How U.S. Military Linguists Learn Languages Fast
🇺🇸 United States Military Linguists are known for being among the fastest language learners in the world. But speed is certainly not the only goal. From gathering critical intelligence to supporting troops on the frontlines, a lot rests on the language skills of linguists in the U.S. Armed Forces.
So how do linguists in the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy learn the language skills they need to do their jobs? That is precisely what I wanted to find out, so I reached out to two graduates of the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, California: Elle and Jack.
This video details the incredibly intense programmes these service members complete, including interesting techniques like “iso-immersion” and “scream & scribble”. While only a select few can attend DLI, there are some powerful principles in this video that ALL language learners can apply. Hooah!
📖 LEARN A LANGUAGE THROUGH THE POWER OF STORY
If training at DLI isn't in the cards for you, don't despair! You can start learning 12+ languages right from the comfort of home with my story-based courses.
👉🏼bit.ly/storylearningcourses
✍🏼 BLOG VERSION:
Prefer reading to watching? Learn more about this amazing process here:
👉🏼 bit.ly/militarylearnlanguages
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How Mormon Missionaries Learn Languages Fast 👉🏼 • How Mormon Missionarie...
📚 VIDEOS & RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Live Demo! Olly Learns Italian in 90 days [Playlist]
• Live Demo! Olly Learns...
GLOSS (Global Language Online Support System)
gloss.dliflc.edu
DLAB Practice and Skills Test Study Guide: 300 DLAB Practice Questions with Explanations
amzn.to/3BaGVke
DLI Accent Libraries:
Spanish Accents 👉🏼 bit.ly/dlispanishaccents
Arabic Accents 👉🏼 bit.ly/dliarabicaccents
✍🏼 CORRECTIONS:
DLI trains 3,500 students per year, not 350,000 as stated in the video!
In the language chart, it should read "Hindi", NOT "Hindu". Our apologies for the typo.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - US Defense
02:47 - The School
04:49 - The Test
07:17 - The Language
10:03 - The Instructor
11:50 - The Class
13:30 - The First Lesson
18:32 - The DLI Method
21:14 - What’s the Goal?
24:54 - Immersion
26:41 - Simulations
27:27 - Going Deeper
29:12 - The Schedule
31:06 - Language Day
DLI isn't the only intensive 3-letter language school. See how Mormon missionaries learn languages fast at the MTC 👉🏼 kzhead.info/sun/gtxvfciKi5VmrH0/bejne.html
DLI Russian grad. ask me anything!
Please make more vids like this. I loved it
In Frankfurt am Main, Germany I met some Americans who belong to Mormon Christianity
Hopefully FSI is another three letter intensive language school future video upcoming also.
@@calitaliarepublic6753 Good thing we pulled out like we did. Thats was a good idea, right?
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 topics are focused on military and political topics mostly, I'm active duty and I know several people who have gone to the school, they struggle with daily conversation, but can translate classified documents like it's nothing
Nice assortment. My daughters and I each took Spanish in school. One daughter has studied Russian, the other has an interest in Japanese, and I’ve been dabbling in Korean. From time to time we will all have a “conversation” in these languages, with a little French and German for good measure.
@@marshingo5262 Yes, I'm at DLI now. There are definitely still areas where one can improve in even after passing the DLPT. You can speak about some high-level stuff by graduation, but you may not be able to flow colloquially like a native speaker.
@@tyunpeters3170 Nice man, what language did they give you?
When learning Russian i found that using the basic methods as language is taught in high school. If you stop to think about it... why it is presented that way you find out that language is just a tool, easy to make use of. Combined with practical experience talking to Russians.. it did miracles. That was a long time ago and i forgot a lot. But it was good to find out that methodic study makes things really easy.
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.
ja, sicher. Das stimpft.
The quickest path to learning a language is to first learn all the grammar and THEN the complete immersion. Otherwise the complete immersion method will take you years and even then with mediocre results.
@@miovicdina7706 That's an erroneous claim. Look up Stephen Krashen's comprehensible input theories for second-language acquisition. Studying grammar is never necessary unless you'd like to teach the language professionally. Immersion is the only way to acquire a language in the same way that you naturally acquire your native language.
@@taylorcandelaria3582 I don't believe that. I have some friends who speak our native language so poorly, that if a foreigner would "immerse" in their community, he would end up speaking like an uneducated person. This would affect his image and it will take longer for him to relearn in a correct manner. I am glad that I have studied English long before I have "immersed" in the English society, because I have discovered that many people (native speakers) write and even speak incorrectly (for example, the "famous" apostrophe!).
The Peace Cors do it, but almost none of them ends up speaking the language. And this, considering that they live in families there, in the local culture and linguistic environment. So, it's a myth.
"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.
Gets easier as you go along! Bravo!
Learning and even simply hearing a foreign language actually changes a person's brain, creating new neural pathways. Once a person is familiar with a second language, it becomes significantly easier to learn a third or fourth language!
@@bluegoth Gua your dad is a U.S Army , I'm too Honduras immigrant but I just speak Spanish, how did your dad get into the army? Explain me please ? I want to into too
@@bluegoth Yes of course thank you very much for this Information, I'm is studying G.E.D it's tool's to apply after continuing and improving my english. You has than parents immigrant. what advice you give me for improve my english?
Most foreign born military brats grow up speaking two languages at home. Your uncle's generation literally paved the way for my generation to learn these languages growing up. Myself knowing nine plus learning another three due to work.
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.
That sounds intense. i don't think I can memorize 300 words in one day. I'm sure college and grad school were a breeze for you compared to DLI.
@@058becs You could do it, but you work up to it gradually. I also served as a Latter-day Saint missionary in the years before I joined the Air Force. I went through the Church’s language training for French. We were there for eight weeks. It was challenging, but not nearly like DLI.
I could see how you got to have a sense of unity and fun with your teammates, just to make it, to get all that extra reinforcement of the concepts.
This is crazy and insane and whatever other word works 😂 Mad respect to you, learning a language was fun for me cus I took my time, never knew there were courses like this that prioritised speed and results first. Nuff said, the way you learnt was super efficient. Shoulda implemented this strategy or learning style when i was learning German 😂
If you can do that, college should be a walk in the park.
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!
