How U.S. Military Linguists Learn Languages Fast 

DLI isn't the only intensive 3-letter language school. See how Mormon missionaries learn languages fast at the MTC 👉🏼 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ox6MdRTc0yE.html

Having studied Russian, Japanese, and Korean, I can't imagine having to learn any of those in 64 weeks. Very impressed with anyone who can stick out something like that.

The quickest path to learning a language is total immersion. It is paramount that you ONLY speak the target language. You CANNOT use your native tongue. Remember, the greatest obstacle to learning a language is already knowing one.

"7 hours of class a day, 2 hours of homework, and an hour of study, five days a week" Yeah I don't care what "technique" they're using to learn... the time spent is probably the biggest factor.

One of my uncles grew up in the Bronx, he spoke English, Italian, and some Yiddish...In WWII he ended working as an interpreter in North Africa and Sicily, he then learned German, then Japanese, then Korean.....and after 20+ years in the US Army he learned Vietnamese. He had a remarkable ability to pickup on languages.

Elle is my daughter! She loves everything Korean and enjoyed her experiences there. I got to visit her while she was stationed in South Korea; it's a wonderful place. Great video!

I studied Italian and on making my first trip to Italy. I was traveling on a train to Rome, when a Japanese girl entered my train compartment and asked me a question in Italian…it was my very first time actually speaking Italian in Italy…I answered her…and we went on to have a great conversation together in a language that was not our own native languages. I will never forget how amazing that felt…the world changed in my mind!!!

As a former LDS missionary and US military veteran that studied at DLI, I can attest that the language courses are intense and effective if you apply yourself and have some skills.

One of my highschool teachers was in this program for spanish. The way he described it was insane, it sounded so so rigorous. He learned spanish entirely in like six months

My dad was almost fluent in Arabic by the time he came back from jordan, he was there for a year and a half. He has some of the language but he can still have a deep conversation with his Jordanian friends in Arabic. It’s really impressive, not a lot of people expect a Mexican guy to speak more Arabic then Spanish.

I studied German at DLI in the late Eighties. Here was their secret: daily testing and assessment. They’d give you lessons, tons of homework, and a test every morning on the previous day’s work. For us Air Force troops, anything under an 88 was a failing grade. Imagine a school where a “B” is a failing grade! If you failed two days in a row, you washed out. If that happened, they made you a cook or another career. Motivation was high! Throughout the course, they cranked the rigor. At first, they’d give you 50 vocabulary words to memorize daily. By the end of the course, it was 300 words to memorize DAILY! The DLI prepared me to get through college and grad school.

I learned Spanish quickly by moving to Costa Rica and finding a girlfriend. I moved in with her family and I was fluent in a couple months. Everyone in town was shocked. Now I surprise Spanish speaking people in the states all the time by striking up a conversation in Spanish. I miss Costa Rica, it's a beautiful country with lots of awesome people.

I wish a school like this was available for civililians

These videos about how different groups of people learn languages are so interesting, I'm really enjoying this series!

Military specialist and technical training is absolutely insane. They manage to teach several years worth of knowledge in a couple months.

In brief: The video is about the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, California, where the US military trains its personnel in foreign languages. The DLI offers an intensive language learning program that lasts between 36 to 64 weeks, depending on the complexity of the language. The video provides an in-depth look at the training process, the daily schedule, and the experiences of the students. Here's a summary of the main points: 1. **Admission**: To qualify for the linguist job in the military, candidates must pass the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB), a test that assesses their ability to learn new languages. The test is based on a made-up language to ensure fairness. 2. **Language Assignment**: After basic training, recruits are assigned a language based on their test scores and the military's current needs. They don't necessarily get to choose the language they want to learn. 3. **Training**: The training is extremely intensive. Students spend up to a year and a half immersed in their chosen language. The instruction is initially in English, but as students progress, teachers use less English and eventually switch to teaching entirely in the target language. 4. **Instructors**: The instructors are either civilian native speakers or highly educated military language instructors. They come from over 90 countries. 5. **Classroom Experience**: Classes are held from Monday to Friday, with six hours of language learning each day. The course is divided into three semesters, each focusing on a different theme such as history, geography, or culture. The instruction includes grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension work. 6. **Self-Study**: Students are expected to do a lot of self-study, including memorizing vocabulary words, making recordings of themselves speaking the language, and transcribing recordings. 7. **Immersion**: The DLI has an isolation immersion facility where students can live for up to three days, interacting in an environment where only their new language is understood. They also have simulations to prepare them for real-world situations. 8. **Assessment**: To graduate, students must reach level two, which means being able to understand the gist of a conversation or accurately pick out facts from a news broadcast. Some jobs require a higher level of understanding. 9. **Advice**: The video ends with advice from former students, who emphasize the importance of finding something to love about the language and appreciating the unique opportunity to learn a language intensively. The video also mentions some resources available to the public, including the Global Language Online Support System (GLOSS) and a practice DLAB test available on Amazon.

