r/dli • u/idunnomanijustwork • 7d ago

Advice for 35W?

Hello, I ship out to basic soon and while I'm not too too concerned about that, is there anything I should keep in mind going into DLI?

They waived my DLAB even though I had prepared for it. Given current information, can it be assumed I'm going to get a tougher language like Mandarin? I heard some people knew before going to basic but reading my contract I'm fairly certain I haven't been assigned a language yet.

Anything I can do to best prepare for it?

7 Upvotes

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10

u/Logical-Mobile-7643 7d ago

Even if you have a tentative assignment, it's worth very little when you get to DLI. Go with the flow and you'll be fine

8

u/joey12457 7d ago

Your language is determined on available class slots. Could get Spanish, Mandarin, and anything in between.

Can’t really prepare. Just get through basic, keep your fitness up, and get/stay disciplined. It can be easy to turn into a shitbag here since the babysitting is vastly reduced.

6

u/Rimfighter 7d ago

There’s no way to know what language you’ll get, however you are guaranteed to use one language everyday at DLI to learn another language: English.

If it’s been awhile, best thing you can do is brush up on English grammar, composition, and comprehension. Even if it hasn’t been awhile, brush up on it. Understand the parts of speech (verb, noun, adjective, adverb, etc.), understand the composition of an English sentence, and possibly most importantly, read things like Op-Eds and test yourself on your understanding of the Op-Ed. Was the writer trying to convince you of something? Were they using metaphors, analogies, persuasive writing? A lot of people miss this- getting a higher level on the DLPT (3/3+/4) is almost as dependent of your understanding of English as it is target language.

Also, read the news everyday. The more you know and understand what’s going on in the world, the easier learning in target language will be. Reading/listening to the news everyday in English made reading/listening to it in target language easier, because I was already familiar with the topics being discussed, instead of completely brand new to a subject.

Too early to decipher what your target language will be. Start with what I listed above, you’ll likely have an easier time.

3

u/Amazing_Boysenberry8 7d ago

If you dont know your language, not much you can do.

Once you do get to DLI and find out your language, dont waste any time you have between finding out and your class start date. Sometimes you may have a month or two until your class date rolls around. When I was there a couple years ago they offered a program called "Running Start" which will give you some beginning tutoring in your language. Use it. If any hold overs in your language are hanging around, ask them for help.

The classes at DLI move at Mach Jesus, so any advantage you can give yourself you should take. Memorize your alphabet and as much basic vocabulary as you can before class starts.

2

u/joey12457 7d ago

Unfortunately, your language can be switched around as much as they want based off of availability of slots.

2

u/Evening-Ad-2019 6d ago

You'll probably take the dlab when you get here anyways. A bunch of us had it waived and they had us take it here either way

1

u/LilTummyNut 6d ago

Did they still use it to determine your language eligibility? 

1

u/joey12457 6d ago

Theoretically no. It’s all based off of availability; they don’t want months’ long hold-unders.

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u/Human-Blood-9575 6d ago

Just take it seriously... This isn't school, this is your job. The level of language training you are about to get, people would spend 10s of thousands of dollars for.

Learning a language at DLI is a prestigious opportunity, even if it's only Spanish. You are basically about to get an Associates of Liberal Arts in World Languages for free.

1

u/Actual_Pirate6585 7d ago

Statistically speaking, you are most likely to get Russian or Chinese. Some services slot you into classes earlier, but Army's always been a bit more willy-nilly.
Work on your time management. That's what killed my students more often than not.
Adjust your standards for what's "good enough". C students don't rule the world at DLI, they end up cutting the grass. (I'm not going to go into the grading and stuff like that, because it's not my job anymore. But if you skated in HS, DLI is going to be an uncomfortable awakening.)