Dlab

[Corndog]

OK, I took the DLAB (Defense Language Aptitude Battery) awhile back and I didn't pass but I am taking it again in a few months. My recruiter said that I should study some before taking it, however, I was under the impression that there are no study guides. He said for me to ask around because he has no idea. I made an 84 on it and I need a 100 to pass. Thanks for any help!!!

[Curt Geezus]

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dlab.htm

Scroll down towards the bottom of the page.


Studying for the DLAB

Many people ask if one can study for the DLAB, or if there are any study guides available. The answers are "yes" and "no." There are no commercial study guides available for the DLAB, and one cannot study for the DLAB in the traditional way, as the DLAB is designed to measure language-learning potential, not current knowledge. While one cannot study specific practice questions for the DLAB, one can study grammar and English text books to ensure they have a solid grasp of English grammar before taking the test.
As a current Army Linguist puts it: "...in preparation for the DLAB one can help themselves greatly by ensuring that they have a solid grasp of grammar and syntax in general. One who doesn't know what an adjective is will have serious problems with the DLAB."

[Try2CatchMike]

Im taking this test on thursday any tips you can give a fellow poolee. I have heard from my recruiter that its an extremely hard test :(

-Mike

[kbs95125]

I can't give you any tips because I haven't taken it, but a friend of mine who was in the Air Force as a Linguist told me that the test was

"Not even a real language. They made up the language and you had to break it down and find where improper grammar was used, and things like that."

Didn't sound easy at all or something you could really "study" for like Curt quoted.

I would say get a good amount of sleep and eat breakfast before hand. Relax. Remember to only change an answer if you know 100% you were wrong in the first place because a large percentage of people who think they made a mistake on a test answer who change it in a panic end up being right in the first place.

[Corndog]

Well, when I took it I went with another poolee who is going for the same MOS as me. We were both in a daze for a few hours after the test. I hope you are fluent in gibberish because that's what it is. I mean, it's a made up language, with made up rules and you have to remember A LOT of stuff. The thing that helped me is that I wrote down the rules before hand, however by the end of the test you don't have time to actually think, you just have to try to use process of elimination and hope you were right. On the visual part, take your time and if you can then check your work but don't stress about it. AND SLEEP WELL THE NIGHT BEFORE. That was my biggest mistake of all. I hope I helped you! I wish you luck!!!

[Korling]

The DLAB is about a made-up language. It does NOT TEST YOUR ABILITY TO LEARN LANGUAGE, it test's how QUICKLY you can pick up language. It's all about aptitude in terms of speed, not necessarily in terms of quality.

Key is knowing what is meant by Grammar & Language terms like Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives, Subject/Object/Verb etc.

I took it only once, during a stressfull, sleep-deprived, first week of bootcamp and they made me a linguist so who knows.

As I recall it, the questions were things like, "on the next page, verbs in said language all end in 'ie' so now turn the page and identify the verbs in every sentence, you have 2 minutes to complete this task"
Although it was harder than I'm making it sound here.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

They made me take it when I got to boot camp, but I denied the opportunity to go in that direction. (which was the groundwork for tons of problems later) While I didn't study because I had no desire to do that type of work and didn't even consider taking it before I went to boot camp, I would think that taking the test would be the best form of studying. You know what they're looking for now, so you'll be more prepared the second time.