The Paper - March 12 2015

Page 1

Volume 45 - No. 11

March 12, 2015

by lyle e davis

Total immersion training.

Probably the best way to learn a language. That’s how you and I learned our first language. We listened, learned, then repeated what we heard . . . associated words with objects, actions, people, things . . . before long, we had acquired a language.

Total immersion training is essentially what our American military troops experience when they are lucky enough to be assigned to The Presidio of Monterey. Many military members know that the Presidio is the finest language school on this entire planet. Too many military and civilian folks do not realize this. We aim to set the record straight.

During a recent visit to Monterey, California, we were delighted to meet Natela Cutter, the head of Public Affairs for the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center located on The Presidio at Monterey. (In Spanish, Presidio translates to “royal fort” which it was at one time.) She offered to give us a guided tour of the base and since Ms. Davis didn’t raise no dumb kids, we jumped at the chance.

Ms. Cutter was the ideal tour guide. She married a SerboCroation, who, in fact, is an instructor at The Presidio. She has learned the Serbo-Croation language as well as speaking French and Italian. She’s a former reporter with years of experience with the likes of UPI and other top notch agencies. She knows her stuff . . . and she knows The Presidio. What goes on at The Presidio? Work. And lots of it.

Languages taught include Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Japanese and Pashto, among the more difficult languages. More than 90 percent of the 3500 students at The Presidio study these difficult languages. These languages generally require a commitment of 64 weeks in order to become totally fluent and receive a certificate of having met the requirements of The Paper - 760.747.7119

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the military.

Other languages include Spanish, French, Portugese, Russian, and will require anywhere from 24 to 64 weeks of study, depending upon the diffi-

culty of the language.

There are about 2000 faculty at the Presidio, 98% of whom teach their native language, teaching 3500 students. Students come from the Army, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Teaching ratio is normally around 6 students per instructor. Students attend class for seven hours per day, five days per week . . . plus they still have to put in two hours of PT (physical training) daily. Add to this two to three hours of home-

The Presidio of Monterey Continued on Page 2


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