All training at DLI Washington is full-time. That means that the student is assigned no other duties during the training period. The only exceptions are flag officers, SES-equivalents, and spouses.

Due to the nature of our training program, classes tend to look and feel different from how they might be conducted at DLI Monterey. Our schools are free to use whatever methods and materials they feel will enable students to reach their objectives. We encourage them to use this flexibility to adapt to special learning needs, wherever possible.

Students at DLI Washington are assigned proficiency level objectives based on the language they are studying, the length of the course, and their background. These objectives are stated in terms of the USG Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Skill Level Descriptions. The objective for most basic courses is level 2 in all tested skills.

Most students are tested at the end of their courses using a DoD or DoD-approved proficiency test. The skills tested, the format of the test, and the delivery system all vary by language. You will be notified of the type of test you will be taking when you do your academic in-processing at DLI Washington; we also offer briefings during your course to give you more specific information about the test.

Other useful academic links:

• LingNet

  The LingNet web site is a service provided by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. LingNet hosts materials developed at DLI by the Curriculum Development Division. These include both the "Countries in Perspective" series and the Global Language Online Support System (GLOSS). The LingNet web site also hosts materials developed by other government and Department of Defense agencies.

• Ethnologue

  An encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world’s 6,912 known living languages.