Mom stop you're embarrassing me
In 32:15 Elle gives *the* secret tip for all languages/cultures ("Find something to love about the language/culture"), which I am sure helped a lot in achieving all that progress. The story was all well told too. Thank you for telling your language learning story, Elle!
I really loved Elle sharing her experiences learning Korean - my daughter heads to DLI to learn Korean after Basic! Sounds intense but fun. You must be so proud of her!
Kam sam ni da.
I bet Elle is an ARMY in the Army:) Boraehae 💜
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!!!
Great experience
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
I have spoken Spanish my entire life. I grew up in Puerto Rico. I went to DLI for Russian (12 months), but I had friends in the Spanish course (6 months). You are correct. I saw many students come in who could barely say "Taco", and they were having full conversations with me by the time they graduated.
@@bilcarterHow is your Russian?
@@bilcarterwhat's the secret of their success?
@@nattidread5844having a native speaker to speak to. learning the language in the native country is even easier, and 10x easier for kids, because if they wanna know how to say something, they just say “hey how do you say ______” then they learn it.
As for communication skills I learn whole sentences saying them aloud. 5 days - 300 repetitions per day at least. Later I don't need to translate. I know the meaning of words straight away like in my native language. And also I remember the meaning longer than by learning separate words. This method is called: chunking. It was a real game changer in my learning process in English and other languages.😊
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.
My dad was Army and learned Vietnamese at Ft Bliss Texas 71--72. I was surprised to know some of his classmates were Navy.
I am fluent in Arabic, Tagalog, Mandarin, Fench, Italian, Spanish and now I am in the process of learning tongues with your sister.
@@0000USN Fort Bliss woo! I'm a local lol
@@jimmyjohnson7883 💩🤡
@@jimmyjohnson7883 Rolling all sorts of R's
Military specialist and technical training is absolutely insane. They manage to teach several years worth of knowledge in a couple months.
It really is impressive, if you know a skill set you want, it makes enlisting seem worthwhile. Pay to learn, or get paid to learn?
I just got done with Basic, AIT, and Airborne. I'm a 94E (radio & comms repairs) we learned an MOS that was originally 36 weeks in 17 weeks plus info that was added to the original course and it was cut even shorter due to holiday extended weekends. You do get through it if you keep your head up but it's an insane amount of information. We got an average of 4-6 hours of sleep every night plus they made me PG so I had to get up earlier to keep proper accountability of everyone in my platoon, I looked healthy as hell in basic training compared to AIT. I was honor graduate and I still wasn't very confident in my abilities. I just hope I can be proficient in my job since I am national guard and am only practicing my MOS one weekend a month.
By the second week I was dreaming in German... Worth it, but I used to have hair...
@@OscarMikePrecision you had me until the "4-6" hours of sleep thing. That's really dumb on their part. Sleep is the single most important aspect of improvement and learning.
@@DrGetgood Usually the military requires like 7 hours minimum each day for trainees at least. I think it's okay to get less every so often. There's a lot of strict rules for that sort of stuff, including 3 meals a day. It doesn't ways get followed, and maybe once you're a real soldier after basic, there's less emphasis. Once I got to my unit, I never heard of a sleep requirement rule or anything, but we usually got 6~8 hours of free time in between days. So, you'd work for 16 and be off for 8. One time I did have to stay awake for 72 hours while on the radio. Had to reply for a radio check once every hour. Edit: Actually found something on it: "The Office of the Army Surgeon General recommends that soldiers sleep at least seven hours per night, although only a minimum of four hours is required during field training exercises.May 27, 2021"
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.
What kind of skills do you think would be helpful?
@@sebastianmosqueda5959 Obviously there are a couple, for example, quick and clear thinking, good memory recall, focus, etc. Some not quite apparent, but equally important for the immersion process are good visualization in your mind and forcing yourself to "think" instead of translate. You do not want to go the route of having a "translation" machine in your head all the time, you want to see objects/actions and think in the language directly. That being said, dedication and focused hard work are irreplaceable.
@@lukenielsen8397 Great! Thank you sir. I'm currently working on accomplishing the rest of my Spanish. Eventually learning Japanese if possible seeing as how I work with many Japanese people. They learned English. I figure its only fair if I learned a bit of Japanese
fantastic summary
@@lukenielsen8397Ahhhh. Interesting 🤔🤔 👍🏿
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.
That’s how I became fluent in German in 9 months. After 3 months I was speaking and laughing along children audio books. Business level took me a few extra months. At the end of the 9th month I was writing college papers.
@@sumairymendez6936 I loved Germany and I took some classes because I thought I'd move there. But when I learned Spanish and didn't use the German I forgot most of it.
@@comfortablynumb9342can you tell more about how you picked up language that quick, and how you travelled without plan, what job you had ? Very interested
@@oliverneborachko4552 I needed to get away from some people and habits in FL and I had always loved Costa Rica and wanted to live there since I was a kid. I went a couple times on vacation with my family and some of them moved there. So they had some friends in Pavones and they set me up down there. I rented a cabina and before long I hooked up with one of the owner's nieces. I moved in with her family. They spoke a little bit of English and I spoke a little Spanish. And I intended to stay so I wanted to learn. I can learn languages pretty easily so it didn't take long. I fished and farmed there too.
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 tried for decades to learn Spanish, but failed. I have no talent, and no hope.
Yes you do. Just don't give up
@@LesserMoffHootkins Got to a spanish speaking country and try to speak as much spanish as possible
@@blyatifulchao7406 I already speak as much Spanish as possible- almost none.
@@LesserMoffHootkins It's all about the methodology. I thought the same about German until I came across the videos emphasizing comprehensible input. Although my speaking and writing ability is almost zero, my listening and reading comprehension reached the intermediate level in 12 months.
These videos about how different groups of people learn languages are so interesting, I'm really enjoying this series!
So glad you like it
agreed, unlike polyglot celebrities' methodologies, this is something you don't hear much about!
Same! Amazing content ngl.
Yeah right, it motivates me to learn new languages
fr!!!!!
I wish a school like this was available for civililians
Students are already suffering 😂
From laziness and indoctrination @@ilv839
I went to DLI. There are civilian programs that we were allowed to attend if we wanted to get additional immersion time after graduation. Middlebury College in Vermont was one of those options. I never did that, I did an in-country immersion, but by all accounts Middlebury is very good.