My military son went to the DLI to learn a language straight out of Basic Training. Now, five years later he is back at the DLI learning another language (they needed more linguists and he volunteered). I went to Language Day in 2019 and it was an incredible experience! The DLI opens its doors to the public only one day a year (unfortunately I can’t go this year because it’s on a work day). There is native music and dance, poetry readings in different languages, food trucks with many different cuisines of the world…the students get to show some of what they are learning and it felt like a celebration all day! If you ever have the opportunity to go, don’t miss it!

In the early 80’s I had a girlfriend who joined the Air Force as a linguist. After basic training she spent 6 months at Lackland AFB in Texas doing a full immersion Russian course. For 6 months they spent 5 days per week on a section of the base where she said they were only allowed to speak Russian from day one. They were forced to learn Russian just to function.

I learned the Czech language in 1985 at DLI. My sister and I eventually flew to the Czech Republic. I was shocked when the Czechs understood what I was saying! It was wonderful.

Let’s just agree that the Army has ways of teaching things quickly given sufficient motivation. I remember PT swimming at basic training. The PTI said “raise your hand if you can’t swim” a couple of people raised their hands. He said “in one hour you will be able to swim”. And he was right.

Hey my parents both work at the DLI! One thing thing to note is that they learn these languages because they are completely immersed into the language it’s honestly pretty cool to see them improve at the languages

My daughter is a linguist via DLI (military) and learned Korean. She can speak it, read it, and write it. Plus they learn the history, culture, and society. I love to listen to her speak it.

I am active duty navy and I studied to be a military Russian linguist at DLI it is no exaggeration when I say it is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life the stress levels of the school puts Bootcamp to shame but if you make it through the course it is one of the most gratifying experiences you’ll ever have. When you get to that point in class where you realize three months ago you had trouble pronouncing the difference between a chair and a table and now you can listen to a news broadcast and understand is just amazing. It reminds you that the almost unsustainable amount of effort you’re putting in isn’t worthless. this video was fairly accurate about the schooling structure, more so than any other video I’ve ever seen about DLI. The instructors there are extremely skilled often knowing English grammar better than most college students and being able to explain their native language grammar in their second or even third language sometimes. The school is not for the faint of heart but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity that if you’re given it hit the ground running and do your best just remember that even more than your ability to learn the language having a positive attitude can make or break whether you make it through the course.

I trained in Taekwondo with a man entering the Navy. Possibly the worst at speaking the Korean we used in class (Korean instructor). He came back 12 months later after linguistics training and my instructor was BLOWN away. He said he sounded just like a native speaker from North Korea. He was shocked. It was very impressive.

Graduated Spanish in 91, and this seems far more rigorous than when I was there. There seemed to be a lot more partying going on amongst my group at least. I remember the poor group that was halfway through German when the Wall came down and they got moved into Spanish. I think they lost 1/4 of their students within a month because the change was so extreme.

This goes with my theory that you SHOULD focus on a particular accent/regional dialect from the beginning of language acquisition. The more accustomed to accents and phonics in a language, the more intuitive and fluent you can become. People always say "accent is not as important", but I've met too many people who speak a language fluently with absolute unintelligible pronounciation.

I really like these videos showing how specific groups of people learn languages

I was at DLI Monterey in 1971 for Japanese and 1981 for Chinese Mandarin. Back then the level 4 courses were 47 weeks. I didn't have to hope I got the language I wanted, because it was written into my contract that I would be enlisting for training in that specific language, both times. Of course if I flunked out, the agreement was null and void, and the Army could assign me as they thought best. My DLAB score was 150. There is no secret to learning languages when it is your full-time job for 11 months. Lots and lots of hard work.

