BSprA Presentation Teaching and Testing SLP 3: Variations on a Theme BSprA Presentation Ann Beck, S 2 (1) NATO/PfP 2004 BILC Professional Seminar Riga, Latvia October 4 – 7, 2004

OTHER Flensburg SStratAufkl Hamburg FüAkBw Hamburg UniBwH Daun FmAufklRgt 940 Frankenberg EloKaBtl 932 Bad Ems ZNBw Donauwörth EloKaBtl 922 München-Neubib.UniBwM Sonthofen SFj/StDst Fürstenfeldbruck SWGeoPhys LANGUAGE SCHOOLS/INSTITUTIONS Hürth BSprA, Naumburg BSprA Berlin BSprA, Intermin FU Bonn BSprA, Intermin FU Strausberg Kombi WBV Ost Wiesbaden Kombi WBV West Tauberbischofsh. Kombi WBV Süd Koblenz Kombi BWB ARMY Bückeburg HFlgWaS Hannover OSH Münster USH Delitzsch USH Idar-Oberstein OSH Weiden USH Calw KSK Müllheim D/F Brig Feldafing FmS/FSHElT AIR FORCE Heide III./LwAusbRgt 1 Appen USLw Fürstenfeldbruck OSLw Kaufbeuren TSLw 1 NAVY Bremerhaven MOS Flensburg-Mürwik MSM Foreign Language Instruction within the Language Service of the Bundeswehr

What do we mean by SLP 3? Level Requirements in accordance with STANAG 6001, 2003 : Good (Minimum Professional) For Listening (L), Speaking (S), Reading (R) and Writing (W) Competence within a general social and professional-specialist range including not entirely familiar subject areas

SLP 3 Certification within the Language Service of the Bundeswehr Pretest: General Bundeswehr Examinations ( for English, French and Russian ) or standardized diagnostic tests ( for Czech, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish ) followed by Pretest: General Bundeswehr Examinations ( for English, French and Russian ) or standardized diagnostic tests ( for Czech, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish ) followed by SLP exams ( Listening,Speaking, Reading, Writing), or SLP exams ( Listening,Speaking, Reading, Writing), or Successful completion of a level 3 course, including SLP examinations Successful completion of a level 3 course, including SLP examinations

Admission to an SLP 3 course Pretests: satisfactory score on a general Bundeswehr examination or diagnostic test or Pretests: satisfactory score on a general Bundeswehr examination or diagnostic test or Valid certification of having completed a level 2 course within the last three years, or Valid certification of having completed a level 2 course within the last three years, or SLP examinations conducted in home country for admission to German course in Germany SLP examinations conducted in home country for admission to German course in Germany

What is a Level 3 Course? Basic grammar points have been covered Grammar on level 3 = brushing up A course leading to SLP 3: needs-based curriculum, topics negotiated with participants from prescribed topic areas. Culminating in SLP 3 final examinations and certification. A course leading to SLP 3: needs-based curriculum, topics negotiated with participants from prescribed topic areas. Culminating in SLP 3 final examinations and certification. A course requiring SLP level 3 skills, e.g. 2-week seminars for select groups – with background in subject matter. No final examinations. A course requiring SLP level 3 skills, e.g. 2-week seminars for select groups – with background in subject matter. No final examinations.

 Language training as a component of a job- related/ mission-oriented military course  Intensive language courses of varying length (e.g. 3 months per level for English, all levels; 6 months for Russian 0 - 1)  "Kombi-Courses"  Language for special purposes Types of courses

How long does it take to reach SLP 3? The time allotted for attaining SLP 3 depends on the estimated level of difficulty of the language: I. Easy II. Moderately difficult III. Difficult to very difficult

Level I: Easy (for the German student) Afrikaans Danish Dutch English (9 months) French (9 months) Italian (9 months) Norwegian Spanish (9 months) Swedish Time to SLP 3: 7 – 9 months 20 – 25 hrs/week