@@PteromandiasI’ve heard great things abt middlebury overall, underrated college
@@TheInterestingInformeri was just about to mention this. literally my dream to attend and the fact that you can’t speak ANYTHING other than your target language (unless in certain personal circumstances i think but don’t fully remember) sounds so challenging but so intriguing as well cause everyone is going through the same struggle
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!
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.
It's fun, like a superpower:)
Češtinu? Ty jo, tak to muselo bejt něco! :)
Ahoj, snad se ti tady líbilo :-)
Sta si naucio?
Wow, I am from Czech Republic and as far as I can say - every nation is very pleased when somebody is learning their language, especially the one which you can not use in other countries - like it is very different to learn spanish because you can use it worldwide but when you learn czech you can only use it in Czech Republic :)
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.
But it certainly does not sound very encouraging to me, rather instilling fear in me, for my penchant for language learning. These days I am learning French for no set purpose and I am feeling that I am enjoying the process more in this free casual approach!
you don't even try Thai....
You are amazing!
Очень интересно!
I call bs. The military likes to make things difficult and stressful just for the sake of being difficult and stressful. Language learning is a process that involves continuous exposure over time. It is not something that can be intensely drilled into you. It would be like trying to drink from a fire hose.
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.
I learned Dutch to an advanced level in about 3 months or 300 hours of study as I focused on it for about 3 or 4 months, and I didn’t even try hard, and still watched mostly entertaining videos, because Dutch words are so pretty, and one’s hern tends to remember prettier and more distinctive words faster, and I’m learning pretty languages for fun, so it’s a hobby for me, and I am also intermediate level in Norwegian / Swedish / German and beginner level in Icelandic / Welsh / French / Breton / Gallo / Hungarian / Galician / Old Norse and most other Germanic / Celtic / Latin languages and a few other pretty languages, and I also discovered Slovenian a few days ago, which also seems to have a lot of pretty words - I noticed that, after learning Dutch, learning German has magically become so easy, and I find that I can understand lots of sentences in German now, just because some of the words have the same root as the Dutch words, and I can tell what they mean in that context, and I can even remember new words in German faster, so this makes it even easier, plus the sentence structure is the same in German as it is in Dutch, so I don’t even have to worry about it because I am already used to it!
Thank you GPT!!!
Thank you, my AI overloard
I highly recommend the learning method of transcribing recordings. This is a quick way to check if your hearing and pronunciation are correct. This method also trains learners to adapt to the pronunciation of gernal native speakers, rather than what a teacher with standard pronunciation speaks.
the Latter Day Saint do it, Too!!
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
This is not true. It’s not immersion.
well its as close as they're getting. I would say it is immersion. The teachers talk only in the language they're learning. The entire school day (8 hours) is nothing but Farsi.@@RetreadPhoto
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.
Yeah, but you're not Korean.
@@nineteenfortyeight6762, what does that have to do with learning a language. You must not know why that school is used by the military. I’m not Russian, but I’m learning the language anyway. Any person can learn any language, that’s the beauty.
@@culby276 yes! exactly! the more you know the greater.
@@nineteenfortyeight6762 angry nationalist spotted
@@culby276 May I test her Korean by having a conversation in Korean with her? I'm Korean and living in Korea, what's her social media if it's okay? I'm really curious! I want to know if she sounds natural or if she sounds like google translate when talking
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.
Yeah, it's not that extreme. I graduated Russian in 2000, and spent the last 5 years of my career heavily involved in the entire language learning program, before I decided to retire. No one is studying as much as this video claims, the formation requirements, lights out, curfew etc are only really applicable to brand new folks right out of basic. It's still intense but nothing like the implications in this video.
Interesting. Graduated Korean in 2002 and this was fairly accurate with the exception of that final hour of study hall until 2200.
That era was the stuff of legend when I was there. I went there in 97-98 after they did some major house cleaning (there were stories of people smoking weed in the barracks.) My commander there - who incidentally was the candidate for Pennsylvania governor last election - represented the new breed of leadership who brought in strict enforcement of standards and regulations after the partying 80s and early 90s.
@bigheadface Depends on the culture and your teachers. Russians are pretty chill. I'm sure you've heard about how kids suicide by train in Japan and Korea because they didn't pass their college entrance exams? That culture is very pervasive in Japanese, Korean, Chinese people and it will most likely apply to your instructors as well. It was common for us to receive 3-5 hours of homework a night and 8+ on weekends. High school kids in those countries ROUTINELY go to cram school every day after regular school AND on Saturday. The culture that fosters this behavior often is ingrained in the instructors from those cultures. Having learned something about Arabic culture and subsequently studied Russian I do not doubt that the instructors of those languages were probably not that intense, but not everyone's DLI experience is the same.
@@RobotDCLXVI You're absolutely right. The Chinese instructors would label someone who didn't spend at least 3 hours studying at night a "lazy worm."
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.
Wei Xiansheng …
I took the DLAB when I enlisted in the AF in 1981 and passed on the number (89). I started Chinese in January of '82 with a bunch of people much smarter than me. Our attrition rate was ~40%. Somehow I managed to graduate with a 96% average (did the same in Russian a few years later) while watching a lot of the big brains fall by the wayside. Fear is a great motivator, I guess. Wash trucks or be a linguist. Minimum 2.5 hours of study Sunday-Thursday evenings through the entire course.
This. I went to DLI for Dari. Like a dipshit I thought I’d get Russian because I’d studied it previously and the recruiter said I’d get it. What a moron I was. Anyway, I washed out because I hated Dari and never studied. To this day I don’t understand how I made it 6 months lol.
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'd say, it depends. People study languages for different purposes, and some of them may require as subtle accent as possible, and some may not. If you just want to communicate, accents aren't important. You may even notice them (for example, I can notice major features of Argentinian or Andalusian Spanish) - but mimicking them is a separate task, and many times it isn't necessary at all.
pronunciation ≠ accent
@@BallisticaMetal indian join to chat say how much they glad.
Worked in Iraqi with a graduate of DLI with a Navy Seal Team, the native speaker interpreters had trouble understanding her as she had no "accent" in her Arabic. My self taught arabic they had no trouble understanding what I spoke as I always listened very carefully to native speakers Arabic.
Technically one isn't considered fluent unless one can speak a language without any discernible foreign accent, but to do so often means a bit of accent from the second language creeps into one's first language.
