How Did This Happen...It's Over!

Well, that's it. I have finished everything here at DLI. The DLPT is over and done, and I successfully navigated it with a L2+/R2/S2 - very respectable scores, if I may say. Even more when I think that I did it in a 50-week short course. Now I just have to outprocess and attend the graduation. Susan and I have a long cross-country vacation planned (again!), but this time we're taking it a bit slower. We'll actually get to stop in the Grand Canyon this time, as well as take the opportunity to ride Amtrak from Texas to Pennsylvania. I'm really looking forward to the slower pace of travel on the train.

All in all, my DLI experience was a positive one. Despite the down days that felt like the program would never improve and never end, it is pretty cool to be able to say 'I speak Arabic'. I am looking forward to putting my language to use overseas. I just hope I don't lose it all while I'm on leave!

Listening Down...Reading To Go

Well, today was the listening portion of my DLPT. It was a huge departure from the first time I took it, as I felt good afterward. I didn't feel that the test was the same test of Arabic endurance which characterized my practice attempt. Maybe I'm just that much more comfortable with Arabic, but I finished it in just over two hours, and did not feel the slightest bit fatigued.

Tomorrow's the reading test, and I just have to trust that I've prepared sufficiently for it. I hedged my studying to favor the reading, eschewing any listening practice. I hope that it pays off with some speed and fluency to my reading tomorrow.

The End is Nigh

Unbelievably, tomorrow, I take the first half of my final Defense Language Aptitude Test (DLPT). The long year of study at DLI is nearly over. Last week I took my Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), which determines my skill at speaking Arabic. I was nervous, but overall confident, going in. I was very pleased with how I did, and no matter what the grade, I feel that I can speak Arabic at a good level - certainly good enough for day to day interactions, and probably good enough to hold my own in educated company.

This past week, and all throughout the weekend, I have been prepping for actual DLPT tests this week. I have been concentrating on my reading skill, as I read excruciatingly slowly, and the reading test is an exercise in stamina and reading speed. The passages are so long, and there are so many of them, that you have to have a good tempo to your reading, or else you won't finish all of the passages. I don't have the same anxiety for tomorrow's listening test - you hit play, listen to the passage, pick an answer and move on. Reading, however, is entirely dependent on how fast you can read, thus more difficult for me. Hopefully it's been enough.

I'm heading to be early tonight - a good night's sleep is the last weapon I can add to my arsenal.