Strategic, Non Strategic , and Critical Investment Languages Explained!
A Parent asked a personal question in the Parents Private forum about the process of selection for language and why Cadets are placed in certain Languages. BARBARA GUTIERREZ, the Parents liaison for the Academy was kind of enough to research this for us, and she was given this reply from the Department head of the Language Department. After getting the permission from the Parent who ask the personal question, we are now posting in the public forums so that Cadets, other register users and guest (lurkers) visiting the site can be aware of this great info.
This is from Col Dan Uribe, Professor and Head of Foreign Languages. Thank you to the Col for taking the time to provide a complete answer that will help us all to understand the importance of Foreign Languages and Cadet Placement.
We teach 8 languages at USAFA: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian (Strategic Languages) and French, German, Spanish and Portuguese (Non-Strategic). All of these languages, with the exception of German, are considered “critical, investment languages” by the Department of Defense and by the AF. These labels will become important as I discuss the placement process.
During Basic Cadet Training (BCT) we administer the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB), which is a test designed to predict success in learning a foreign language. We also give the cadets placement exams in the language they studied in High School or in the language they have considerable knowledge/experience (i.e. learned it at home, lived in the country, etc.) At this time, we also ask the cadets to give us three choices. At least one of these choices must be a Strategic Language or a non-strategic language. In other words, the three choices can’t all be from the same category.
We then use the cadet’s choice, DLAB score, Academic Composite, and placement exam to place her/him in a language. Because we know that our strategic languages (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Russian) can be more difficult to learn, we only place cadets into these languages if it was their first or second choice, and only if they have high scores on the DLAB and the Academic Composite.
Cadets are placed into the other non-strategic languages (French, German, Spanish and Portuguese) based on choice, placement exam scores and space availability. In most cases, we’ll place cadets into their first choice, unless they asked for a strategic language and did not qualify, or if we run out of room in a particular language. Incoming cadets who have not studied a language we teach here and who do not qualify for a Strategic Language are placed into French, Spanish or Portuguese.
Since German is not considered an “investment” language by the DoD and the AF, we have a limited number of slots available in that language. These limited slots are usually filled by cadets who have already studied German in High School.