I really like these videos showing how specific groups of people learn languages
Glad you’re into them!
@@storylearning imo theyre even more interesting than the "how does [x youtuber/polyglot] learn languages" but i love both series
Remi eating a burger?!
P
@@CunnyRape yes
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.
How can I enrol for Académie Française
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.
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!
Здравствуйте, выпускник DLI.
Желаю вам удачи)
Thats good, i suppose you lucky to have experience like that, probably it can not be forgotten in the future?
Very cool! I studied there 89-90 at the top of the hill school. Air Force
We were there at the same time.
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
That’s quite some planning. Which country?
@@storylearning I'm from Russia! Saint Petersburg State Uni, lots of people in my class got assigned difficult languages like Farsi and Japanese/Chinese(+English) and the courses are focused on difficult vocab, pronunciation and fluency, you also have classes about politics and law all in that language
I am a portuguese teacher and very often I get diplomats from the U.S who need to work in Brazil for, usually, two years and they learn the STANDARD language very proficiently, yes! But they always go for private tutors to get the REAL language lessons. They all say the same, they are paid to learn the language 8 hours a day from monday to friday and it's a very intense course and mostly taught in the target language once they already have the basics of it. But they focus a lot on standard language, that is, content from newspaper, tv news, diplomatic vocabulary and etc. But it's very hardcore the way they study and that's why they get a good fast result!
I was a student in the Korean school which was in the Asian II School at DLI back in the 1990s. Diplomats definitely attended DLI.
Business and Science graduates need language Skiils in French Portuguese and Turkish to do well in Ghana,
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.
Dude I went there in 97-98 and I still have dreams where I'm talking to people in Mandarin.
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.
Hey Crystal I’m a flight attendant trying to teach myself French can u give me some key tips? Thx 😊
While it is true that language, math, and music are processed in the same place in the brain and people with one of those aptitudes can easily usually pick up the other two, anyone can learn a foreign language. It is *outstanding* that you are curious enough to embrace other languages. It enriches one's life by having done so.
You cab watch a lot of Japanese dramas for your learning. That indeed is a fun yet very effective way of learning!
I am 56 hopefully I can learn Spanish in a year
@kingdomprincess I would suggest adapting some of the techniques in this video. Find things that keep you interested. If you enjoy Journaling or singing then listen to French music and sing with it. Find the translation and when you sing it again, hear it also in English (in your head). I would suggest one song at a time. Maybe just the same song for a week to get pronunciation and translation down. You can re-write a poem that you love in French. Make your grocery list in French. I think the easiest way is to adapt the learned language into your daily life so it is simultaneously being absorbed. Also, when you finally visit you'll be amazed with how your brain has stored the information. The foods you normally eat will be at your verbal fingertips. You'll know how to ask for the food in French. Lastly, I believe that listening to KZhead videos in the background or even while sleeping allows some programming. I've done this with basics such as numbers and the alphabet. During your waking hours you can practice the same information. Great process while driving simply because of how the brain runs on auto-pilot when we drive. Listen and repeat the same videos you are sleeping to. You must practice saying everything because the way the mouth is shaped and tongue lands in the face is different with each language. Haha. Sounds strange because I'm not being technical here. Nonetheless, it's factual. Good luck!
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.
That's exactly why Russian is not a pseudo international language. Because you always can talk with spies or representatives of foreign military. [someone, bring the Sarcasm sign]
@@worldoftancraft hehe, that was a good one
I did the ASVAB back in 1984 and based on the results, they pushed me towards learning Chinese. Being that it was the Cold War, I told them that I wanted Russian and got it.
@@Zipperneck. wait, one question. So my mother signed me up for the ASVAB because she thought it "would act as a practice test for the SAT." She didn't even know it's an army exam...So am I fucked or no?
Curious if you knew Kevin Kelly (my brother) . He was also studying Russian there in the early 70's. He went on to spend his life as a Russian Language Specialist in various capacities, working for DLI as an instructor (after serving in the army in Germany), as an interpreter and translator for the US State Dept and NASA, and at the Marshall Center in Garmish-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps in Germany. Enlisting when the draft came out and ending up having the opportunity to study at DLI formed an amazing pathway for his life. I had the highest respect and admiration for his expertise and profound understanding of language learning and communication in all the languages he eventually mastered. DLI is a fine program.
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.
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.
Scared to ask how he made it sure that the people learnt to swim?! 😬
@@borrago All right. This was an actually funny reply.
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.
so is everything else crap?? like what do you mean exactly, what are you saying about the army?? curious as an outsider
@@darthvader3910 just another liberal, ignore them.
@@Yurzys If you need to result to (1) assuming someones political alignment and (2) attempting to insult them as if their opinion & personal experience is someone less valuable than yours, then what you have to say has about as much value as you attributed to them.
@@Yurzys accurate, people need to realize language in absolutes is telling of political/philosophical leaning.
@@Dirty20 thought you did something? 🤨
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.
I honestly don't consider 64 weeks "fast". I studied Korean, and recognize it to be among the half-dozen _hardest_ languages offered, but given the density of daily training, I think the time could be cut to under a year if some of the old-school drill and kill, and delayed-speech, etc. methodologies were re-introduced in modern CAI audio-visual garb. What I'm getting from this video is that you guys have been run through nothing more than a super-intensive version of what I went through in university Korean; and as dumb as that was, if I had to do it morning to evening I'd have wound up speaking like a native in year. If I had to do it leading-edge on the other hand... 6 months. Granted I live where there is a large Korean population, and an all-Korean big supermarket/cafe where you could spend 10 minutes and never hear any English at all.
@One Two Three Incorporated bruh s&s was definitely NOT semester 1. I still have my books any sound and script learned was done in 1 day in head start before the start of the course. How are you going to tell me what i went through?
@One Two Three Incorporated except i never said a damn thing about what YOU did you ding dong. If you read either comment i wrote, you'd see it's of MY experience at a specific time in a specific schoolhouse. So no, we NEVER called it s&s and if we spent semester 1 on that, we'd never get anything done. Hell, even the DLI transcript doesnt call semester 1 anything remotely resembling s&s. But please go off.
64 weeks?? You totally earned your name.
Sweet!!
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.
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.
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.
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
Do you still use your German? How much have you retained since then?
@@Herp234 I read and listen some still, but have lost so much of it from infrequent use. It's been thirty years!
