The Adequacy of the Army's Foreign Language Program

Abstract

Proficiency in a foreign language is not a skill possessed by many Americans. The geography of our country, limited exposure to non-English speaking foreigners, assimilation of immmigrants and the worldwide popularity of English as a second language have combined to make mastery of a foreign language a nonessential skill in most professions. The Army is not one of those career fields. A significant and growing number of soldiers hold a MOS in which the predominate skill is proficiency in a foreign language. Encompassing a wide variety of MOSs, these soldiers are critical to mission accomplishment in both peace and war. Unfortunately their ability to execute this critical task is suspect. Frequently, many critics point to the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) as the sole cause of this problem, without realizing that follow-on language training and management of linguists are just as important as initial language training. Keywords: Foreign languages; Army personnel.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA224141

Entities

People

  • Terrance M. Ford

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Attrition
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Instructors
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Recruiting
  • Students
  • Training Management
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Education

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • International Journalism and Media Studies.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.