My brother studied French from Alliance Francaise. The did a similar thing, the instructor spoke in French the moment they stepped in. They know you are beginner so they did a lot of body language to make you understand but never used English in a sentence. They did movie days where they watch movies and review them, game days when they play children games, all the while only speaking in french. Helped him a lot and he learnt french enough to have a conversation within 6 months.

I studied Mandarin Chinese here in 2000-2001, Despite not having taken any formal classes in the past 20-ish years (just a bit of self-study now and then to brush up), and not being exposed to the language regularly, I still feel very comfortable speaking it when the opportunity arises! DLI is literally the only thing about the US military that I can speak positively of.

Great video, also Olly is extremely well-spoken and articulate, the way he emphasizes certain words and puts pauses at just the right moment while he speaks is fantastic. The entire video just had a lovely flow to it and was easy on the ears. A great orator - probably one of the best I have heard on youtube.

My dad went there and learned Mandarin and was sent to Taiwan in the early 70's. Ironically, he's in his early 70's and can still speak it. In business he had to use it. And I've seen him have conversations with Chinese people for an hour. I asked him where he learned and he told me about DLI and the total immersion.

This is by far the most interesting video I've ever seen. I'm an absolute lover of learning languages. I speak German, Spanish, Italian, and just recently Japanese. I'm almost 50 years old and I marvel when people say you can't learn a language at 50. I'm entirely self-taught and have no difficulty learning languages easily. Hearing about the process is getting me so excited. I'm going to map out a course for myself to learn these ways and I bet I'll learn new languages even better than my old process. Thank you.

I was a Russian DLI graduate from 1989. Your video is very accurate, and I noticed how much has changed since I went through the course. I work in an elementary school now, and there is a newly arrived student from Russia who doesn't speak English. Unfortunately, not having used Russian since I left the military 30 years ago has me barely remembering even basic words and phrases. I've been Googling those, and the pronunciation is still there, because she understands everything I say, or at least is very happy to hear an adult attempting to speak her language!

I graduated from DLI in 1971, German language. Scored a 4 in the course, at that time the highest score attainable. A 5 would indicate native speaker. I can still read German pretty well, 52 years later. That was a GREAT way to learn. We had two teachers over the 8 months, one from Vienna, the other, from Hamburg. The process described here is much advanced over the training we received.

So fascinating to hear about this language instruction. I studied language both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and in between I joined the Peace Corps where I was able to learn the indigenous language Guarani in Paraguay. Part of the challenge was that we had a limited amount of formal training. After that, I continued acquiring the language in my site learning as best I could through daily interactions and situations. Although it was most certainly difficult, it was also greatly rewarding.

The way diplomats learn languages to a high level is also really inspiring to me, especially as somebody majoring in International Relations the instruction even at college level is really good and intense. They also assign you a language in college and on the job depending on the government's needs

Hey! Tagalog Language speaker at DLI from 2010's. Never thought I was good at learning the language, but when I passed the language exam and heard about the bonus (10k if you complete the school) I was in! I think the schedule is not as harsh as you explain here, at least during my time there and in the Marines which is the most disaplined of the branches (dont let anyone tell you otherwise). Most of the time we were drinking and studying, I remember one of my neighbors would always get drunk and listen full blast to filipino music for his "study time". It was the closest think I ever came to a frat house or sorority. 8 hours a day, all together just trying to learn tagalog. The teachers were also super harsh, I laughed when the guy got the response that his russian was shit, because that is so true. The teachers let you know when you sound like a 5 year old. But they also care about you and are equally proud when you do well on exams. My teachers at least never spoke slowly and always gave us a hard time when we tried to use english to explain. Every DLI learner will remember when they started dreaming in their targeet language, and breaking that fourth wall when they start thinking and joking in that language, when they start to prefer the target language over their native one, and finally they feel just as natural speaking that language as they do the english.

This was a great video. I came because I wanted to learn more about how the military teaches languages. You gave me that and even more. Great job on the interviews, clips, and editing. Thank you.

