Language Roadmap

For Cadets Designed for current ROTC cadets and college students at universities across the country, this roadmap is intended to guide you through your university language program with respect to your ROTC training program.

Beginner | MSI-MSII | Freshman-Sophomore

Introduction:

These early years are key for you as a cadet. Your responsibilities now are low (but they will grow!), and you have more time to focus

on your studies. You also don’t have to attend mandatory summery training for ROTC.

Springboard Your Language Career

ROTC Project GO and summer language programs are the best way to kick start

your language abilities. We at Critical Language Mentor can’t stress enough how

utilizing Project GO and using your summers to your advantage will pay off for you.

In addition to getting paid to learn languages during the summer, and you’ll also get

paid each semester you take a language in the future while in school! It’s a great

way to keep up your language skills and make a little money on the side!

Intern during your Sophomore Summer

NSA and other government organizations are in desperate need of interns with

language skills. Getting the chance to meet people in these settings is an incredible

opportunity, and applying for these career opportunities is highly recommended.

Serving as an intern can help you make connections and expand your network, and

the experiences gleaned from it can help you expand your career prospects and help

you land your dream job!

Set up a JLU Account

The Joint Language University is one of the premiere language resources for US

military members. Using your .mil email address, you can sign up for incredible

training exercises that will help you improve your language skills. You can also sign

up for CL-150, one of the best government resources, via JLU.

These resources are great ways to keep up with your language studies. The fast-

paced listening and reading comprehension activities will help you hone the skills

needed to pass the Defense Language Proficiency Test.

Check out DLI-GLOSS

DLI GLOSS, the online version of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey,

California, has a complete online language software program open to everyone. Their

lessons, which are accessible to civilians and military members alike, provide top-

notch reading and listening exercises for levels 0+ to 4.

For more beginner-level resources, check out Critical Language Mentor and select

your target language.

Immerse Yourself in the Language!

By constantly seeing your target language, you’ll be more likely to start

understanding it better. One tip is to change your phone’s language setting (or if

you’re less-intense, change your Facebook language setting). You’ll start seeing

the language more, which will help you recognize key terms and phrases.

Additionally, listening to podcasts, videos, or TV shows in the target language while

you work on other tasks (such as homework, projects, or household chores) will

“soften your ear” to the language. You may only start by recognizing a few words, but eventually you’ll start recognizing more and

more.

Using phone applications like Memrise, or downloading flashcards in your target language, is a great way to keep up your language

skills while commuting, or when you have down time. Working your brain is the last thing you want to do when you are off the clock,

but constant practice is the best way to learn—and keep up—a language.

Additionally, reading your favorite news outlet in the target language is an incredible way to build your language skills. It might not

make complete sense at first, but use context clues, your knowledge of current events, and pictures to help piece the whole story

together.

Intermediate | MSIII | Junior

Introduction:

This is when you focus on yourself; where you are, and where you want to go. You’ll have to do some serious soul-searching, as well

as some serious time-management, to ensure that your military, academic, social, and language duties are balanced.

Continue Your Summer Progress

If you can fit it into your schedule, continuing to take Project GO or a summer

language program will immensely benefit you and your language skills due to the

full-time immersion into a language environment.

Taking part in an immersion program is not just a quicker and more effective way

to learn a language, but it also helps develop problem-solving skills and allows you

to adapt to new environments easier!

Start Thinking About the Future

At this point in your academic career, it is time to start thinking about your branch

choice and your post-academia job. If you are truly serious about using a language

during your service, the best chance to do so is by branching in Military Intelligence,

Signals, or Cyber.

If your major transfers nicely into a civilian job, consider National Guard and

Reserve commissioning routes. This allows you to have a full time civilian career, as

well as a chance to still serve in the military. You will have a much better chance finding a language-based job in this capacity than

you will commissioning active duty.

Remember: This is your decision and yours alone. Do not feel pressured to follow a path you don’t want to take just because a friend,

family member, or superior is telling you to do so.

Also, try to find an internship this summer. Completing at least one internship before you graduate is an excellent way to advance

your career, and to get a leg-up on other applicants.

Take the Test

If you can attend a summer language course, schedule a DLPT, Defense Language

Proficiency Test, in the late summer or early fall at the nearest military base.

It is important to take the test while the language is still fresh in your brain, and

before you start adding other course-work to your mental workload.

Be aware: This test may be humbling. You may take it after studying a language for

many years, just to find that you are at a 1+. It is important not to get discouraged, as this test highlights what you need to focus on

to improve your language skills. Scoring a 2/2 (reading/listening) on the DLPT will score you extra money each month from the

military.

