§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the arrangements for foreign language training for British military personnel other than at the Defence Schools of Languages and what was the cost of this training in the most recent year for which figures are available. [HL1909]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)Over 77 per cent of foreign language training for British military personnel, measured in terms of man training days, is provided under the auspices of the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC), Chicksands. This includes training at the Defence School of Languages, the Defence Special Signals School and under outsourcing arrangements, for languages where demand is limited, to the extent that it is not cost-effective to retain permanent staff on the establishment.
226WASome 11 per cent of foreign language training is delivered across the following units—22 SAS in Hereford, Salmond House Training Centre in Rheindahlen, Gurkha Language Wing in Catterick, the Brigade of Gurkhas in Nepal and the 13ritannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. Low-level language training for orientation purposes, making up 12 per cent of the overall total, is provided in Germany and Cyprus. The cost of this training is not identified separately and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the levels of foreign language skills of regular and reserve British military personnel broken down by colloquial, linguist and interpreter level. [HL1910]
§ Lord BachThe terms colloquial, linguist and interpreter are now obsolete. British military personnel are assessed in accordance with NATO STANAG 6001 in the four skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Grades are as follows:
- Level 0—No practical proficiency
- Level 1—Elementary
- Level 2—Fair (Limited working)
- Level 3—Good (Minimum professional)
- Level 4—Very good (Full professional)
- Level 5—Excellent (Native/bilingual).
Single Services record the individual's level of proficiency in each skill area, expressed as a standard language profile (SLP). (Example: SLP 3321 means level 3 in listening, level 3 in speaking, level 2 in reading and level 1 in writing). The Defence Language Coordination Cell (DLCC) has access to these records, which can be searched as necessary in order to confirm the capability available to defence in a given language at a specified level. Work is under way between the DLCC and the single Services to ensure that the records are complete.
In total, the department trains personnel to elementary level or above in approximately 50 languages, plus dialects where appropriate.