CIWT: Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture FAQs

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The Navy performs language testing under the Defense Language Testing Program. Accurate and timely language testing is essential to the Navy's ability to measure and track language capabilities within Navy components and to determine unit and individual readiness where language skills are a mission requirement.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE APTITUDE BATTERY (DLAB): The DLAB measures a typical native English speaker's aptitude to learn a foreign language. The DLAB is comprised of both listening and reading portions. Examinees should plan at least 90 minutes to complete the DLAB.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTING (DLPT): For most languages, the DLPT is a two-part test, listening and reading. The two parts must be completed within 30 days of one another to be a valid test record. The listening portion of the DLPT measures a native or near-native English speaker's proficiency in aural comprehension or understanding a foreign language as spoken. The reading portion of the DLPT measures a native or near-native English speaker's proficiency in reading comprehension or understanding a foreign language as written. Examinees should plan at least three hours for each portion of the DLPT (three hours for listening and three hours for reading).

ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI): The OPI measures a native or near-native English speaker's ability to speak a foreign language. The examinee uses the foreign language to converse with evaluators, who are well versed in the language being evaluated. The OPI normally takes 30 minutes to one hour.

Unless otherwise provided for by law or regulation, the DLPT and OPI are the only tests DoD authorizes to establish one's proficiency in a foreign language.

For DLPT availability, please click: DLAB DLPT Availability

For OPI availability, please click: OPI Availability

Information and guides about the DLPT are available on the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE APTITUDE BATTERY (DLAB) - Personnel pursuing reclassification to the Cryptologic Technician Interpretive (CTI) rating, lateral transfer to the Navy Foreign Area Officer (FAO) community, assignment to a billet or special program requiring foreign language skills, or enrollment in a foreign language course taught at the Defense Language Institiute Foreign language Center must take the DLAB.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST (DLPT) AND THE ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI) - Completion of a DLPT and OPI documents foreign language skills in official Navy personnel records. In addition to helping Navy leaders understand the foreign language capabilities resident in the force, these scores are one component used to qualify personnel for:

Lateral transfer to Navy FAO community or other officer communities requiring foreign language skills;
Reclassification to the CTI rating or other enlisted ratings requiring foreign language skills;
Assignment to a billet coded for foreign language skills;
Assignment to a special program requiring foreign language skills (e.g., Olmstead Scholarship Foundation program, Foreign War College, Personnel Exchange Program);
Award of a secondary Navy Enlisted Classification code;
Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus pay;
Potential award of college credit, as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE).

If located in or near Everett, Washington; Jacksonville, Florida; Naples, Italy; Norfolk, Virginia; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Pensacola, Florida; Rota, Spain; San Diego, California; or Yokosuka, Japan, go to MyNavy Portal at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/training-education-qualifications/appointment-scheduler (CAC log-in required) to schedule an appointment to test.

If not located in or near one of the areas listed, contact the nearest site on this list to schedule a test. Additional Test Sites

The Navy - Defense Language Testing Program (DFLTP) offers Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPI), in San Diego, CA; Pensacola, FL; Naples, Italy; and Norfolk, VA. If the OPI requestor is in one of these geographical areas, from an official government email address, send an inquiry to: languagetesting@us.navy.mil.

If not in San Diego, CA; Pensacola, FL; Naples, Italy; and Norfolk, VA., the requestor must identify a collocated individual in the Chain of Command to serve as a Test Control Officer / Test Administrator (TCO/TA). This individual should be a Navy Career Counselor, Command Career Counselor, or an Educational Services Officer, who is either a uniformed service member, E6 or above, or a civil servant, grade GS5 or above.

This is a high-stakes exam; the TCO/TA will be performing official duties in a position of trust and responsibility. As such, he or she will be accountable to administer the exam in accordance with approved testing protocols and will be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and other applicable laws, statues, and regulations.

From an official government email address, provide your command, UIC, and TCO/TA contact information. Send an email to:
languagetesting@us.navy.mil for additional guidance.

Each business day, official test results are uploaded to the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) and scores should be reflected in Electronic Service records (ESR) within 10 days of the date of the test.

Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) results are located under Employee Self Service -Electronic Service Record-View-Member Data Summary.

Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) and Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) results are located under Employee Self Service -Electronic Service Record-View-NFLTO Test Data.

If official test results are required sooner (official results will be available 3-5 business days after test completion), request an Individual Score Report from your Command Language Program Manager; Enlisted Community Manager; Officer Community Manager; or the Navy Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture program Office.

DLAB scores range from 7 to 164. Scores above 95 indicate the examinee may have an aptitude to learn a foreign language. Higher scores are an indicator of greater aptitude. Defense language Institute Foreign Language Center courses are categorized by difficulty. The difficulty of the language determines the minimum DLAB scores necessary to qualify for course enrollment.

The DLPT and OPI are scored on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale, provided at https://www.govtilr.org/. The ILR scale ranges from 0 (no proficiency) to 5 (proficiency equivalent to that of the well-educated native).

If, after ten (10) business days from the date of the test, the Defense Language Aptitude Battery score is not reflected on the Member Data Summary in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS), contact your servicing Personnel Support Detachment (PSD) or Command Pay and Personnel Administrator (CPPA).

If, after ten (10) business days from date of test, Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) or Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) score(s) are not reflected on the NFLTO Test Data page in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS), contact your servicing Personnel Support Detachment (PSD) or Command Pay and Personnel Administrator (CPPA).

Guidance for language testing in the Navy is contained in OPNAVINST 5200.37 series. Guidance for Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus Pay is contained in OPNAVINST 7220.7 series.

Personnel with questions about Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus Pay should review OPNAVINST 7220.7 series.

For additional information/assistance regarding Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus Pay, contact the Active Duty or Reserve Component Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus Manager at:

Active-Duty Navy email nxag_n13f_flpb@navy.mil
Reserve Component Navy email cnrfc_rpat@navy.mil

Personnel with questions about language testing in the Navy or the Defense Language Testing Program should review OPNAVINST 5200.37 series and references contained therein. If questions remain, from an official government email address, send an inquiry to the language testing team [languagetesting@us.navy.mil].