A Short Side-Thought

        By way of a bit of a detour, I wanted to just briefly mention the proponent organization for the work I will be doing.  The military maintains a language institution for the instruction of service members who require language as part of their training.  Many of you may have heard of a part of this organization; the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) in Monterey, California.  I have had the pleasure of attending one of the many schools here on two separate occasions.  I believe that it is one of the finest language training institutions in the world.  Plus, the location is unbelievable.  The facility sits on a site that overlooks Monterey Bay and every day service members are greeted to this fantastic view as they move to class to begin their studies.  But, I digress.  What most people do not know is that DLIFLC has a sister institution whose sole function is to teach English; the Defense Language Institution English Language Center (DLIELC) located in San Antonio, Texas.  It is here that service members who are not functionally fluent in English receive their training before being sent out to serve in the line units of their respective military branches.  However, DLIELC has a second, and perhaps more vital, mission to train foreign military members who are hoping to work with the American military, attend American military schools, or fly military aircraft, (English is the international language for aviation). The main tool to accomplish this task is the American Language Course (ALC).  The ALC is what I will be working with for this upcoming class.  I will provide some thoughts about the ALC in my next post.

        I have included some links here for anyone interested in either part of the Defense Language Institute or its products.

DLIELC  - http://www.dlielc.edu/index.php Check under products to see some of the items/instruction they offer.

DLIFLC - http://www.dliflc.edu/ They have a tab for journals & publications.