DLIFLC Globe May 2010 | Page 3

Welcome to Language Day By Col. William T. Bare On behalf of all the students, faculty and staff of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), I am delighted to welcome you all to Language Day 2010, our annual open house! Language Day is our opportunity to share with you the secret we have all discovered: knowing a foreign language opens windows to the world. Language Day is filled with cultural displays and colorful stage shows designed to give you a glimpse of that world and of countries where some of the 24 languages we teach are spoken. It will give you the chance to hear languages you may have never known about before and to participate in teaching demonstrations that bring new techniques and technology into the language learning process. on here at DLIFLC. You will also see why we are passionate about sharing our secret! One of the most demanding schools in the United States Armed Forces, DLIFLC is also the premier language learning institution in the world. The courses of instruction are intense. Students are in class five days a week, six hours a day learning one of the 24 languages currently taught here on the Presidio of Monterey. Our basic courses vary from six months in length (for French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian) to 18 months (for Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Japanese). At the end of that time, our graduates get to a higher level of language proficiency than most college language majors attain in four years. In addition, our students earn 45 semester hours of college credit and can obOrganized and presented by tain an Associate of Arts degree in our students, who come from their foreign language upon comevery branch of the U.S. Armed pletion of all requirements. AccredForces - Army, Marines, Navy, ited by the Western Association of and Air Force - and our teachers, Schools and Colleges, Accrediting who come from every corner of Commission for Community and the earth, Language Day promises Junior Colleges and authorized as to be an exciting chance to enjoy a federal degree-granting institusights, sounds and tastes from tion by the U.S. Congress, DLIFLC around the globe, and to discover has awarded more than 5,000 AA some of the terrific things going degrees since 2002. Col. William T. Bare Assistant Commandant I know you will enjoy Language Day 2010! I urge you to talk with our students and faculty as you roam around our campus and through our corridors. They are eager to meet you and share with you their experiences, insights and their passion for learning languages. This is one secret we want to pass on! Col. William T. Bare Assistant Commandant 1