Fantastic! I love this video. I am sending it to my friends and family now. I am a US Army honor graduate of the Arabic program at DLI from 1987. It was a grueling experience that I love to this day. It laid the foundation for a career that has lasted for decades. It opened doors for me in media, diplomacy and of course, security and defense. I worked all over the Middle East and Africa and was able to pass as a native speaker. The skills I learned put me in harms way, but also saved my life. I worked solo on the streets of Baghdad in 2003-2005. I was able to pass valuable intelligence to our allies from conversations I heard on the streets. I am so glad to have found this video. Thank you for your wonderful work!

The language aptitude test was really fun. Didn’t want it to end. Spent about 2 years at DLI studying Russian in the 70s. I’m impressed with the improvements made to the program, especially the immersion and simulation exercises.

I was in German class at DLI when the wall came down in fall of 1990 (yeah, I know--it was reunification, not wall--addressed in comments but editing to avoid more comments 😁). It was an amazing experience. Our instructors used almost no English from the start, but of course that's easier with German than for some other languages. We were housed with fellow German students and encouraged to use the language even when not in class. I knew no German at all when I arrived and could communicate at a pretty high level at the end

The DLPT was bar none the hardest test I've ever taken, year after year. Imagine those college exams that are multiple choice and two answers are correct, but you have to choose the "most" correct one. Now do it in a foreign language using authentic foreign media extracts. I always felt like it was a small miracle that I got my 2/2 scores, which was the minimum standard for qualifying. Any time I did better than that it felt like an accident.

As a 16 teen that had to teach herself different things just because the mediocrity of the Educational System in my country I agree with the most of the comments. My mother lenguage is Spanish, but when I was 7 my father enrolled me to an English Course. I dropped out, I was a "baby" and the only thing the teacher used to do is bombard your head with grammar and outdated vocabulary, i was falling asleep every single day, wasn't learning a thing, and don't gonna talk about the mount of task and the frustuation. Now, almost 9 years later I' m so proud I stepped out, my english is pretty good , I speak portuguese and a little of italian too, all by myself, I became my own teacher and don't have to pay or hold mistreats from nobody anymore. Keep pushing in your way to learn lenguages. I asure you that Its gonna be the best decision of your life.❤❤

I was at DLI for two years. I wish I could go back again. Life changing. And you make life long relationships with some incredible people who share the same interest in language as you. It’s incredible.

I learned Korean in 64 weeks in DLI in 2011-2013. What a time! As for "sound and script", we didn't have that. We had an "optional" headstart program before the 64 weeks started to learn the sounds in an afternoon and a few phrases for a couple of days. Week 1 of official class was hitting the ground running with introductions/salutations + vocab study.

Possibly the most well structured, executed and fun informative tutorial on a very useful topic

I spent two years at DLI. They were some of the best years of my life.

I've found over years teaching - and learning myself - is that motivation is the driving force to persue languages (and anything for that matter). It's hard to imagine a bigger motivator than not dying.

I attended DLI to study North Vietnamese in 1973. 45 years later I was talking Vietnamese at a nail salon with a woman who told me my Vietnamese was very good, “elegant.“ I have had formal studies in eight languages and since DLI I have found all the commercial language learning products to be too slow. We learned a high-octane method of study, and we learned how our minds best absorb a language for memorization and conversation. I learned as much about myself as I did the language. PS-I may be the only person on earth who speaks both North Vietnamese and Swahili! :-)

Ahhh. This video brings back so many memories, along with an excellent description of what it takes to really learn a language as successfully and deeply as possible. As an Academic ESL teacher, I have incorporated many of these learning opportunities in my classes, building on what the course materials require/suggest. (Personal note: I hope some of my classmates from the French classes March-August 1964 happen upon this video and contact me! My husband Joe had attended the DLIWC earlier, studying German as a Specialist. So, with the wisdom of the military, he was assigned to Germany for a wonderful 4.5 years.

I think this academy is on the right track. I ended up serving a mission for the LDS church and after being dropped in Mexico became fluent in Spanish after 8 months. The key is emersion into the culture and being required to speak the given language at all times

I went through DLI for Korean from 2002 to 2003. Full disclosure: I was a washout from the course. I was fortunate enough to be already be multilingual, so I was able to go on to be a military linguist. My main criticism with the DLI method is that they tend to focus heavily on syntax and grammar at the front rather than learning expressing basic needs. I believe that learning a second language as an adult should mirror how one learns their first language: express basic needs and build on that. DLI works because they force a large volume of people through it with the hopes of getting certain percent out. It’s sink or swim there.

