In a study conducted by the Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned (MCCLL) Alelo’s Tactical Iraqi Language and Culture Training System training improved the 3rd Battalion, 7th (3/7) Marines’ ability to communicate and operate in Iraq, following their 2007 deployment as part of the coalition surge force.

Below are some of the comments from 3/7 Marines on the impact that Tactical Iraqi had on mission success:

• The Iraqi Arabic I learned, coupled with Arabic learned in country, allowed me to create a stronger bond with the people, by communicating with them directly as opposed to through a translator while observing their culture and customs—which I believe caused the Iraqi people to open up to us more.
• The skill and language I learned help me talk with Iraqi locals so that I could figure out what their neighborhoods needed (power, water, trash clean-up etc.).
• As a mechanic, it was useful to have a grasp of Arabic for my job.
• It helped out very much in being able to communicate with Iraqis and Iraqi police without an interpreter.
• TILTS impacted my success as well as 3/7. Iraqis saw that we were different from other Marines. I still have friends from Iraq calling me on my cell phone to keep in touch.

The study described the course as follows:

Alelo’s Tactical Iraqi Language and Culture Training System is a personal computer based, scenario-oriented software program that can be used for pre-deployment or in-country training to give Marines a usable grasp of Iraqi culture, gestures and situational language.  With TILTS, Marines are placed in a virtual world computer game where they have to perform face-to-face communication tasks with animated characters representing local people to succeed in simulated real-world missions.

The Tactical Iraqi Language and Culture Training System delivers only those communication skills, competencies and background necessary to complete real-world missions and tasks, with opportunities to practice conversations in realistic settings. The goal is to shrink language and culture training from several months of traditional classroom learning to 80 hours or less of hands-on computer-based interactive training.

» Click here to download a report summary as presented by LtCol Walter Yates, USMC, at the  2011 Defense GameTech Users' Conference in Orlando, Florida.

More User Testimonials

• "I can tell you that knowing the language is of tremendous importance and goes a long way toward building rapport with our Afghan counterparts and the people we meet."
  -- USMC 1stLt, Afghanistan
• "The Pashto app is a prime program for someone who is interested in learning the language and talking with the people. To top it off, it’s mobile. You can’t really beat a program like this!"
  -- Retired US Marine
• "The program is great! I've tried at least four or five different language training software programs, and Tactical Language Pashto is by far the most interesting and useful one so far. Thanks for your help, and for your company’s efforts to support our soldiers in uniform."
  -- 1stLt, USA FORSCOM
• "I found your Iraqi Arabic program to be excellent and one of the reasons why my communication skills were effectively utilized with great success in conducting civil affairs assessments and interacting among leaders and villagers in Iraq. Kudos!"
  -- Staff Seargent, C/404th CA BN (ABN), Fort Dix, NJ

Our products are available as stand-alone courses, embedded in other courses and simulations, or blended with other instruction modalities.

Every course is specifically designed to match the profile of its target students, accounting for factors like their age, native language, cultural background, native country, prior knowledge of the target language, desired level of fluency, and application (business, professional, tourism, etc.). Key course-design parameters include length, storyline, difficulty, vocabulary, and entertainment level ("seriousness").

We currently feature single-player games that run on personal computers running the Microsoft^® Windows^™ operating system, web-based products, language and culture plugin software for kinetic mission rehearsal training programs (such as VBS2) and handheld training companions for the Apple iPod and iPhone.

Our task-centered approach allows our courses to serve the dual purpose of addressing broad training, entertainment and advertising applications while teaching foreign languages.
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