Level II: Moderately difficult AlbanianAlbanian DariDari FarsiFarsi German as FL (12 months)German as FL (12 months) GreekGreek HindiHindi IndonesianIndonesian LatvianLatvian Slavic languages (Russian = 12 months)Slavic languages (Russian = 12 months) SwaheliSwaheli UrduUrdu Time to SLP 3: 9 – 12 months 20 – 25 hrs/week

Level III: Difficult to very difficult AmharicAmharic ArabicArabic ChineseChinese FinnishFinnish GeorgianGeorgian HebrewHebrew HungarianHungarian JapaneseJapanese KoreanKorean ThaiThai TurkishTurkish VietnameseVietnamese Time to SLP 3: 18 – 21 months 20 – 25 hrs/week (written production often much lower than 3 and limited to Latin script )

BSprA Curricula Topic Areas Topic Areas for 3-month SLP 3 Courses (English and Romance Languages) and "Kombi-Courses" (En and Fr) alternating 2-week classroom phases with 3 – 6 mos. self-study (Military topics integrated as needed) 1. Education and Social Issues 2. Political and Economic Matters 3. Law and Administration 4. Culture and Communication 5. Science and Technology

Examples of topics/topic areas emphasized during two-week classroom phases of SLP 3 "Kombi-Courses" in English 1. Crime 2. Mass Media 3. Family and Society 4. Environment 5. Multicultural Societies and Religions 6. Social Welfare 7. Science and Technology 8. Traffic and Transport

BSprA Topic Areas, Level 3 Topic Areas, SLP 3 Courses Slavic Languages 1. Society and the State 2. Political and Economic Matters 3. Education and Social Issues 4. Culture and Communication 5. Science and Technology 6. Defence and Defence Policy

BSprA Topic Areas, Level 3 Topic Areas, SLP 3 Courses German 1. Social Issues (Employment, Economics) 2. Culture 3. Science and Technology 4. Politics and History 5. Defence and Defence Policy dealt with by German military specialists from Army, Air Force and Navy and by "mediator", a language teacher with military background

Level 3 Course: Russian* (0 – 1 = 6, 1 – 2 = 3, 2 – 3 = 3; 0 – 3 = 12 months) 1. Small classes, typically military attachés, often with Russian language training background 2. Team: lang. teacher and military specialist teacher (usually one native speaker, one non- native) 3. Military issues play greater role than on lower levels 4. Training based on needs of mil. attachés (* Similar for other Slavic languages: Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Polish, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian and Ukrainian)

Level 3 Seminar: English for Special Purposes, e.g. Tax admin and auditors (SLP 3332 and background in subject area required) 1.2-week seminar for investigation officers, internal company audits (usually 12 students/course) 2.One teacher: does research in specialist area, designs curriculum in cooperation with user agencies 3.Uses state-of-the-art media for student/teacher research and professional contacts 4.No final examinations; motivation sufficient

Level 3 Course: German as a Foreign Language (0 - 1 = 3, = 3, = 6; 0 – 3 = 12 months) 1.Course for general staff officers, preparatory to attending command and staff college in Hamburg (ca. 60/yr) 2.Team of 3 teachers: lang. teacher, military adviser earmarked for general staff in appropriate branch (Army, Navy, Air Force), "mediator" 3.6 months, 28hrs/wk for level 2 to 3: 12 hrs/wk mil. instruction; 3-weeks hands-on experience in German counterpart units 4.Personal counseling sessions as integral part of course

Challenges Conducting teacher and examiner training for all languages and locations Conducting teacher and examiner training for all languages and locations Improving curriculum design and coordinating curricula of various schools Improving curriculum design and coordinating curricula of various schools Optimizing access to and use of media in all schools Optimizing access to and use of media in all schools Meeting the demand for specialized seminars (ESP and other languages) Meeting the demand for specialized seminars (ESP and other languages)