As a functioning bilingual whose second language was, at first, a learned language, I am convinced that the key to this type of language learning is the acceptance of discipline. Any method works, when the students are this disciplined and dedicated.

Just graduated 2 weeks ago. This video actually does a pretty good job.

Such an interesting video. Thank you for the content! 👏🏽

When I was in Marine Corps bootcamp, I was pulled out one day to see how well I did with languages, something about how I did on the ASVAB.. It was all audio, and a made-up language. We were supposed to figure out what they were talking about based on what we heard. I apparently didn't do so well and continued on with basic training. It was a cool experience though. Probably why I still suck at hearing and understanding Russian after 5 years 🤣

Out of all the military advertisements I’ve seen, this one has me thinking . . . sign me up.

This is the kind of thing that’s right up my alley. I need a course like this so I can learn at least 7 languages. ❤

I graduated from the DLI in Russian about a decade ago. It was a very intense experience. Not quite getting plugged in to the matrix, but its more than you thought you could learn. As a veteran, Id absolutely LOVE to go back now without the pressure, trying to learn another language any other way feels inadequate.

My brother studied languages at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in California. The pace of study was intense. Students had to master the language course in 36-64 weeks. Psychologically it was very difficult, but fortunately he was helped by Yuriy Ivantsiv's book "Polyglot Notes. Practical tips for learning foreign languages”. The book " Polyglot Notes" became a desk book for my brother, because it has answers to all the problems that any student of a foreign language has to face. Thanks to the author of the channel for this interesting video! Good luck to everyone who studies a foreign language and wants to realize their full potential!

Learning Japanese in the 1960s, I wasted a lot of time in the first few months asking “why?”. Once I accepted that there was no answer to this question, I started to make some progress.

I'm loving your videos and wish I would have gone through military language schools. For me, I was simply given orders then transferred to a few countries and learned pretty much with language immersion and a Berlitz foreign language book. I did learn the accents and enjoyed different cultures. I think that if you have a deep desire to learn all about the country you are studying, you pick it up easily.

I took that test (maybe I watched one of your other videos?) and showed some facility for languages (picking up grammar rules and language patterns). I learned ASL, beginning at the ripe old age of 40, but had immersive opportunities, access to native speakers, daily access (met and dating a Deaf guy, later married), and was extremely motivated. My training was similar. No talking in class, only ASL. Expected to socialize with native speakers. Culture courses. Different scenarios. I had to communicate my needs. Storytelling. Because it's a visual/manual/spatial language, we had to learn to mime, act, get used to prolonged eye contact, use our hands, faces, and bodies to express ourselves. We also had many visual exercises to see things in visual space and to be able to see things from the other person's perspective as Deaf people sign from their POV, for example, driving instructions from their POV. So signing "left" will look like "right", but you have to see it as "left". I self taught enough German to take a beginner class and understand the teacher. I mostly learned from an app she was critical of, but was impressed that that was where I had learned enough to understand her and express myself. Also teaching myself French and Spanish and Esperanto. I'm too old to tackle languages that use a different writing method/script. Wish I was younger and could start my language learning so much earlier with so much available now that wasn't available to me when I wanted to learn Japanese 50 years ago!

I'm Deaf, and a full-time ASL user and I've either been teaching ASL or teaching Deaf kids English for ... 20-25 years. More recently I have been picking up bits and pieces of JSL (Japanese Sign Language), BSL (British Sign Language), and AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) and the cultural and developmental qualities of a language absolutely require background information about the day-to-day life of the people who developed it. For example: Western cultures tend to say "me/I" by pointing to the chest - we see our central emotions and aspects of the self as being in our chest/heart. Most Eastern cultures, when signing "me/I" will point to their nose or forehead, as they view their central identity (the self) as being in the head/mind or in the center of the face. On the other hand (ha!) sometimes the basic signs (like the sign for book - two hands flat up against each other, like a prayer, then, keeping pinkie fingers on each hand together - like a book spine - pull the thumbs apart until both hands are flat, palms up, like an open book) are almost 100% universal. I come from a long-standing military family (at least back to the Revolutionary War - and beyond), and I would have VERY MUCH liked to have an opportunity to serve my country, and access the cultural and linguistic education that goes with it!