Stabil
I was there in 1998, for Russian
I went through the Russian DLI in 1984-85 which was at San Antonio.
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.
I got 3/4, which was better than my GPA at DLI. Then again, I had one to one instruction after every one else (10 people) failed out of Turkish that year and it was just me. I have ordered kebab in England, and surprised the hell out of staff,and once got a deep discount on a bicycle by haggling in OK peasant Turkish with the Turkmeni shop owner.
Its a lot easier if you're proficient at your language. ;)
You are telling the truth about the DLPT being the harder than any college exam. it was celebration time passing with 2/2 and then a year or so later getting 3/3 after having functionally used the languages. Over 30 years later, I still use one of the languages professionally in a full immersion environment, and would be ready to with the other language learned 40 years ago with about 2 or 3 weeks in country without being surrounded by English all day long.
For Pashto from 2006-2010ish we had the DLPT 5 constructed response, so we had to type out the answers to the questions in complete sentences. It was a beast that ended most Pashling careers before they even began.
I thought it was fun. The sergeant who administered it asked me what it was like, utterly confused. I told him it was like playing a 5 No Trump contract in Bridge. Complete befuddlement.
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!
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.
We were learning 75-100 words a day. And those that didn’t or didn’t take it seriously would fall behind quickly.
@@CosmicEngimas What language did you learn?
@@nala6846 was originally slotted for Chinese but there were too many of us with that language marker on our initial contract so we all got shuffled around. I got put into Spanish which was fine but kind of boring as I was already fluent in French so though it helped I wanted more of an intellectual challenge lol
@@CosmicEngimas I didn't take it seriously tbh. I've maintained a 2+/2+ in mandarin for 4 years now lol. I think (at least with mandarin) your brain either gets it or it doesn't. Some peopleI knew studied for hours every day and still failed out of the course. Whereas I never studied at all and I never failed a single quiz or test the entire course.
@@CosmicEngimas Russian, 1971. From my barracks window at the top of the hill (Company C--650 men, all 4 services, all Russian students) I could look out over the Presidio and the bay, and see the red tracer bullets from the machine guns at Fort Ord--Infiltration Course. Did that once in Basic at Fort Leonard Wood--low crawling in full gear with M-16 cradled on my elbows under barbed wire through mud with the machine guns firing live ammo 3 feet off the ground. As bad as the stress of my 6 hours of class / 6 of homework was, those glowing red tracer bullets shooting over the cliff into the bay reminded me of how much worse it could be. Wash out of DLI and be in infantry AIT the next day then Vietnam.
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.
Thanks for sharing your experience
@@storylearning No problem! your video was a great blast from the past and I enjoyed watching :D
@@ashleymiller4318 very interesting. I've always been curious about the DLI Center in Monterey every time I'm in the area. I didn't know they teach Tagalog as well. Growing up in the Philippines, I hated learning Tagalog in school. Grammar was a pain. Learned more by reading Filipino comics. Marunong ka pa bang magsalita ng wikang Tagalog? Whew! That was a mouthful 😂
@@teban6560 Oh yes, there is a reason why even filipinos like to mix in english and spanish to their language. We were forced to read some of Jose Rizal works in pure tagalog and it was mind numbing
@@ashleymiller4318 yikes! I dreaded the required reading of his 2 books. I remember having more fun memorizing the Gettysburg Address in speech class and reciting it in front of the whole class. Nerve-wracking but so much easier. I don't know how Abraham Lincoln's famous speech became a requirement in our curriculum. This was back in the 80's.
Possibly the most well structured, executed and fun informative tutorial on a very useful topic
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!
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 🤣
Interesting anecdote!
@Vadim Mikhailov Да, я согласен на сто процентов! Но мне очень нравится его изучать. Я могу говорить чуть чуть, но когда дело доходит до понимания русской речи, мой русский отстой 🤣
*It was A cool experience... 🤣
@@BassandoForte ? a shouldn't be capitalized?
@@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587 - I capitalised it because before the edit he missed the a out... 💥
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.
You might have found it interesting that the Chinese program did not follow that method at all. Our first phase was Mandarin Chinese, a Modular Approach, and within the first three months we were conversant with precisely what you addressed, namely all the basic needs. So from directions to clothes, food, and all the structure needed to be able to navigate in the language, we had that all up front, then we started building vocabulary and of course working on characters.
How long were you in the course? I thank you for your service.
@@busterbiloxi3833 I think I got through six months.
@@busterbiloxi3833 The Chinese course was only 47 weeks, but for most of those weeks it was all day in class, average of 2-3 hours homework, and same on the weekends. Testing multiple times a week, and if you failed more than a few rapid fire drills or tests, you were dropped. All grades were posted publicly to increase the pressure on performance, but on the bright side, there was no forced curve, so in theory, everyone admitted to each class can graduate provided they do the work and pass.
It's easy to brag on your amazing results if you wash out a good fraction of your students.
You’ve done a lot of work on this video. It’s amazing. Thank you so much!
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'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.
Pain. The only thing worse then death is constant unending pain.
100% disagree. Learning under duress is not conducive to retention. Think about the when you were in college cramming for an exam, how did you do, how was the retention?
I would die
Yeah, if someone told me I needed to learn Mandarin to say a C1 level in 18 months, and they said there's a $1m reward if I were to manage it, I'm farily certain I'd acheive it. The trouble is, you can't fake that kind of motivation. A _genuine_ drive has to be there, and that usually requires a genuine reward, which 99.9 times out of a 100 isn't, "It would be really cool to be fluent in Mandarin." For one person in a thousand that might be enough, but the rest of us will give up because it's nowhere close to enough of an incentive for the amount of work it takes.
@@gfuentes8449 Procrastinating and cramming is not conductive for learning, but learning under stress with enough time is effective. To this day I can still solve kinematic equations from memory even a decade later.
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! :-)
i think commercial language products are too slow for most people! i used to teach classes, and then later i taught private 1-on-1 lessons and the latter was so much more effective because you could go at the pace of the student. fast or slow!
If you learned the Northern Dialect in the 1970s, it would definitely sound elegant compared to today.
😎🤗
Jambo!
thats awesome!
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.
An interesting and informative production Olly. Thank you. 👍
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!
