a 130 will not necessarily be any better in the target language than one who scores a 100. Also worth mentioning is that the Army National Guard is able to waive a score of 90 into a Cat. IV language, though as in the example case, the student may struggle to keep up with the curriculum.
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
.
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
to test an individual's potential for learning a foreign language. It is used to determine who may pursue training as a military linguist. It consists of 126 multiple-choice questions, and the test is scored out of a possible 176 points. The first half of the test is audio, and the second half is written. 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. To qualify to pursue training in a language, one needs a minimum score of 100. The Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
will waiver it to 90 for Cat I and Cat II languages, and the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
will waiver it to a 95 for Cat I languages only. The Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
does not currently offer a waiver. The languages are broken into tiers, based on their difficulty level for a native English speaker, as determined by the Defense Language Institute
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
.
The DLAB is also used for the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
.
Language Categories
- Category I language: 95 or better
(French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
)
- Category II language: 100 or better
(German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
)
- Category III language: 105 or better
(Dari, Hebrew, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
, Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Uzbek
Uzbek language
Uzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
)
- Category IV language: 110 or better
(Modern Standard Arabic, Pashto, Chinese
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
)
The various categories also determine the course length of the basic course as taught at DLI, if taught at all.
The DLAB is typically administered to new and prospective recruits at the United States Military Entrance Processing Command
United States Military Entrance Processing Command
The United States Military Entrance Processing Command is a Major Command of the Department of Defense, which screens and processes applicants into the United States Armed Forces...
sometime after the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is a multiple choice test, administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, used to determine qualification for enlistment in the United States armed forces...
is taken but before a final job category (NEC
Navy Enlisted Classification
The Navy Enlisted Classification system supplements the rating designators for enlisted members of the United States Navy. A naval rating and NEC designator are similar to the Military Occupational Specialty designators used in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps and the Air Force Specialty Code ...
, MOS
Military Occupational Specialty
A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...
, AFSC
Air Force Specialty Code
The Air Force Specialty Code is an alphanumeric code used by the United States Air Force to identify an Air Force Specialty . Officer AFSCs consist of four characters and enlisted AFSCs consist of five characters. A letter prefix or suffix may be used with an AFSC when more specific identification...
) 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. It is worth mentioning that DLAB scores are not directly indicative of one's ability to learn a language. While the test may remain an effective method of determining aptitude, one who scores a 130 will not necessarily be any better in the target language than one who scores a 100. Also worth mentioning is that the Army National Guard is able to waive a score of 90 into a Cat. IV language, though as in the example case, the student may struggle to keep up with the curriculum.
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
Defense Language Proficiency Tests
The Defense Language Proficiency Test is a battery of foreign language tests produced by the Defense Language Institute and used by the United States Department of Defense. They are intended to assess the general language proficiency of native English speakers in a specific foreign language, in...
.
See also
- Defense Language Proficiency TestsDefense Language Proficiency TestsThe Defense Language Proficiency Test is a battery of foreign language tests produced by the Defense Language Institute and used by the United States Department of Defense. They are intended to assess the general language proficiency of native English speakers in a specific foreign language, in...
- Defense Language InstituteDefense Language InstituteThe Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
- Defense Language OfficeDefense Language OfficeThe Defense Language Office, an office within the United States Department of Defense, was established in May 2005 within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense...
- Language-learning aptitude