What is like at language training in Monterey, California?

Question

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

Answer 1

I didn't do Monterey, but I did do FSI in Arlington, which follows the same model. I studied Korean.

There is a "scientific linguist" who is in charge, and there are native-speaker drill instructors who work with you (usually in a class of 3 in hard languages, but eventually I wound up one-on-one after others left for post). It is exhausting.

You need both reasoning and logic (to handle the grammar without learning it as a subject in itself) and memory (to remember the vocabulary; but also because you are supposed to memorize hundreds of dialogs).

Normally in the military the interpreter/translators are selected on the basis of the MLAT (modern language aptitude test) and they (the military) find farmers who have never been abroad and no less than nothing about the country, but who have an uncanny language aptitude.

I had, and have, a lousy memory but the MLAT (like the LSAT which I also aced, getting nearly a perfect score) tests for reasoning, which I'm good at. (There used to be a "spacial relations" test option for the SATs but it was abolished because people like me could fake it.)

Anyway, I had to work a lot harder than others to keep up. And in the end, while I could read the Korean papers in my subjects (economics, politics) I never could order a proper meal in a restaurant. Nor carry on chitchat.

(I do speak French, so I don't feel totally incompetent.)

Unlike the enlisted men who will be using -- monitoring in -- the language they learn, officers (mostly) will be supervising. They don't need to have such an impeccable command of the language, just a good one. The skills mostly needed are the same as I needed for State: enough to supervise -- and in my case "keep honest" the foreign-national employees under me. My brother in law studied Russian at one of the military language schools.

Some military trainees study at FSI, but I think they are mostly DIA people.

I've always wondered what becomes of the farm boys who serve their time, who get such magnificent colloquial comprehension -- and who work for X years at NSA or on a submarine or wherever. And then go back to the farm and never speak Chinese again, except maybe in a restaurant to order food.

As for me, after Seoul I went to . . . Tehran. Which is another story not relevant to your query.

Answer 2

i went to dli. i was there for 2 years. it depends on what branch of service you are in, if you are a student or not, and what kind of lifestyle you like. If you like hot weather, dont be fooled, monterey is a cold place. very foggy most of the time but it can get hottish once in a while. If you like partying, monterey is full of tree hugging californian hippies and rich people who are anti military. its a very wonderful city, but it is in no way a big city. There is only one mall, no real chain food places, etc. I liked it because i am californian and my family lives in monterey and the salinas area so i was familiar with it before i was stationed there. As a student there, you will have fun. It is a very challenging place to be academically but each person is different and each language is different..

Answer 3

a lot of it depends on the Branch of service, your marital status and your pay grade.

The actual learning process is intense.. you are expected to devote many extra hours outside of the classroom to studying.

The weather here sucks more often than not, hardly ever gets above 75, and is foggy much of the time. But there is a lot to do here, plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy.

Answer 4

Of course it depends on the branch of service (Marines, Army, etc). Due to the high level of drama, many of the trainees consider the atmosphere to be similar to a high school, or sometimes even a college. There are so many factors to consider- i.e. your rank (enlisted or officer), age, gender and so on.