The Navy Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) office is highlighting several new opportunities for Sailors looking to exercise their language skills and expand expertise across the service.

Navy is requesting four to six Sailors who will participate in the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center standard setting panel for the German language. This panel will be held Nov. 1-4 in Crystal City, Virginia.

Navy applicants must meet criteria of being active duty, achieved an Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) score of level three in English, and are current within two years for a Defense Language Proficiency Test or over the phone interview score of three and above in German.

"These panels are important for developing the standards by which language is tested across the services," said Master Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Paulsen, Navy LREC Office. "Sailors would help review each test question and make a recommendation on how difficult they would be for a non-native speaker, essentially giving the test the accuracy that will help develop the best language professionals we need."

The Defense Language Institute will pay TDY expenses for qualified service members. Participation in the standard-setting study is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Please send your recommendations and requests to Master Chief Kenneth Paulsen, Kenneth.paulsen@navy.mil.

The LREC office is also making sure the fleet knows about four new web-based Defense Language Proficiency Tests (DLPT5) in the Sudanese, Urdu, Vietnamese and Swahili languages.

The web-version for the DLPT5 Lower Range Multiple Choice Test (MCT) in Sudanese will be released Oct. 24, while the Urdu version will be released Nov. 7. For Swahili and Vietnamese, those tests will be available starting Nov. 1 through Jan. 31, 2017. WBFT uses a data-collection interface that is designed and delivered by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) through its secure web-delivery environment.

Regardless of the individual's eligibility for Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus, foreign language testing is beneficial. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends college credits for certain languages based on proficiency levels achieved on the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). Details are available via your local Navy College Office.

Enlisted Sailors who attain scores of L1+/R1+ or better via DLPT (S1+ or better via oral proficiency interview) also earn a Navy Enlisted Classification Code (NEC) to document the language skills in their personnel records.

Participants will be able to request and receive a certificate of appreciation signed by the Assistant Commandant of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC). Participating Command Language Program Managers (CLPM) will be recognized for their contributions at the annual CLPM conferences sponsored by DLIFLC.

Sailors interested in taking any of these language tests must schedule a testing time through their local DLPT testing center.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

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