Language Minor....what does it do for you?

[justdoit19]

My Mid is seeking my above about a language Minor. He has talked to people, attended briefs, etc. He was all in, but is now reck soldering. And asked my advice.

I have no idea what a language minor does for Big Navy. Other than a pay bump. Anyone have input I can share with him?

 

[Heatherg21]

Counsel my kid got said it is a difficult path and likely wouldn't benefit him too much (Russian). But, since it meets an elective requirement he is set to take two classes of Russian to see how it goes and check the elective box.

 

[usna09]

My Mid is seeking my above about a language Minor. He has talked to people, attended briefs, etc. He was all in, but is now reck soldering. And asked my advice.

I have no idea what a language minor does for Big Navy. Other than a pay bump. Anyone have input I can share with him?

I can only give you my personal experience (from Class of 2009). I validated 4 semesters of Spanish during Plebe Summer, which allowed me to get a Spanish minor with only 4 additional courses (also validated Chem 1). I was an Ocean Engineering major, and do not feel like my schedule was overloaded.

My decision to minor in Spanish wasn't based on any future use in the Navy. Once in the Navy (surface warfare, then lateral transfer to oceanography), I did not automatically receive a pay bump. From what I understood at the time, I would have needed to take a language proficiency test, as well as prove that I was using that language as part of my job. I did not satisfy either of those requirements, so never received any additional pay. Despite that, speaking Spanish was extremely useful in deployments to South and Central America!

My reason for pursuing the minor really came down to "why not?". I'd always been interested in becoming proficient in another language, and since it didn't overload my schedule it made sense to me to take the classes. I had a vague notion of "maybe this will open up some opportunities down the road", but it wasn't a driving factor. My Spanish courses were small, only 8-10 people in each class, and I really enjoyed them. It was a nice break to leave a tough Engineering course and do something completely different! I am no longer in the Navy, and work as a Civil Engineer in design and construction management. While I fell out of practice and don't speak fluently anymore, I know enough to understand others and get my point across when needed, which in my industry in a very valuable skill!

 

[Skipper07]

Feel free to PM me any questions you have. I’m a group 2 major voluntarily minoring in a critical language.

I love the language. I like having a class that I always look forward to. And, the faculty have been awesome so far. International opportunities abound. But, I’m also passionate about developing fluency and studying abroad while fully immersed in the language. If I were forced to minor I’d probably have a different opinion.

 

[justdoit19]

This makes a lot of sense. “Why not?” In DS’s case, he would have to overload. And start from the beginning of the language.

He thought “why not?”, but is 2nd guessing that now. USNA is hard enough. I’m not sure, absent a specific reason, making it harder Makes sense for ones sanity, and ranking.

 

[Heatherg21]

This makes a lot of sense. “Why not?” In DS’s case, he would have to overload. And start from the beginning of the language.

He thought “why not?”, but is 2nd guessing that now. USNA is hard enough. I’m not sure, absent a specific reason, making it harder Makes sense for ones sanity, and ranking.

That's what mine is looking at. He is aero major and would be starting at the beginning. Would make for a very difficult 2c and 1c schedule. At a time when the leadership responsibilities also kick in.

 

[shiner]

Members of the Armed Forces who posses language skills in critical and/or strategic languages can receive additional pay. The level of proficiency needed to reach extra pay tiers varies by language but is often at Native Speaker levels. The test is issued by the Defense Language Institute.

For anyone not performing at the level needed for bonus pay, the achievement is simply that - extra study in an area that you hopefully care about. The language may benefit you personally or professionally after graduation.

I was a Chinese language minor at USAFA and the benefit has been trivial in my personal situation.

 

[MidCakePa]

My reason for pursuing the minor really came down to "why not?"

Sounds like DD’s reasoning for pursuing a language minor. Hers is very different from what she studied in high school, and it’s a bit off the beaten path. But it helped her land a very cool LREC, where she got to practice the language everyday. And I think it’s indeed a nice respite from her STEM major, though she says the language classes are rather difficult.

