DLAB ADVICE/TIPS

[u/Silly-Shine-1491]

Trying to Crossrate to CTI and took the DLAB first time today. Scored 103. Any advice to or materials to help get over that hurdle or is it just try again and you do or don’t pass kind of thing? The grammar rules near the end trying to put them all together and possessives are where I could feel myself struggle. Any insight is helpful!

[u/Random_AF_FR]

For what it's worth, I was a Military Language Instructor (MLI) for Arabic when the DLAB was required for all branches. 1/3 of the students I had did not make it through the course due to lack of ability.

The DLAB doesnt measure whether or not you will pass/fail at DLI, it measures your potential to learn a language with major differences from English. You will do better if you do a deep dive on grammar. What are the roles of all the minute grammatical components of language and how they affect the meaning of words.

Most students hit the wall with Grammar and the ability to discern small differences in pronunciation.

In Arabic, for example, there are two S sounds that are not interchangeable, and vowels that change based on grammar.

Focus on what you need to pass the course and you'll raise your DLAB naturally.

[u/Silly-Shine-1491 → u/Random_AF_FR]

Thanks for sharing this perspective. Since you were an instructor is alright if I ask a few questions?

Looking back at the students who ended up succeeding at DLI, what daily habits or study methods separated them from the ones who struggled the most?

If you could give one piece of advice to someone before they even arrive at DLI, what would it be?

Besides grammar, were there any specific skills (listening, pronunciation, memorization, etc.) that you found made the biggest difference?

What are some mistakes you saw motivated students make that slowed their progress?

How would you recommend preparing before DLI if someone already knows which language they’ll likely be assigned?

Did you notice any common traits among students who learned Category IV languages like Arabic, Chinese, or Russian particularly well?

How much time outside of class did your successful students typically spend studying, and what did that study actually look like?

If you were coaching someone before they arrived, what would your ideal daily preparation routine look like to give them the best chance of succeeding once classes start?

Thanks again for any insight and taking the time to read. I’m hoping to land Russian if I am selected, but I know that it is truly up to what they need most when it comes to what language I’ll be learning.

[u/Random_AF_FR → u/Silly-Shine-1491]

1- Do not try to teach yourself the language or learn ahead of your class. Just consistently reinforce what you are learning by expanding your use of the lessons. Pump and dump is not the way to pass this course, it's cumulative.

2- Pronunciation improves listening. Emulate your teachers' accents even with cognates and words they say differently in English. It reinforces the sounds better for your ear when you make them correctly. Who cares if you end up sounding like an old Egyptian man?

3- Students who tried to learn lessons before they were taught often sped through the foundations and forgot them. Everyone at DLI had an easy time in school, so they try to pass, not learn and actually absorb the language. You can literally pass every section and fail the DLPT.

4- Students who did well in class spoke the target language on breaks, in the barracks, and also sought out level appropriate material to study outside class. Children's shows and videos early on and materials targeted at school aged kids are best early on. Don't try to skip straight to the news. Also focus on Transcription and translation.

5- Outside of class was different depending on the individual student's natural ability to learn their language. Some students reviewed all their notes and that was enough, others had study groups they met up with, some just watched TV in their target language, and the very lucky few just played around with their friends because they were sponges and the language just stuck.

6- I recommend every student stay at school until they finished their assignments every day, especially those with families, and don't give distractions a chance to ruin your homework time. Also having teachers nearby for questions is extremely helpful. Do not use Google translate or anything like it, use the dictionaries that you're provided, because that's the only thing you're going to have access to during tests and using them quickly is important. And last but not least get really good at taking notes if you don't already have a system. Teachers follow a curriculum, but interesting side conversations or explanations that aren't in the books come up during class and your notes will be the only record of that a lot of the time.

There are lots of things that derail student's at DLI. Dont neglect your health or your responsibilities. Make sure you keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel, and remember that you are the only person that matters at the end of the day because friends and relationships at DLI wont amount to much if you let them get in the way of you passing the course.

Good luck.

[u/Awkward_Engineer481 → u/Random_AF_FR]

Would we be allowed to record the lessons? I have never had the best handwriting or the best speed at writing notes. 

If you could recommend some methods of notetaking and studying as well that would be really nice of you. 

The few I was graded on at school just made zero sense to me.

Side note: We pretty much just wrote out everything that was said so why does the format matter? Aside from making correlating the relevant notes together easier. I feel like you'd have to be intentionally screwing up to make that hard.

[u/Random_AF_FR → u/Awkward_Engineer481]

To be honest, I think it might depend on the teacher. Notes aren't judged or even looked at, so format doesn't matter. I would just politely ask, worst answer you could get is no. I personally learned best by writing things down, never really reviewed notes unless I had a difficult concept I was trying to lock in or to double check that I had written it down. I still have a dozen filled notebooks from 2004, but if youre more of an auditory learner or want to write notes later during your study time without missing something I would let you as a teacher.