The Immersion Language OfficeMission StatementThe Immersion Language Office (ILO) acts as DLIFLC’s central point of contact and action office for all foreign language immersion planning and execution. In this capacity, the ILO works to support the conduct of both in-country (OCONUS) immersion and local Field Training Exercise events. ILO ensures that all programs are coordinated and conducted in accordance with the highest standards of student and faculty support. The ILO works in collaboration with the Undergraduate Schools and the Directorate of Continuing Education to establish and maintain culturally based language training that builds on the high quality classroom instruction already offered by the Institute. Isolation-Immersion Programs“Iso-immersion” is an abbreviated, government-wide, term used to describe foreign language training conducted in total isolation from the English language. An Iso-immersion event, as conducted at DLIFLC, is a one to three-day language training event, conducted off post exclusively in the target language. This event is intended to simulate real life situations and offer students the opportunity to apply their language skills while also experiencing the target culture. "…which ultimately causes them to process the target language on a more profound level."The goal of the Iso-immersion course is to enhance the students learning experience by allowing them to interact in a more realistic environment than they are likely to encounter in the regular classroom. At the iso-immersion facility, students engage in simulations such as hiring interpreters to help American troops in the field, participate in resolving disputes over a traffic accident, or chose a location for a study-abroad program by calling travel agencies and schools over the telephone. The decision-making and consensus-building required for the successful completion of such tasks require the close cooperation by the students and full understanding of the subject matter, which ultimately causes them to process the target language on a more profound level. Iso-immersions are now an integral part of the basic program curriculum in Arabic, Korean, Chinese, Persian Farsi, Russian and Spanish. At full implementation, each graduating class goes through three Immersion events during the course of their study: a 1-day, a 2-day and a 3-day event, in Semester I, II and III respectively. OCONUS ImmersionSince 2005, some of the DLIFLC’s best performing students have had an opportunity to travel on three to six week long in-country (OCONUS) immersions. During in-country immersions students attend more than thirty hours per week of classroom language and culture study at the host institute and participate in daily out-of-class activities and weekly field trips and excursions. So far, DLIFLC has conducted immersions in Egypt, Jordan, Korea, China, Russia, Ukraine, France, Costa Rica, Turkey, and the Philippines. Approximately 200 students go on an in-country immersion each year. Many of those students note that the in-country experience has been irreplaceable, both in terms of the language training and the cultural understanding that it has helped them gain. Field Training Exercise (FTX)An FTX event, as conducted at the DLIFLC, is a one to three-day language training event, conducted outside the classroom, exclusively in the target language, which simulates real life situations and offers students multiple opportunities to apply their language skills while also experiencing target culture. FTX events are conducted at DLIFLC’s Immersion Center on Ft. Ord, California.
The FutureThe ILO is continually assessing new ways to enhance the FTX and OCONUS immersion experiences. By building on our successes, ILO is leading the way through innovation and growth within the program as immersion language training is fully incorporated into a central component of the professional military linguist’s training. ContactTo get in touch with the Immersion Office please e-mail us through our Contact Us page. |
|