Culture Solutions ®

Sarmad Alkhayatt, Assistant Professor/Team Leader/ITO Representative at the Defense Language Institute - Foreign Language Center, has been at the current position since August 1999.

Introduction

The Defense Headquarters had expressed a need for linguists with a higher level of proficiency in language and culture graduating from DLI to undertake complex tasks in the field. Current graduates are unable to execute error free linguistic tasks.

Problem Statement

The problem is based on the foundation that the military lacks linguists that are capable of communicating or negotiating using a higher level of the language they learned at DLI.

My objective

To create a tool/resource that can be used by military personnel to strengthen their Arabic language acquisition skills by teaching them culture and the main aspects of culture. The tool can also be used by civilians, especially those aspiring to conduct business in the “new Iraq.” Each topic will emphasis its own importance relation to Iraqi culture through proper understanding of Iraq’s history, religions practiced, traditions, cuisine, body language and gestures used by common folk, politics, and geography.

Why did I choose this class and what do I expect to learn from this course?

I think it will contribute to my MIST project and help me take it to a well rounded level. Being a Team Leader, I could benefit from Project Management in my own line of work at DLI.