If you were a recruiter, which secondary language of an individual is more preferred to enlist?

2017-04-10T12:13:57-04:00

If that someone had one semester each of French and German in a college course or if that someone had taken a semester of Arabic in college? One or the other. French and German or just Arabic. Spanish was already taken in high school and one semester of it in college. I have to decide and I schedule my classes tomorrow. French and German are both 3 credits so I can take both while Arabic is 5

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2017 12:25 PM

2017-04-10T12:25:24-04:00

Any foreign language that is spoken fluently is a bonus. wouldnt matter to me what the language is

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2017 12:41 PM

2017-04-10T12:41:31-04:00

As a former recruiter I can tell you that taking a course or two in a language won't make a difference at all. If you're fluent it might open some doors, however.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Apr 10 at 2017 12:51 PM

2017-04-10T12:51:08-04:00

I would say Arabic because we're not currently in conflict with France or Germany. Arabic on the other hand can be very useful to prevent possible issues due to miscommunication. It's also good when people don't know you speak the language. I've always loved walking into a room and people start speaking a different language, not knowing that I still understand them and what they're saying about me. It's not something that happens often in the States, but I'm sure overseas that'd be quite useful.

Response by SFC Kelly Fuerhoff made Apr 10 at 2017 1:10 PM

2017-04-10T13:10:06-04:00

I hope you're asking so you can decide what to do for after college because, as stated, one or two classes in a language won't get you anything when you enlist in the military. I found a Strategic Language List released in 2015 for the Army.
"The SLL is comprised of three language groupings: Immediate, Emerging and Enduring."
"The Immediate identifies languages immediately needed to meet urgent demands that are eligible for the highest FLPB tier and also authorizes Army Tuition Assistance for language training for the specific language. These languages are as follows: Arabic-Yemeni, Baluchi, Pushto-Afghan (Pushtu), Persian-Afghan (Dari), Persian-Iranian (Farsi), Somali, and Urdu."
"Emerging identifies languages for anticipated future requirements and are eligible for FLPB. Army Tuition Assistance is NOT authorized for language training for these following languages: Acholi, Amharic, Arabic Levantine, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Burmese, Hindi, Kirghiz, Punjabi (Western), Tadjik, and Uzbek.
Enduring identifies languages that represent long-term needs and are eligible for FLPB. Army Tuition Assistance is NOT authorized for language training for these following languages: Algerian, Egyptian, Maghrebi, Gulf, Sudanese, Hausa, Igbo, Swahili, Yoruba, Georgian, Hebrew, Japanese, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Indonesian, Javanese, Cebuano, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug, Yakan, Malay, Thai, Turkish, Turkmen, Kurmanji, Sorani, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese."

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2017 2:32 PM

2017-04-10T14:32:23-04:00

Arabic, by far.
I would point out that what is important in the military is the ability to read, understand, and speak the language. A semester's worth wouldn't get you very far.

Many Army billets offer additional training and a few offer Foreign Language Proficiency Bonuses. If you can test out at a high enough evaluation on the DLPT, it is well worth your while.

Response by SGT William Howell made Apr 10 at 2017 3:18 PM

2017-04-10T15:18:28-04:00

Are you breathing? Can you pass a drug screen and physical? Can you make a 28 on the ASVAB? Can you almost speak English? That is all they want.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Apr 10 at 2017 4:04 PM

2017-04-10T16:04:14-04:00

Arabic. But take enough to be fluent speak read and write. Also complete your degree and apply for a commissioning program.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Apr 10 at 2017 4:44 PM

2017-04-10T16:44:50-04:00

It is only relevant if you are 100% fluent- speaking, reading, and writing, and can pass an oral and written exam administered by a native speaker employed by the Defense Language Institute (DLI). Otherwise, if you are seeking to enlist for a linguist MOS, you have to pass the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) to determine if you are eligible for language training at the DLI. Your college courses may help you get a better score on the DLAB, but it alone has no bearing on what you are qualified to enlist for.

Response by SFC David Xanten made Sep 16 at 2019 1:06 PM

2019-09-16T13:06:34-04:00

Arabic or Russian and or Chinese