—About the Defense Language Proficiency Test—

The Defense Language Proficiency Test is a battery of foreign language tests

produced by the Defense Language Institute and used by the Department of

Defense (DoD). They are intended to assess interviewee's reading and listening

skills.

Occasionally, the DoD may require an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) in addition

to the DLPT, in order to judge the interviewee's speaking skills, but this is not part

of the DLPT.

For more articles about the types of languages tests, and testing requirements, visit criticallanguagementor.net/languages/testing

Advanced | MSIV | Senior

Introduction:

This is the year you find out your branch and service component, which will help you focus your time and effort.

If You Are Going Active Duty

If you receive an Active Duty commission, branching Cyber or Intelligence

specialties are by far the best options to actually use your language as an officer.

Intelligence has a few programs including, Great Skills, which allows you to use

your language abilities to an even greater extent than a normal unit.

Being able to enter the Special Operations Forces is always another way to use

your languages where Critical Languages are always a very large need for the

complex and dynamic environments our SOF soldiers are currently engaged in.

If you are a combat arms branch (Infantry, Armor, Artillery etc), look into branch detailing into Signal, Cyber or Intel so you can have

more transferable skills for the civilian market. These also allow you to advance more easily as opposed to the combat arms

branches in some respects.

If You Are Going Reserves/ National Guard

This is the point where you should consider planning for your civilian career, as

most of your time will be spent in this sector. Another roadmap for NG/USAR

cadets can be found here.

Plan to take another DLPT after you graduate. It is imperative that you keep your

language tests up to date, as it will help recruiters who need language scores place

you in a suitable job.

Plan to find a part-time job or internship until you can attend your Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) training, so you can start

making some money and ensuring your financial security.

During your last semester, start looking for a full-time job for after you graduate. Polish off your resume, create a profile on

Clearancejobs.com and indeed.com (at the very least).

For a more comprehensive guide on transitioning, click here.

Images:

Cover (Clockwise):

West Point, The U.S. Military Academy. “1060518-A-TW998-5755.” Flickr. May 18, 2016. Accessed April 24, 2017.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/26491818644/in/album-72157666085175004/ License: Public Domain

Air Force photo by Mike Kaplan. “Air Force Chief of Staff Congratulates Cadet.” June 2, 2016. Accessed April 24, 2017. https://www.defense.gov/Photos/Photo-

Gallery/igphoto/2001548371/mediaid/1166449/ License: Public Domain, U.S. Military.

The U.S. Army. “Question and Answer Time with Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley.” Flickr. July 19, 2009. Accessed: April 24, 2017.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/3785360896/in/photolist-6LuXV3-SsF77i-9ufja3-TGwqne-Sr7VRt-Sr7ZYX-6BmuYy-43UTeP-TC4u3E-TC4ia7-

T6Htbd-TFJWCM-c4mHME-HdDerk-TyLKfA-c4mJqQ-brzBs8-c4mJoy-SkRTA7-62QjC1-TrRUu5-aar9Zs-TGwqbT-TGwqx4-8e3ndK-S1YGEY-TrSV6J-H35NgH-

bPqabc-4A2zCV-T5VBnf-T5VGjQ-T7tSFS-SrUZAa-c4mL6G-TrPQTG-Tq672u-TJsRyT-c4Pto9-84bgK2-c4mJcA-c4PtjU-c4mJmA-TrSMem-8hCitr-Spyr1c-q6a5Fg-

c4mHJm-9z8499-T6HAbf License: CC 2.0

Pages

U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles, MND-B PAO. “TAJI, Iraq - Staff Sgt. William Cannon (left), of Taylor, Mich., and Sgt. Jhonny Beldor, of Fredericksburg, Pa., confer about

directions during a patrol near Taji Oct. 5. Both non-commissioned officers are artillerymen assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st

Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.” October 13, 2009. Accessed: April 24, 2017. https://www.army.mil/e2/-images/2009/10/13/52935/army.mil-52935-2009-

10-13-141021.jpg License: Public Domain, U.S. Military

Disclaimer: These images were provided using creative commons. Information about each license is found after each citation. The licensor does not in any way endorse the use

of these images in this publication, but they have allowed their use in accordance with Creative Commons rules and regulations. No changes were made to these images, save

adjusting the size and crop to fit the page. These images are used in education purposes only

About Us Critical Language Mentor is a resource consolidation and mentorship website for language learners, specializing in Critical, Less-Commonly taught languages. We strive to provide every language student—from college freshmen to government analysts—the resources they need to excel and understand their target language.

Visit us at criticallanguagementor.net