I learned english in 1.5 years with a self developed system, much akin to this one (congeniality really is a thing) After that I managed to learn german in 1 year and spanish subsequently in 6 months. Things like "100 most needed phrases" and "1000 most needed words" speed up the learning process immensely!

As a graduate of DLI, I think it's awesome that you're making this video.

Air Force got rid of the DLAB this year, so I didn’t have to take a test to get in, they just expected me to learn whatever language I was assigned… I got Chinese, it’s a lot of fun.

Fluently speaking two foreign languages (Mandarin Chinese and English) I've learned that one of the best ways to learn a language fast is to involve your emotions. You memorize new words quickly when you're in a native environment, so when learning on your own you can try to curate that exiting or stressful feeling by learning new vocab from movies about traumatic experiences (example: "tangshan earthquake" for mandarin) or reading erotic novels (manga/manhua for asian languages works great too). And watch tiktoks in that language! It works wonders, really helps to get that native feel in your speech.

Cant wait for the “which languages are most profitable” video!

One of my closest friends of nearly 50 years was a young Marine, a high school drop out who as a SNCO became a Vietnamese Linguist after a course at DLI Monterey, by the time he finished his 30 year career in the Marines, he had attended and graduated as a Japanese, Korean, and Spanish linguist from DLI and ended his career as the Non Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Marine Barracks at DLI, Monterey! From there he went on as a DIA Agent at the Post Graduate School in Monterey where he retired as a GS-11 after suffering a stroke!

I met many u.s military linquists when I worked abroad. I loved them and was amazed by them, partly jealous at their opportunity and fluency. Great video!

I was a contract interpreter for NATO forces in Kosovo, and I was less than impressed with the language skills of US military interpreters there. They had a huge vocabulary, but very weak syntax and stilted, direct translation style that was often difficult for the Russians they were working with to understand. They were helpful to me, because I often lacked the direct terminology or knowledge of certain acronyms as a non-military language specialist, but they often struggled to make the broader point clear. This is the weak point in fast learning. The Russian officers gave me the most generous compliment by telling me, “You say it they way we would say it and not word for word what the other person is saying.” You can’t get that in short classes, no matter how intense.

My grandfather went to Monterey in the military and learned Russian during the Cold War. He worked as a codebreaker during the korean war in Japan breaking and translating soviet code. He didn't speak much of his service, and always fought tooth and nail for my family to never join the military but i'm proud he was able to study one of the hardest languages at the DLI.

I took the DLAB many years ago. As I recall, the test takers in the room with me were people who were considering joining the military but had not yet done so. That was certainly true of me. It was a difficult test. Several people got up and walked out of the test. Many more people didn’t return from the lunch break. A friend who took the test with me only returned after lunch because I did so and we had driven there together.

You’ve done a lot of work on this video. It’s amazing. Thank you so much!

I graduated the Korean course in 1991. It appears that their training and school have become more intense and immersive since then. It was truly amazing and the friendships you form with your fellow linguists will last your entire life. Great video and trip down memory lane.

Heck, I started dreaming in Arabic after just two weeks at DLI. Been out of the service for ten years and can only remember the basics. One has to keep practicing (reading, speaking, and listening) to stay fluent. Still, glad I got to go there.

"Wow, we actually know what's going on!" Had a similar moment while travelling recently. Definitely motivating. Thank you so much for sharing this video Olly! I would love to go to DLI. 😅 I'll do my best to follow what they do based on your video. In a way, I'll be an indirect product of DLI! 😂 😊 And of Olly. ❤️😍 Thank you again and more success!

As enlisted Navy, I graduated from the basic Mandarin 47 week course in 74-75, and came back as an MLI in 86-89. Worked in the signal's intelligence field. Retired in 1994 and did an MA in Chinese in Hawaii. Qualified as a graphic language analyst at the NSA in 1990 while still on active duty with the Navy. The AVERAGE graduate of DLI in Asian languages is not really fluent, but they do have a solid foundation in the language. Most would be placed at the start of the 3rd year level at a university (CHN 301). University students have a better knowledge of literature and the written language. DLI grads tend to have better listening comprehension.

