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Comment by armynavymom on May 21, 2017 at 6:51pm

I could use some gift ideas too, my daughter will be graduating from dli in a few months..

Comment by Jack on April 3, 2017 at 9:07pm

Usually around week 4 or 5

Comment by Mahi2 on March 28, 2017 at 8:15pm

Re: volunteering - My CTI2B has received notices of many volunteer activities, it seems like he gets them via e-mail but I've also seen some on the Presidio of Monterey Facebook page.  One of the fun opportunities was volunteering to feed the sea otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium - interesting to my CTI2B, but the every Saturday morning commitment was a bit much for him.  Hang in there!

Comment by soveryproudmom on March 28, 2017 at 7:14pm

My daughter was at DLI a couple of years ago, a Level 4 language. She had some definite advantages - she was older, had graduated college with a degrees in Linguistics and Latin, and had been away from us for some time before joining the Navy. It was still difficult for her, and for all our sons and daughters that attend CTI.  She is also somewhat of an introvert, not into drinking or gaming so social activities did not really come into play.  What I can strongly suggest is that your son seek out the help of the tutors that are available. My daughter was a tutor - it helped her also, and she was amazed at how few students did not avail themselves of this service!  There are many volunteer opportunities and not having a car does not mean he must be on base 24/7.  The town is within walking distance and has many cultural events and places to visit.  She loved the downtown area especially the used bookstore that has a wonderful reading room.  Keep encouraging him, he may be surprised how things may just come around, the instructors are tough, but they do have a vested interest in their students - my daughter still keeps in touch with some of them now...  While she found DLI difficult because of the concentrated nature of the courses, she absolutely LOVES her job now! Bless him for sticking it out, the end is very much justifies the means!

Comment by ReptoJane on March 28, 2017 at 4:02pm

So helpful everyone!

1) We've definitely been support central but have also been the 'listening ear' for venting etc. It helps that my dh was in the Army, so he "gets" the military in a way that I clearly can't always comprehend. My son definitely vents to him at times.
2) the social isolation has been tough. He's only 19, so doesn't fit in with most of the other CTIs in his group who seem to average around 22 in age. They go out to bars, etc to decompress and that is obviously not an option (not that he'd want to be going there, but he feels so left out!). He doesn't have a car either, so he's pretty much on base 24/7. Also, I *know* he misses us terribly. He did have a couple of trips to Boy Scout camp growing up, but this is the first time he's been away from home. Thankfully my sister and her family live in Berkeley, so they have come down a couple of times to visit.
3) Can you tell me more about "volunteering"? What exactly is that, what does it involve? My son hasn't mentioned that to us.

Finally, THANK YOU!

Comment by bbcregular on March 28, 2017 at 3:48pm

ReptoJane, here is the Navy experience from my CTI2B. She is in a level 4 language. Struggled the whole time. She has to be active and moving to learn so she doodles to pay attention. That did not set well with the instructors and they often called her out for that. The instructors my sailor had used criticism as is culture for her language. She stayed for 7th hour, got a tutor, volunteered, stayed away from the drinking and gaming crowd, did socialize with choir (all base and navy). All the things DNavyFamily wrote. DLPT she did not score to pass but...she passed the class and participated in graduation because she passed the class. All the efforts she made did not go unnoticed. She has been allowed another 8 weeks of instruction and study with a different instructor. She will take the DLPT again in April. I pray she will score high enough this time. No matter the score I am proud of all our kids who volunteered to do a very difficult job. Continue to encourage your sailor and say how proud many are of the efforts made. Allow venting to you as their safe place to talk. Above all pray.

Comment by DNavyFamily on March 28, 2017 at 2:44pm

Hi ReptoJane- we had the exact same experience and was often worse but our CTI prevailed.  Didn't have a car, didn't play video games all the time, just hit every single picking study session- stayed until done- every time and also used the senior student mentor/tutors.  It has to be done.   Also, to feed the mind your CTI2B must feed the soul and body.  Avoid crappy food when possible, got to Hobson and get involved with the single sailor/soldier/airman/marine program, do one nice MWR trip once a quarter to decompress and..... VOLUNTEER.   All those things will 1) help decompress 2) help get stronger mentally and physically for the challenge and 3) the command and his peers and civilian language instructors and his military leadership team WILL notice the determination.  The deck was massively stacked against our little CTI2B but we coached from afar to never quit.  Make em kick you out even if getting bad grades but 99% of success is just showing up.  The biggest thing too were the wunderkinds who never had to study- many CTI2Bs have some college or degrees and have the maturity and knack.   Cannot let that get them down- ever.   A person is usually the average of thee five best people they hang out with- keep asking for help, avoid the downers and the berthing rats who never go anywhere except to stuff their faces with greasy food or smoke.  Be sharp and fly with the eagles or hang out with the chicknes.  Pretty darn simple. Your job is to keep sending letters and little care packages but know they often can't get them on time. Mailroom is inept there- bad hours, etc. but old school letters and cards are powerful stuff.   You are making a difference massively by caring enough to even login in here!  Great job Mom!

Comment by ReptoJane on March 28, 2017 at 2:30pm

Hi all,

This is my first time logging in to this section. I kept meaning to, but haven't had a lot of time (working two jobs, kids at home, caring for parents = no free time! LOL I *know* there are others of you out there in the same situation!).

My son is at the DLI in Monterey.  He is learning Farsi.  He keeps getting As and Bs on the spoken and listening portions, but is really struggling on the written/reading stuff.  He is routinely getting Ds and Fs for those scores.  He is very worried that he will be dropped.  We keep encouraging him to work his hardest and to do his best, and have also counseled him to see if his instructors have suggestions for how he can improve the skills that he is lacking.  As far as I can tell, he is working to the best of his ability.  He has been at the CTI since mid-August.  

He says that the Army allows for "looping" but that the Navy doesn't.  This is when students struggle, they can fall back with a group behind them to have a bit more time to catch on.  He feels that if he only had more time, he could master the language fully...  

Best thoughts from everyone?  At this late point, would they allow him to drop if he can't get the written language caught up?  Should we cancel our plans to go to graduation at the end of summer?

Clearly, we will be proud of our son regardless of how he finishes up. All things that one learns are helpful and shape how we grow and mature.  But I sure hope he survives this challenge and can put it on his list of accomplishments!

Thanks for any and all responses--

Jane

Comment by DoubleNavyMom on January 4, 2017 at 5:59pm

Are we permitted to post a video from graduation at the DLI or is that against OPSEC rules?

Comment by Shelby on January 4, 2017 at 3:27pm

KoaNani I would take your cues from him! See how he feels after he gets here and go from there. My fiancé had 2 months from the time he got here to the time he started class, so if your son has a decent amount of time as well then there will be plenty of time to visit :) If he doesn't have a big gap, then let him get into the groove of class for a little while then make your way out!

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