Beyond NATO: The Shape of Things to Come

Beyond NATO… Beyond the BILC… Beyond your wildest dreams!!! Beyond NATO… Beyond the BILC… Beyond your wildest dreams!!! MICHAEL ADUBATO presents Title of Brief Name, Rank, Country Duty Title Date of Briefing SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Order of things to come… • Introduction – “who is this guy?!” • The SHAPE of things to come… • The shape of our SHAPE L&R tests vs. the BAT • The shape of L3 writing at SHAPE or, “L3 writing – who needs it?!” • The shape of things to come and some that have already arrived at SHAPE and ACO (Allied Command Operations)

Introduction • I am Michael Adubato • New Jersey, USA • 20 year US Army vet

BA in English – University of Maryland, USA • Master of HR – University of Oklahoma, USA

17 years experience at the SHAPE Language Testing Centre

What is… The of Things to come…

The SHAPE of things to come… • “the way the future is likely to develop” – oxforddictionaries.com • “the form or style that is likely to develop or be popular in the future” – dictionary.cambridge.org

The Shape of things to come… Basic English – Charles Kay Ogden (1933) An alternative future Written in 1934

Back in 1934, before was born, wrote about and a lingua franca that was known as

So, if not and then at least a.k.a. Allied Command Operations takes seriously and tests IAW just as predicted.

The shape of our SHAPE L&R tests vs. the BAT VS.

SHAPE vs. BAT - Reading • Reading test: • 12 military members sat both the BAT & SHAPE tests • 5 officers (3x LTC; 2x CPT) • 7 NCOs (3x Sr. NCO; 4 CPL) • 5 Norwegians (CPT, 4x CPL) • 3 Romanians (2x LTC, MAJ) • 3 Spaniards (CPT, 2x Sr. NCOs) • 1 Italian (Sr. NCO)

SHAPE vs. BAT - Reading

Reading Levels BAT SHAPE Test

SHAPE vs. BAT - Listening • Listening test: • 15 military members sat both the BAT & SHAPE test • 6 officers (3x LTC; 3x CPT) • 9 NCOs (3x Sr. NCO, 6x CPL) • 5 Norwegians (CPT, 4x CPL) • 2 Romanians (2x LTC) • 4 Spaniards (2x CPT, 2x Sr. NCOs) • 1 Italian (Sr. NCO) • 1 Hungarian (MAJ) • 2 Turkish (2x CPL)

SHAPE vs. BAT - Listening NATO UNCLASSIFIED

Listening Levels BAT SHAPE Test *TU CPL with >2 not included on chart

Q: why the differences in the levels? A:

The number of questions? (60 vs. 40) • Mental burnout @ Q50 perhaps? • The quality/true level of the items? • The cut scores?

The Real Answer? MORE RESEARCH!!!

Level 3 writing – who needs it? • RESEARCH • Short questionnaires given to those who require L3 writing • Interviews with same military personnel • Collect samples of their daily writing requirements • Collect samples of what they consider to be their highest level of writing

The shape of things to come and some that have already arrived at SHAPE and ACO (Allied Command Operations) • But first a little bit about NATO, ACO and SHAPE

What is NATO NATO/NATO HQ is located in Brussels and there are a LOT of committees and other commands under NATO. The main military commands are ACT – Allied Command Transformation and ACO – Allied Command Operations Gen Breedlove, US AF SACEUR

This is ACO ACO is SHAPE/SHAPE is ACO

SHAPE Dir 75-4 becomes ACO Dir 75-4 • Allied Command Operations (ACO) Directive 75-4, Verification of Language Proficiency of Military Personnel dated _________. • Nothing has really changed from SD 75-4 to ACO 75-4 • ACO Dir 45-1 (ACO Military Personnel management and Administration for Peacetime Establishment Posts) dated 29 January 2014 • Chapter 3: Manning – Language Skills

AD 45-1 • 3-1: Mandatory language proficiency requirements identified in the JD must be met IAW STANAG 6001 and AAP-16(D), SMAP 7. • 3-2a: Test results should be current and dating back to a maximum of 3 years. Prior to posting and at national expense, nations should carry out language testing as necessary upon personnel being nominated for ACO positions.

AD 45-1 • 3-2d: Language testing within ACO will be limited to those cases where doubt over an individual’s competence exists, whether as a result of the absence of a language test certificate or because of concerns over language competence after some weeks in a post. • 3-2e: If an officer or NCO arrives at an ACO HQ without a certificate, they will be required to report to the nearest recognized language testing centre within their geographic posting (at national expense) to take a language test.

AD 45-1, Chapter 3 NATO UNCLASSIFIED

Back to AD 45-1, 3-2a: Test results should be current and dating back to a maximum of 3 years. Prior to posting and at national expense, nations should carry out language testing as necessary upon personnel being nominated for ACO positions. This means that the language certificate should reflect when the test was taken and not when the certificate verifying these levels was signed. As of 1 April 2015 certificates that do not show the test date and are not in English or French will not be accepted, meaning that the individual will be tested at SHAPE.

The SHAPE Language Testing Centre will be returning to J1 Division (most likely Plans & Policy Branch) • In 2008 we moved from J1 Military Personnel Branch to BSG (Base Support Group) under Linguistic Services • A new home with more support! • The division boss is a German Brigadier General

In summary… • - another Englishman with another book on • another future • - he invented NEWSPEAK, a new language that • was designed to limit individual freedom • - OLDSPEAK, also known as English, was • spoken by the Proles, the poor but free • people who Big Brother was not really • watching • -soooooo… speaking English meant you were • most likely poor but you were FREE! • (English speaking people are free people!)

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QUESTIONS?!?!?! NATO UNCLASSIFIED

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Beyond NATO: The Shape of Things to Come