That's so interesting. I noticed that in korea too
The cultural differences are very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
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.
huh， 这是有意思的。你可以把漫画发给我推荐吗？我要试试你说的方法。
I speak 14 languages and i came to the same conclusion. You have to use emotions and feelings then you talk to yourself by imagining talking to someone else but still feeling the feelings like in an actual conversation
@@befalanguageschool1919 that is sound, in neuropsychology it is known the importance of the amygdala with the formation of memory. If you are capable of mixing emotions with information, it will definitely help to retain it faster. That is why it is better to teach languages with comic books and fun stories, meeting people and dating. The more fun you have, the better and faster retention.
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!
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.
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!
Hi Matilda. That's where my brother went, too, to learn Russian. He was there maybe 1978/1979. I believe from there he went to Goodfellow to study some more.
Thank you for the book recommendation. :)
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’m sure you grandfather is proud.
Extremely interesting video! Thank you!
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 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.
I am creating Arabic language learning lessons in English for beginners. Your support, suggestions and advice would be highly appreciated. Thanks a ton
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.
I was there in 89.
@@ronhunt40 I left in August of 89.
There in 77. Arabic. Unless it's changed significantly, this video is a mix of hype and nonsense. Unless you live in a country where you can use the language - Korea, maybe a Middle Eastern nation - you're at best a buzz phraser. No one I knew, including NSA guys, were fluent. In my day, the Navy and Air Force guys used their Arabic more than the Army guys. That's probably changed given the last 20 years in the Middle East. I was actually never stationed at a Navy base after bootcamp. DLI is Army, Goodfellow is Air Force, and we flew from an Air Force base. The vast majority of the Navy guys were 4 and out. Most of us had some or a lot of college before we joined the military. Linguists are an odd bunch - ex-seminarians, a college grad who majored in French. With college, you started as an E-3, got promoted for staying out of trouble, made E-5 and left. I can't imagine anyone I was in school or served with interrogating someone in Arabic. Including the Army guys. Finally, the history of the USS Pueblo is interesting. Navy linguists went to naval headquarters in Japan and told the brass they couldn't speak Korean. They were told, you passed Korean at DLI, you're qualified. Later they pulled over a Korean fishing boat. The fisherman warned them that North Korean warships were in the area. The sailors had no idea what they said. Unfortunately the Pueblo was captured. The chief benefit was learning from native speakers. When I hear Modern Stardard, I recognize words, could probably transcribe it, but had zero idea what they said in real time. After 9/11 I called the FBI when there was a need for Arabic linguists. They never got back to me. I probably would have been useless, but I definitely would have been more motivated. My advice if you go to DLI? Play golf and learn to sail. Monterey was amazing. I had friends that went to Monterey Pop and saw Hendrix on their first time at DLI. We went to see the Grateful Dead at Winterland. No idea what the curfew stuff is all about. I had friends in all the branches and we were out late and often crashed at off base apartments. Never heard of open door studying.
@@mikem668 I retired almost 30 years ago and can still read Chinese newspapers, but I was one of those nerds who would sit on watch studying open-source materials. Most linguists wanted nothing to do with the written Chinese language. "Characters? Characters? Are you nuts!".
@@philgainey2663 I hear this and wonder how you all memorized the vocabulary words? Just in pinyin then? Or rather most don't really want to put even more into learning characters and whatnot
Thank you for this great video. I really enjoyed learning about this.
Such an interesting video. Thank you for the content! 👏🏽
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.
Das heisst du sprichst jetzt fliessend deutsch?
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.
It says on 3.41 that the students get taught 4 types of Arabic; modern standard, Egyptian, Levantine and Iraqi Arabic. I thought that those people would be able to understand each other's Arabic without having to learn about the others.
@@gerardburton1081 based off what my friend tells me it has a lot to do with more cultural things, since after all if you are a translator for these people misinterpreting things could have some pretty big consequences depending on what it is
@@gerardburton1081 no, Egyptians find it very hard to understand Moroccans. An Egyptian can understand Moroccan about as well as a Spanish speaker can understand portuguese. They are different languages really, not dialects.
@@firebanner6424 if that is the case then the Egyptian Arabic should just get called Egyptian and the Moroccan Arabic just Moroccan. Spanish and Portuguese are two of the four Latin languages so maybe it should be known as Egyptian and Moroccan.
Do they learn the 4 dialects on those 64 weeks?
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 loved this. Thanks, Olly!
Out of all the military advertisements I’ve seen, this one has me thinking . . . sign me up.
lol i know,right? when i was young this may have gotten me to join. i almost did and changed my mind. and as i stated elsewhere in the comments, this is something that would progress you in life even if you washed out in the end
You can do it through the national guard as well. So after the training you only have to do the military part one weekend a month (unless there's a call-up). Meanwhile you would get your college paid for in a lot of states, and a top secret security clearance. Not a bad deal.
If you're serious, make sure it's in your contract before you sign it. If it's not in your contract, there is no guarantee you'll get it, especially if you pick an occupation that does not require you to know another language.
It's like selling your soul to the devil
If it's any use to you as a data point, there's a US army base near me, and I have yet to meet a single one who speaks my first language with anything like fluency....
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!
Na was geht wie war es so?
Am Anfang habe ich gedacht,dass es eine schwerige Sprache wäre.
@@danislavevtimov5984 English is extremely close to German linguistically due to the migration of the Angles and Saxons to create England after the fall of Rome. The only languages closer to English reflect the migratory route that the Germans took to get to England (through the Netherlands) …therefore the closest living languages to English are Dutch and even more than Dutch to take the trophy is Frisian. Modern German speakers can even understand Old English (spoken by the original settlers) better than modern English speakers can understand it. There’s plenty of KZhead videos of Germans recognizing Old English.
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
Just graduated 2 weeks ago. This video actually does a pretty good job.
Very interesting video. As a Finn, we have mandatory Swedish language at school for 8 years, alternative English 5 years, voluntary French 3y and German 3y. I took all of them, and after I was 16 years, I took voluntary Russian (intensive teaching) at the workers' college (cheap but efficient). When I went to the army, I was transferred to Military Academy where I was taught urban warfare, which is not taught for the infantry.
Please can you explain "worker's college "? Is it like Folk High School? Can foreigners attend? Ta.
@@nineteenfortyeight6762 Yes, workers' college, intensive Russian language course. Foreigners can attend, but teaching is in Finnish.
