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 ny 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. PUBLIC FACING TEST SITES

For information on how to schedule an OPI, send an email to the language testing team at languagetesting@us.navy.mil.

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.