 

[DeepWaters]

I can only give you my personal experience (from Class of 2009). I validated 4 semesters of Spanish during Plebe Summer, which allowed me to get a Spanish minor with only 4 additional courses (also validated Chem 1). I was an Ocean Engineering major, and do not feel like my schedule was overloaded.

My decision to minor in Spanish wasn't based on any future use in the Navy. Once in the Navy (surface warfare, then lateral transfer to oceanography), I did not automatically receive a pay bump. From what I understood at the time, I would have needed to take a language proficiency test, as well as prove that I was using that language as part of my job. I did not satisfy either of those requirements, so never received any additional pay. Despite that, speaking Spanish was extremely useful in deployments to South and Central America!

My reason for pursuing the minor really came down to "why not?". I'd always been interested in becoming proficient in another language, and since it didn't overload my schedule it made sense to me to take the classes. I had a vague notion of "maybe this will open up some opportunities down the road", but it wasn't a driving factor. My Spanish courses were small, only 8-10 people in each class, and I really enjoyed them. It was a nice break to leave a tough Engineering course and do something completely different! I am no longer in the Navy, and work as a Civil Engineer in design and construction management. While I fell out of practice and don't speak fluently anymore, I know enough to understand others and get my point across when needed, which in my industry in a very valuable skill!

Thanks for the info. How many prior years of Spanish did you have? Is validating 4 semesters the maximum one can validate?

 

[OldRetSWO]

Members of the Armed Forces who posses language skills in critical and/or strategic languages can receive additional pay. The level of proficiency needed to reach extra pay tiers varies by language but is often at Native Speaker levels. The test is issued by the Defense Language Institute.

The pay is also given for non-critical/strategic languages IF you were sent to DLI to learn them. Certain billets such as embassys and Olmsted scholars will get this training and as long as they maintain proficiency as shown through testing, they will continue to get $$$'s every month no matter where they are assigned. FWIW, my son's language is a "small" language that is spoken by just a couple of million people in the world and is not a strategic language but because he learned it on official orders, it too counts.

 

[Dr. Strange Love]

.
Our DD is adding Russian to her schedule ... she sent me a picture of her 3/c fall schedule, and sure enough, Intro to Russian was on there. She already does a couple other languages and has 4 or 5 years of Latin too.

... “I can see Russia from my house”

 

[shiner]

Thanks for the info. How many prior years of Spanish did you have? Is validating 4 semesters the maximum one can validate?

I inquired about this recently because I was curious how native speakers are handled. It was common to see someone return from a Mormon Mission trip with native proficiency and they were able to complete the minor. I wanted to know if you could validate your way into a minor, or if you still had to take language courses if you were considered a native speaker.

Check your school's requirements to confirm, but when I checked with the Department Head at USAFA a few weeks ago, the achievement had a minimum number of course completion requirements. Validation did not count in that, but would advance the student to the proper difficulty level. Beyond language courses, there are reading, writing, and culture classes that could be leveraged to fill the required course count in the area of study.

 

[THParent]

To be fair, Sarah Palin (actual) said "You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska".
That is true.

It was Tina Fey on SNL who changed it from "land here in Alaska" to "from my house" in a sketch. I still hear people today attribute the Tina Fey quote to Sarah Palin, but that's not true.

On a clear day, you could climb to the highest point on Cape Prince of Wales to see mainland Siberia, maybe.
It's much easier to get a view of Russia however, by going to Little Diomede Island.

 

[usna09]

Thanks for the info. How many prior years of Spanish did you have? Is validating 4 semesters the maximum one can validate?

Four classes is the max you can validate. You can validate either through AP scores or through the plebe summer validation tests. I sat tests for Spanish 1&2 (Basic Spanish 1&2) and Spanish 3&4 (Intermediate Spanish 1&2). I took 4 Spanish classes at the Academy during my 3/c and 2/c year (Advanced Spanish w/ Readings on Contemporary Spanish 1&2, Spanish Civilization, and Spanish American Literature) in order to complete the requirements for the language minor.

I took Spanish in middle school and all 4 years of high school (my IB program required everyone to take a foreign language).

I don't personally think I would have chosen to pursue a minor in a language if I had to start from the beginning. As others have said, the Academy is hard enough!