The Center provides intensive training for the U.S. military and other U.S. government personnel through a Congressionally-funded Defense Critical Language and Culture Program created through the Department of Defense and administered through the National Security Education Program. This training includes intensive on-site and on-line courses in Modern Standard Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, as well as in the strategic cultures of the Arab World, Afghanistan, Iran, and China. Our aim is to prepare military officers and civilian officials to assess the challenges of both conflict and crisis management in the Middle East. We also offer courses designed to enable students to understand modern China and to communicate with their Chinese counterparts at a time when bilateral relations are becoming increasingly complex. We offer a core group of classes (see the various program pages) that range from basic to advanced levels through a Montana-based Defense Critical Language/Culture Program. We are, however, committed to adapting the content, length, location and timing of our programs to fit the needs of military units and other US government entities that adopt our services.
In the 21st century, military strength will be measured not only by the weapons our troops carry, but by the languages they speak and the cultures they understand.
--President Barack Obama
DCLCP Receives Course Approval for ARAB 291
Partnering with the Arabic Studies Program, the Defense Critical Language & Culture Program received course credit approval for its ARAB 291 Conversational Arabic winter session course. This course, which will be taught over via an online platform, will give ROTC cadets at the Novice-Mid proficiency level an opportunity to practice the Arabic language and learn more about the cultures of its native speakers level.
Dari Iso-Immersion Underway/Dari Students Graduating
The Defense Critical Language & Culture Program is proud to announce that the Elementary/Intermediate Dari class, following their Iso-Immersion Monday, November 12 through Friday, November 16, will be graduating from our program and gearing up for deployment. The students did a phenomenal job learning the very difficult Dari language.
Missoulian Reports DCLCP Flourishing
The Defense Critical Language & Culture Program’s success made the front page of Missoula’s local newspaper on October 15. As one of five critical language programs funded by the Department of Defense, it has immerged as one of the top programs of its kind.
Arabic Iso-Immersion Scheduled
Our Arabic students and instructors are preparing for our programs first Arabic Iso-Immerson, which is scheduled for the last week in October. The Iso-Immersion, which will be housed at the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, is as an opportunity to fully immerse our students with the Arabic language and cultures prior to their deployment oversees.
Six Month Pashto Course Underway
The Defense Critical Language & Cultural Program is excited to report that another six month intensive Pashto course is underway. The troops have arrived in Missoula and are excited to learn the cultures and language of Afghanistan. This course is designed to get its students to an intermediate proficiency, a 1/1.
Practical Pashto iPad App Available
The Defense Critical Language & Culture Program is proud to announce that is has successfully launched Practical Pashto, its first application designed specifically for the iPad. Practical Pashto marks the third application that DCLCP has produced for the Apple Store.
DCLCP Launches Another Iso-Immersion
The Defense Critical Language & Culture Program (DCLCP) is proud to announce that it completed another successful Iso-Immersion in the month of August. The Iso-Immersion is a week-long event that gears our troops for deployment to critical regions by immersing them in the language and culture, in this case Afghanistan, prior to their deployment.
The Defense Critical Language Program (DCLCP) is gearing up to launch its Korean program. Right now, DCLCP is looking at October 1 as a potential start date. More detail coming soon!
Six recent graduates from the DCLP’s Pashto course attended an Iso-Immersion up at Lubrecht Experimental Forest. Our Iso-Immersion better prepares our graduates by giving them an opportunity to be completely immersed with the target language (Pashto) and culture of Afghanistan.
The Defense Critical Language and Culture Program, using technology from VisionNet, successfully connected with troops and students in Okinawa, Japan via video conferencing. This milestone opens the doors for our skilled instructors to have their students learn anywhere that this technology is available.
The Defense Critical Language and Culture Program just had twelve more students from the United States Army Reserves graduate Elementary Dari. Congratulations, graduates!
The Defense Critical Language and Culture Program just launched two of their brand new apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, Afghan Villager and Afghan Army Solider. Both are now available on iTunes.