And that is why I love Finland. I am from Italy and I speak 5 languages but …that is only because I lived in multiple countries because of my dad’s job and going to international schools. Italy is one of the worst in Europe in teaching foreign languages.
I went to DLI in 1980 and the Russian Language course ran 46 weeks. I can confirm that the DLI experience is extremely intense. After week 9 you are not allowed to speak English in the classroom complex and most days have you studying between 10 and 50 new words -- which you must be able to understand, read, write and conjugate properly by the next day -- when you'll get a new vocab list to study. When I first reported there, I was issued a reel-to-reel tape player, a two-foot tall stack of tapes, and a stack of forty text books -- that was just for weeks 1-9. At week 10 I got another issue of about the same size. It was insane. It continued like this for the whole 46 weeks -- after graduation it was off to Goodfellow Air Force Base for further training. If you want to be a military linguist -- whether as a transcriber, a translator, an analyst or an interrogator -- just know that by the end of the process your brain will be bent and you'll have a massive superiority complex. You won't actually be any smarter than a non-linguist, you'll just think you are.
Week 9????!!! Day 1 in Turkish. With many pencils being thrown around and out of windows to explain locative and motion terms.
@@Kitsaplorax çok şükür zaten almanca ingilizce ve arapça yanında türkçe de konuşuyorum
I just want to look into the eyes of those who decided to make the word "кого" sound like "каво". Russian language consists of thousands such cases when u spell words with completely different letters compared to form u write them
Any suggestions on proper ways of interacting with such people in civilian work place? Thank you 😅
@@Kitsaplorax😂
Great video, incredible quality of content
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.
The test has a strong positive correlation with general IQ. The cutoff was somewhere north of 105 when I was going through. Not super genius level, but you have to consider who is often applying to join the military.
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 am creating Arabic language learning lessons in English for beginners. Your support, suggestions and advice would be highly appreciated. Thanks a ton
Iso-immersion is intensive, but necessary. It's easy to get discouraged, but keep going. At some level, osmosis does occur even if you're passive in learning. Medellín has humbled me in these last few weeks
"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!
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.
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! 😃👍
can you now understand arabic or you have forgotten since that was 30 years ago
@@mahmoudsalah2626 Good question! When I completed the course, I tested out very high at reading, listening, and speaking. However, I noticed over the years that the vocabulary gets lost very easily if I don't use the language regularly. As it is, I don't have the opportunity to keep the proficiency at a high level with work and other responsibilities. This disappoints me because I love the language!
مشاءالله!!!!
In 1967 I studied MSA and then Iraqi dialect the last few weeks. For 2 1/2 years my target country was Yemen. Had to learn a new dialect on the fly in Asmara, Ethiopia (Eritrea). Left the Army, became an attorney, and forgot 99% of my Arabic.
Wow 99%? I suppose with any new language that is not your native day to day language you will forget the language if not used daily
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!
Can you please elaborate on the whole process? I'm currently learning Spanish and I feel like I'm stuck at lower intermediate level.
How many words did you learn a day?.. I'm currently studying Russian and it would be interesting to hear your input!
I'll also echo the others. Would really appreciate some details!
@@Betty-jp7sw No, they cant because most people like this are full of $hit. I have met many many people that say they know a bunch of languages fluently but in reality they have basically no ability to speak, read or write it. I speak one other language well, I wouldnt say fluently, and a few others at a very very basic level and my basic, bordering on not knowing the language, level is almost always as good or better than their ability which they said was fluent.
@@Betty-jp7sw TBH intermediate level (B1-B2) is all you need, unless you apply for a philology professor position at Ivy League school. 🤣 Most locals never go above B2. They just pronounce impeccably - therefore one should put the most effort in pronounciation improvement from day 1. Myself personally lack in speech department. See, I reached IELTS 8-9 in consequent reading, understanding and writing, as well as reading aloud, since I have no accent anymore, I even can mimic various english dialects, when reading aloud, but as soon I start to speak freely, I begin to stutter and the accent is promptly reverting to my native pronounciation. This is a common issue, so spend more time with speaking to an imaginary conversation partner or straight look for locals to exercize speaking with. Should you want to improve, try to pinpoint the areas, your vocabulary is still lacking and delve into that. This is really all you have to do yet - since all the inevitable grammar should be in your head by now. Spanish is really the easiest language ever. Especially regarding grammar. Thus they picked it as a base for Esperanto.
Wow I am so happy I got to see this amazing video and read stories of so many amazing people. Thanks to author, participants and all people commenting 🎉🎉
Thanks for this! I lived near the DLI for 40 years and never knew exactly what was going on there. I now live in the Canary Islands and I'm struggling with Spanish, but as you said, at least I get to do it from my living room!
That's cool! One thing I liked about that area is that it felt like two completely different worlds. I got the impression that no one outside the gates knew anything about what I was doing there. Talking to people I'd meet here and there many had no idea it was even there. One old lady I talked to down by Cannery Row thought it was crazy that we were allowed to live in buildings, because in the Swiss army you just get a blanket and a knife.
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.
You can get that in short classes but military classes would never to be able to pull it off. They teach things like a and b make c. Memorize. But they dont tell how that happens, when it happens or why c. And why a and b and not gh ....
@@LilyUnicorn Yeah also there is a cultural aspect of language that you'll never learn in school. Little colloquial expressions and cultural references here and there. There's no getting around it.
@@LilyUnicorn §§ §
@@tedroscourt1205 he did say they learn that in this video. The two guys trying on the hanbok
it's the mandatory vax that keeps me disinterested. My Russian is good but I need a speaking partner that I do not have to get up at three am to talk to.
When I was in high school (1984), I grew up in California and got to visit the school. I found it really exciting and almost signed up for the marines, because I was really interested in languages, since my dad is from Norway. But, I went a different direction. However, I ended up spending 3 years in Finland and learned Finnish and Swedish there. Now, I have lived in Germany for 20 years. So, with my background, I can testify that an intensive immersive program is the best way to learn a language. If the options are sink or swim, most people will swim. I am sure that the program is good, but being in the country is critically important, since that is where you are exposed to the many dialects and cultural aspects that are hard to simulate remotely. Now, I have a daugher, who is 19 and she was fortunate to go to a Gymnasium (German for High School) that focuses on languages. She grew up learning German and English at home, then at school she learned Latin, Chinese, Russian and French. She even got to spend 6 months as an exchange student in Shanghai and 2 weeks in St Petersberg. I know that this seems amazing for folks growing up in the US, but this is not uncommon for people growing up in Europe.
the erasmus program is awesome.. 😎
I like learning in general, but there are so many hours in a day. I learned Spanish, but that was basically by accident because I worked my way through college in an auto parts store in California. To each there own, but I'm not sure it's worth learning a bunch of languages. Some, and I have to stress not all, Europeans are rather snotty that most Americans only know one language. I think it comes down to opportunity cost. Time spent learning a language is time not spent learning something else. So learn more science, engineering, math or learn German when most Germans speak English anyway?
