FAQs

• Go to MyNavy Portal (CAC log in required)
   
• Under Career & Life Events, go to Training, Education, Qualifications
   
• Select Appointment Scheduler on the left

Please identify a Test Administrator (TA) to act as the liaison between the command, our office and DLIFLC. The TA must be a commissioned / warrant officer, or an E7 or higher, or a GS-5 civil servant or higher; in some cases, previsions for an E6 may be granted.

Please have the TA send an email to: languagetesting@us.navy.mil for additional guidance.

Check out DLPT information and guides on the Defense Language Institute’s Foreign Language Center website.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE APTITUDE BATTERY (DLAB)

The DLAB must be taken by anyone enrolling in a foreign language course taught at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST (DLPT) AND THE ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI)

DLPT and OPI scores is one component of qualifying for:

Lateral transfer to Navy Foreign Area Officer or other officer communities requiring foreign language skills

Reclassification to the Cryptologic Technician Interpretive rating or other enlisted rating requiring foreign language skills

Award of a secondary Navy Enlisted Classification code

Potential award of college credit as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE)

Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus

Assignment to a billet coded for foreign language skills or to a special program requiring foreign language skills (e.g., Olmstead Scholarship Foundation Program; Foreign War College; Personnel Exchange Program)

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.
The DLAB takes approximately two hours to complete.

DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST (DLPT) AND THE ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI)
The DLPT and OPI measure a native or near-native English speaker’s proficiency in a foreign language in the areas of aural comprehension (listening skills), reading comprehension (reading skills), and oral proficiency (speaking skills).
DLPTs may be either aural comprehension (Listening) or reading comprehension (Reading). The DLPT for Listening and for Reading are normally taken together, within a 30 day period.
Examinees are allotted approximately four hours for each test (i.e., Listening and Reading) of the DLPT.
The OPI requires the examinee to use a foreign language to converse with evaluators, who are well versed in that language.
The OPI normally takes approximately one hour.
Unless otherwise provided for by law or regulation, the DLPT and OPI are the only tests authorized by DoD for use to establish one’s proficiency in a foreign language.
 

For DLAB / DLPT availability please click here

For OPI availability please click here

DLAB scores range from 7 to 164. Scores above 95 indicate the examinee may have an aptitude to learn a foreign language - generally, the higher the score, the greater the aptitude. DLIFLC courses for more difficult foreign languages may require higher qualifying scores.
 
The DLPT and OPI are scored on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale (provided here: https://www.govtilr.org/), which ranges from 0 (No proficiency) to 5 (proficiency equivalent to that of the well-educated native).

Official test results are uploaded to the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS), each business day. DLAB results are located under: Employee Self Service->Electronic Service Record->View->Member Data Summary DLPT / OPI results are located under: Employee Self Service->Electronic Service Record->View, then NFLTO Test Data. Electronic Service Record (ESR) should update within 10 business days of test.
 
If you require an unofficial record of your test results sooner, contact your Command Language Program Manager (CLPM), Enlisted Community Manager (ECM), Officer Community Manager (OCM), or OPNAV N13F.

What if my DLAB score is missing? Contact your servicing PSD or command level Command Pay and Personnel Administrator (CPPA) if the DLAB score isn't reflected on your Member Data Summary (MDS) after 10 business days from test date.
 
What if my DLPT or OPI score(s) are missing? Contact your servicing PSD or CPPA if your DLPT or OPI score(s) are missing from NSIPS NFLTO Test Data page after 10 business days has lapsed.