The Language Skill Change Project (LSCP): Background, Procedures, and Preliminary Findings

Abstract : This report documents the scope and objectives of the study that has evolved from the original research concept of documenting the nature and extent of language skill change. It details the data collection procedures over approximately 4 years of a soldier's military service. It also describes the 19 instruments used in the study and the rationale for their administration at various times in a soldier's military career. Also provided is an overview of the statistical research design and preliminary findings that have focused on the attrition rates at the Defense Language Institute (DLI). The project sample is comprised of 1,903 junior Army enlisted personnel who began a basic course of language instruction at the DLI. The language instruction was in German, Korean, Spanish, or Russian. Furthermore, the participants either held or were scheduled for training in one of four Military Intelligence MOS--97B, 97E, 98C, or 98G. Further data collection and analyses are expected to provide recommendations for improved methods of selection, improved resident and nonresident training, and improved unit language maintenance programs. Research procedures are in place for extending the research to other languages and linguists if warranted . Keywords: Language training attrition; Learning strategies; Foreign language training Variables; Instructional strategies; Foreign language training; Foreign language skill retention; Language training in the military.