American Language Course graduates first class

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Randi Flaugh
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Eighteen Iraqi airmen have accomplished one of the top training requirements for the Iraqi air force -- learning the English language. These airmen were the first to graduate from the American Language Course during a ceremony here Sept. 10.

Because English is the international language for aviation, Iraqi airmen must know how to use and understand it. The American Language Course was created to teach these airmen the language skills they need to maintain and operate their equipment.

Due to the efforts of Tech. Sgt. Keith Kirkland, NCO in charge of the ALC, and his three-man team, this graduation is not only a big step for the Iraqi air force but also for the course itself.

The class takes approximately 10 months to complete, depending on how well students comprehend the material and how much English they already know, Sergeant Kirkland said.

The students obtained high scores on the course placement test, which allowed them to start at a higher level and finish the course in just six months.

Sergeant Kirkland and his team developed the program after attending a two-week instructor course. Students took a language placement test through the Defense Language Institute to determine their level of English comprehension.

Students who score 70 percent or better on the test do not need to go through the course at all, Sergeant Kirkland said.

Learning a new language involves several different and often difficult skills. Building an English vocabulary and learning rules of grammar lays a foundation for students to acquire more challenging skills, like reading and listening, Sergeant Kirkland said.

"The students have to listen to the different speeds, pitches and accents of the language," he said. "(Students) are grasping the language and doing well at it."

Iraqi air force Brig. Gen. Shihab, the Iraqi air force base commander here, was one of many who attended the inaugural graduation ceremony and is a huge advocate of the course.

"I feel proud because our base is the first one to apply such a program," the general said. "Instead of sending our people to learn in the college, we've saved the effort and time while gaining the same results. Together -- hand-in-hand -- we have moved forward to more progress and prosperity."

Lt. Col. Jean Havens, commander of the 870th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, last visited the base in September 2007, before an English course was created.

"Previously, there was only a bicultural, bilingual advisor who would sit down and teach English for an hour a day, and the progress was not great," she said.

But when Colonel Havens returned in May 2008, she saw a few of the pilots she worked with before and said their English had improved exponentially.

"I could tell what the great importance of the program is, and I really praise the efforts of the Iraqi air force to learn English to further their air force. It's quite a feat," she said.

Lt. Col. Tony Cotto, base support unit chief for the 870th AEAS, calls the ALC instructors "unsung heroes."

"We are taking these Airmen out of their element and saying, 'We want you to be an English teacher. We need you to do this mission. This is not what you were trained to do in the Air Force, but we need you to do this because this is going to help the overall mission,'" he said. "These guys work selflessly; they are living the core value of service before self. They're the reason why this program is doing so well and why Iraqis can launch their own aircraft sorties."

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