Indiana University received a $1.5 million grant from the Pentagon to teach languages to U.S. service members in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The languages are Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

IU is teaching these courses through IU’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies’ Language Training Center. The Language Training Center is a national training program which provides in-depth language studies and cultural awareness for military organizations, Hamilton Lugar Interim Dean David Bosco said.

Courses are held at military bases and in Bloomington. It consists of a network of instructors, some from IU and others hired for the project.

Bosco said the one-year grant is a continuation of a long-term partnership the school has with the Pentagon. There is a possibility of the grant being extended for more than year, he said.

The language courses are taught to military members on a timeline that works for them, Bosco said. Usually, it’s a more compressed timeline compared to a conventional semester schedule.

“For example, with the Air Force personnel that we brought here, we had just a couple of weeks to try to do very intensive language training, and so we try to be as flexible as we can in providing what's needed,” he said. “But oftentimes, it's kind of shorter timelines and more intensive training.”

Bosco said the ability to offer this type of training indicates how IU’s strength in languages is a national resource which is critical to strengthen and maintain. There’s a need for long term investment in language expertise and language training, he said.

The language instruction occurring outside of Bloomington benefits IU students on how they’re taught, Bosco said. Language instruction skills are refined and developed and brought back to the university.

“This is part of an integrated program that ends up benefiting our students and the university community as a whole,” Bosco said.