One of my best friends learned Arabic for the military, he met his wife in Monterey and it was crazy to see how fast he got fluent in the language. I took 5 years of German in high school and he became fluent in Arabic in like a 3rd of the time while I never really got close.

Thank you for this great video. I really enjoyed learning about this.

Thanks a million. That’s brilliant. I appreciate it. 🎉 cheers and best regards, Winai

I’m currently at the DLI for Arabic. Yeah, it’s not easy. It’s a ton of work and my mind is fried by the end of the day.

I attended DLI for German immersion as a military spouse, but it was a special program as we were getting set to move to Germany as part of an exchange program. The experience in the program laid the foundation for my eventual fluency, and it has also helped me learn other languages. Very great video.

It's absolutely amazing! As anthropologists, we face the similar challenge - how to master the foreign language and elements of corresponding culture in a quick and efficient way. We use to say, you begin to understand a foreign culture when you are able to tell jokes in that way that natives start to laugh on the jokes themselves and no more on you, 😀And I think, this training by a "supervised immersion" is really great!

I’m so thankful I found your video. I was offered the opportunity to be a linguist for the army and this made me realized the incredible opportunity I have in front of me. ❤ thank you

I completed the Arabic language course at DLI in 1993. We studied Modern Standard Arabic and then Egyptian, Iraqi, and Lebanese dialects. Very intense but well worth it. I used it when I went on the U.N. Multinational Force and Observers tour in the Sinai Peninsula. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND! 😃👍

My wife and I completed the German language program in the late 80s. We were privates. I didn't have officers in my class, but my wife did. Once we entered the classroom, rank seemed to disappear. When interacting with the other students, we never got hung up on rank ... it was all about learning the language. To that extent, we were all equals and that's the way the classes were conducted. The funniest thing was what the Germans through was funny versus what we thought was funny. There was certainly a sense of humor gap!

I REALLY appreciated this video. WOW!!! Unbelievable. I read part of a book about language acquisition. Fascinating stuff. The guy was a polylinguist. It was VERY intimidating. The idea was one CAN learn a language AND in a short period of time. The "technique" was essentially what is being explained here. I can't imagine what the training is like. Again, thanks for the video.

I studied abroad in Korea I was in higher level psychology courses and it was taught in English and majority of the class were Koreans. I was also in a Korean language course and the professor never spoke English we all had to use Korean from beginning to end. It can be stressful but it seriously helps in advancing in the language.

I'm just glad that the military is actually identifying & utilizing the talent of our young recruits NOT just training them on how to kill! With this type of skills, these people will be guaranteed good jobs when they leave the military.

This one and how the Mormons learn languages have been my favorites so far. Thanks for gathering and curating this info - your generosity is astounding!

My kid came from Puerto Rico to Florida without speaking english, now he spoke both and corrected me and helped with my pronunciation. Also, he is learning pprtugues with his friend, right now they speak in portugues and spanish. And he is just in elementary school. I think the better time is when they are little.

I cant believe this came across my recommended lol. As an alumni of the Mandarin course at DLI, this brings back a lot of good (and bad) memories. Glad i found it this video!

I love that they mention the culture aspect of language learning. My Latin teacher in highschool would always say "you can't learn language in a vacuum you must learn it's people and history as well".

I was an Army Mandarin linguist, the only woman in my DLI class of 10 in 1976. The sexism and bias of the teachers was so terrible that my male classmates had to go to the Dean about it (there was no sexual harassment training, or easy ways to report, in those days). Still, it was great training which I highly recommend - and Monterey is a lovely place to live for a year. I didn’t find the training difficult per se, but there was a lot to learn in a short time (I always had flash cards on me). About half way through, English began to sound odd, and I even had some dreams in Mandarin.

An interesting and informative production Olly. Thank you. 👍

Jack is essentially saying that language acquisition helps you to navigate another part of the world. That really resonated for me, because we want everyone to be able to navigate the water without fear and have fun. What could be more universal than that?! Great content, Thanks!

Me under a comfy blanket at 2 am eating crisps with my legs on a table: mmm yes military course I could do that too