@@Anon54387 I totally understand the issue of limited hours in a day. For me, I do as much as possible to do my learning in a manner that is part of my day-to-day life. My entertainment (videos, books) I try to have a healthy 50/50 mix of English and German or Norwegian. For example, I really enjoyed the Harry Potter books, so I reread the series in German and Norwegian. That was huge boost to my language skills. But, for me the benefits go way beyond just being functionally able to communicate with people who don't speak English. First and foremost, it is exercise for your brain. Like a muscle, if it is properly exercised, it will stay strong and healthy into old age. Language learning is also known to improve problem solving, decision making and multi-tasking. It also exposes you to nuances of other cultures, which is important to living in a world with so much diversity. People who speak multiple languages tend to be more accepting of others, because they have been exposed to diverse cultures and points of view. For example, in German there is a formal and informal form of the word "you". In Finnish there is only one word for "he" and "she". In Norwegian, people say thank you for so many reasons, that are uncommon in other languages, "Thank you for buying from me", "Thank you for the last time we saw each other". These languages have their culture integrated into them and by seeing them, we get new ways to reflect on our own cultures.
Love this comment!
That's almost exactly my experience. Living / being immersed in the country, I found to be extremely important.
Persian/ Farsi speaker here. It was fun to see Persian writings and here Persian words in the simulation practices that you showed. Accents and dialects are pretty difficult to execute well. The methods suggested were pretty interesting! Good luck to anyone learning Persian! They have to learn to read between the lines very quickly 😁
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".
They prefer latinx now
@@LucasFernandez-fk8se I have not met a single Latino who actually likes that and he is referring to Latin the language not the people.
@@LucasFernandez-fk8se nadie que tenga cerebro dice latinx, sólo los imbéciles que no tienen idea de gramática y ortografía.
@@LucasFernandez-fk8se I believe they were refering to the Latin language, spoken by the Romans. They would not care about Latinx.
I studied Farsi, Dari, MSA/ Levantine at DLI. It's really intense amd stressful. You're learning, speaking, listening, and mainly self studying majority of the time. They give you the instruction and tools but it mostly rests on yourself and your discipline.
ایا به ایران یا افغانستان هم مسافرت کردید ؟ کشور های زیبایی هستند و پیشنهاد میکنم اگر نرفتید حتما به ایران بروید با فرهنگ و مردم مهربان ایران و افغانستان اشنا بشوید
Great job on learning persian I Hope you like our language🌹
Yes both are beautiful countries as Faryad said, just make sure you skip the D in DLI when talking to authorities lol
Awesome! Now you can go ahead wreak havoc in the countries of those languages!
@@imjustvisiting5397 I did. Was great, I got to do a lot of chaotic good but you should educate or ask more questions about why I learned the languages and cultures before you go off typing judgemental comments mate.
When I was in the Army we had an opportunity to study Dari or Pashto as a sort of side gig I guess you could say. I never went to be a translator exactly, as in a maintained my normal MOS as a Combat Engineer, but a few people were hand selected to study these languages ahead of our deployment as sort of limited translators. I had already done the DLAB years before when I was interested in going SF, which I never ended up doing, and I had scored a 114 which means I was basically qualified to learn any language offered. Of course in my situation the language was assigned to me as it was directly connected to deployment to Afghanistan. I ended up studying Dari for a few months from Afghans on a sort of ad hoc language classroom setup on base at Fort Drum. So I never got the chance to study at DLI but in retrospect I kind of wish I had gone that direction at some point. That being said, despite my high DLAB score I still struggle with learning languages lol. I think its more about poor study habits more than a lack of ability, but is what it is I guess lol.
Thank you! Great video
While the course as a whole is obviously too intense, the language day and the iso-immersion rooms are absolutely awesome! I wish they were avaliable for the general public
Too intense for you?
@@Make-Asylums-Great-Againyeah, 7h a day is a bit too much imho)) but ofc that differs from person to person and might be fine for others
@@Make-Asylums-Great-Again Considering DLI has the highest suicide rate of any military base, yes, it can be considered too intense.
@@suzannesimmons4204 That's really interesting because no resource that I can find agrees with you in the slightest. Do you happen to have a reference for that?
@@orionweiss5418 Someone who graduated from there recently. He was instructed about it when he enlisted and was aware of many who died while he was there. Not something they want to publicize.
This is very interesting to me as an American. An uncle of mine spent 20 years as an Arabic interpreter for the army, and he’s described how intense the process was, but never to this extent.
I am creating Arabic language learning lessons in English for beginners. Your support, suggestions and advice would be highly appreciated. Thanks a ton
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!
very good coverage of the DLIFLC experience!
I laughed when Mr. Collins said "we teach language to a near native proficiency level." DLI is great, but I didn't feel comfortable speaking Spanish until over a year after graduation. While the washback rate is pretty high, the 2/2 standard for graduation isn't. That's a nice head start, but if your goal is fluency, you will still have a lot of work ahead of you. I scored 3/3+ on my last DLPT in the Air Force and I still wouldn't describe my proficiency level as "near native". Still, it's a great time. Pro-tip for future students: don't give Papa John's your money, go to Compagno's for lunch.
That is excellent advice 😭 I miss Campagno's so much!!!
@Reva Ferns I think the problem is that the DLPT isn't really a great benchmark for evaluating fluency. Most of the native speakers I know (even ones with perfect English) scored in the 2+/3 range. The OPI is probably a decent indicator, but there is hardly any emphasis on that in DLI.
My bullshit-o-meter was going off wild with that one. I'm sorry, it doesn't matter how smart the student or how rigorous the course - there is no learning certain languages to NATIVE level in that short amount of time.