Photo By Staff Sgt. Caleb House | A parade consisting of many martial arts schools goes through a street in Taiwan....... read more read more
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AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy - Imagine learning to master a language and being able to practice it while having discussions on a hike. Through the Air Force Culture and Language Center this could be a reality.
U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Dustin Brown, 606th Air Control Squadron radar systems officer in charge, attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and studied Mandarin Chinese with a semester abroad. During his senior year, Brown applied to the Language Enabled Airman Program.
LEAP is a program managed by the Air Force Culture and Language Center and is designed to increase the proficiency level of Airmen in a foreign language by providing opportunities to travel abroad and improve at home.
“When I found out I was accepted, it was more a sense of accomplishment than a sense of surprise,” said Brown.
LEAP participants can complete online courses and may also attend Language Intensive Training Events. LITEs are TDYs where Airmen are granted the opportunity to live and practice the language they are learning in a country where it is natively spoken.
“You’re able to be selected for [a LITE] once a year,” said Brown.
Recently, LEAP gave Brown the chance to go on a LITE to Taiwan to become more proficient in Chinese.
“I didn’t expect to be sent abroad so fast in the program, but I was very excited to experience the TDY to focus solely on the development of Mandarin.”
During LITEs, Airmen will attend school Monday through Friday for an average of 4-6 hours per day. They also visit museums, go on hikes, and do other activities to provide a greater appreciation and cultural awareness.
When not in class, LEAP participants are free to travel and have the weekends off, said Brown.
“Taipei is very convenient for any day trips or evening activities,” said Brown. “There was one evening that [my friend] took me to a popular night market. When we got to the market, we split [up] to force myself to rely on my Mandarin.”
Applying to LEAP is voluntary but highly competitive and requires selection by a board. After being selected and meeting all requirements, Airmen will receive the LEAP special experience identifier and are then eligible to receive a Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus.
If you are interested in LEAP, you can find more information at www.airuniversity.af.edu/AFCLC/ or by contacting AFCLC.Language@us.af.mil. The next application window for enlisted/officers is 1 May through 15 July.
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2020 04:03 |
| Story ID: | 364601 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 222 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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