Language Learning and Testing Foundation

PART I: NUMBER LEARNING

Part I of the MLAT has 43 possible points. This part of the MLAT tests auditory and memory abilities associated with sound-meaning relationships. In this part of the MLAT, you will learn the names of numbers in a new language. Subsequently, you will hear the names of numbers spoken aloud, and you will be asked to write down these numbers. For example, if you heard someone say the number “seventeen” in English, you would write down 1 7. But in this test, you will hear the numbers in a new language. Here’s how it will work:

You will hear some instructions read aloud. The speaker will then teach you some numbers (not the same as these samples, of course). The speaker will say something like:

[The red text represents the voice you will hear.]

Now I will teach you some numbers in the new language. First, we will learn some single-digit numbers:
“ba” is “one”
“baba” is “two”
“dee” is “three”

Now I will say the name of the number in the new language, and you write down the number you hear. Try to do so before I tell you the answer:
“ba” — That was “one”
“dee” -– That was “three”
“baba” -– That was “two”
Now we will learn some two-digit numbers:
“tu” is “twenty”
“ti” is “thirty”
“tu-ba” is “twenty-one” in this language — because “tu” is twenty and “ba” is one.
“ti-ba” is “thirty-one “ – because “ti” is thirty and “ba” is one.

Now let’s begin. Write down the number you hear.

[you have only about 5 seconds to write down your answer]

a. ti-ba
b. ti-dee
c. baba
d. tu-dee

After you write down the numbers, you will be told how to fill in the appropriate spaces on the answer sheet. Although this example was fairly simple, on the actual test you will have to learn one-, two-, and three-digit numbers and combinations.

If you want to go on to the samples for Part II, click HERE.