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Has any one taken the DLAB? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
 magister Pro Member United States Joined 6609 days ago 346 posts - 421 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Turkish, Irish Personal Language Map | Message 9 of 9 04 November 2009 at 5:54pm | IP Logged | |||||
I took the DLAB in the mid-80s. The questions were based on an Esperanto-like constructed language, and applicants were tested on their ability to infer grammatical rules and language patterns and the like, and to quickly pick up spoken utterances in the language. I scored 149, which put me solidly in CAT IV, but I was assigned Czech -- a CAT III language -- instead. I certainly wasn't about to ask why, because I had no interest in the CAT IVs (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic), and I was hoping for a Slavic tongue. On the "dream sheet" I had to fill out, I indicated that I was hoping for Russian, Czech, Polish, etc., but I'm certain that my wishes were not taken into account. The "needs of the military" at any given moment always takes precedence.
In the years when I was serving, I had never heard of anyone exceeding my score, but that doesn't mean much: countless recruits had sat the exam over the years. However, the officials at the Oakland MEPS (Military Enlistment Processing Station) told me they had never seen a higher score prior. I don't know if it was true or if they were just blowing smoke. I tend to believe the former, not because I have a rampant ego, but because I remember how awfully they treated potential recruits at MEPS, and how after my DLAB results came in they suddenly became exceedingly polite and friendly with me. I considered reenlisting if the military would have guaranteed me another tour at DLI in a language other than Arabic (this was in the early 90s, and I really had no interest in potentially bleeding to death in the sands of Iraq, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia). I had no success whatsoever in negotiating with the Defense Department on this (of course), so I returned to civilian life. Is the DLAB an accurate gauge? I really don't remember enough about the test to comment on it, sorry. I'm curious to know if the test and the scale has changed over the last two decades. Edited by magister on 04 November 2009 at 5:56pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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