The list of language-learning materials available on the CL-150 is long and varied.

There are courses, Cohort lessons, and LessonGin lessons in over 100 languages, at every proficiency level, addressing dozens of general and government-specific domains, from humanitarian relief to nuclear test site inspections. For students with materials assigned by an instructor or mentor, the other materials in the CL-150 are just an interesting extra benefit. For those learning on their own, however, it’s sometimes difficult to know the best content to choose.

One factor in choosing content to learn is the distinction between official CL-150 content and user-created content. Generally, official content sets are listed first. You might see headings for “Essentials” or “200-Hour Familiarization Course” for example. Most official content was created for Government customers by Transparent Language. All official content was requested to be listed as such by some Government organization, to make it more noticeable and easier to find.

“User-Created Lists” or “User-Created Lessons” sections are shown below official content. Although any CL-150 user can create content, generally these materials are created by uniformed, government civilian or contract instructors in language schools and programs in the US military and government community. Much of this content is just as high quality as formal CL-150 content, and is only labeled “user-created” because no US organization has requested that it be grouped and featured as official content. However, Transparent Language has not vetted these materials, and some are student-created, so judgement is needed.

How to Submit Official Content

To have a content set listed as official content in the CL-150, send your request to your CL-150 Program Support Manager, or to usg@transparent.com. We will send you a reference document outlining how best to format your lessons. Submit your lessons to us, along with the category name. We will confirm the request with the CL-150 POC for your organization, conduct a quick QA for format, and, barring any issues, post the materials under the new heading.

Asked & Answered:

Question: How long a text should I use for my LessonGin lesson?

Answer: Most instructors base LessonGin lessons on authentic materials found on the Internet or elsewhere. At the lowest levels of proficiency a 30 to 50 word excerpt can support a lot of student activity. At higher levels an entire news article or an excerpt of 300 to 500 words might be required to focus on more complex issues of grammar or discourse. In general, the selected passage should be no longer than needed to provide the contextual basis for the lexicon and concepts being addressed. Students seem to react well to passages that are current–the more recent the better–and tightly focused. More on LessonGin from the pedagogical perspective can be found here.

Questions? Contact us at usg@transparent.com.