Talk:Defense Language Aptitude Battery

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I've taken this test once before and I scored a 91. I would like to say that this test is in no way easy if you don't already have a fully understanding of the English language. I took this test as a junior in High School normally ditched English due to the bore I found it to be. My suggestion to anyone who wants to take this test is read and understand the rules of English. Be sure to know the differences between Verbs and Adverbs, and know your Nouns and Adjectives. Spelling is not a must however it is beneficial. Best of Luck to all who try, Semper Fi! --ManoViper 22:20, 9 January 2007 (UTC)ManoViper

[edit] Studying Techniques

I have taken the DLAB twice. The first time I took I scored only a 90, and the second time I scored 112. The trick to this test is all in concentration and memory retainment. The DLAB is essentially an over-glorified memory test. And with this knowledge, a rough training guide can be established in order to prepare yourself for this test.

First off, you must have a firm grasp of grammar and the dynamics involved in, not only the english language, but how grammar is manipulated from language to language. For instance, in english you would say, "Cartmen runs slowly"; but in many other languages the verb precedes the subject and comes out as, "Slowly runs Cartmen".

Now, just about any resource on the internet will tell you nearly word for word what I just said, but they are leaving out a few very essential details. As I mentioned earlier the DLAB is only a memory game, nothing more. Instead of cramming all the rules of grammar into your head (many of which are not even encountered in the DLAB), train your mind to accommodate larger information loads more precisely. One technique I used involved extensive use of flash cards.

Go grab ten cards right now and number them one through ten. After that shuffle the deck into a random order. Now flip over a few cards from the deck, and give yourself two seconds to memorize the order from left to right. Then flip the cards face down and write down the order of the numbers. This is a great way to excericise your short term memeroy which is probably your greatest asset in taking the DLAB.

Now I chose to use numbers, because I'm much less familiar with the patterns numbers can come in than I am the patterns that letters can. But the test won't test you on your ability to remember numbers so also throw into the mix small jibberish words, like fri, asd, kjg, etc. This will give you somewhat of an idea of what the DLAB will test on you.

And if its been awhile since you took a test, go online and take a bunch of IQ tests so you can get your mind sharpened for taking tests.

Anyway I hope this is helpful to anyone looking to take one of the hardest tests in the military. Just keep in mind that this test is unlike any other test you have probably taken, so don't treat it lightly, your military career depends on your ability to overcome this obstacle to get sent to language school.

Good luck, and semper fi!

Ron 11:45, 13 March 2007 (UTC)