Dialog on Language Instruction is published by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), under the U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense. The journal's primary function is to promote the exchange of professional knowledge and information among DLIFLC faculty and staff and to encourage professional communication within the worldwide Defense Foreign Language Program. A refereed journal devoted to applied research into all aspects of innovation in language learning and teaching, Dialog on Language Instruction publishes research articles, review articles, book/materials reviews, and community-oriented columns – Faculty Forum, News and Views, Quick Tips, and Resources. Articles have a sound theoretical base with a visible practical application.
Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
A refereed journal devoted to applied research into all aspects of innovation in language learning and teaching, Dialog on Language Instruction publishes research articles, review articles, book/materials reviews, and community-oriented columns – Faculty Forum, News and Views, Quick Tips, and Resources. Articles should have a sound theoretical base with a visible practical application which can be generalized. Dialog on Language Instruction is published annually. Review our Guide for Authors and past issues on our SharePoint site (https://dliflc01.sharepoint.com/sites/OSAE). Be sure to follow all guidelines before you submit your paper for consideration. Only DLIFLC faculty and staff can submit manuscripts for publication consideration. Send all questions, comments, and/or submissions to the Editor: journals@dliflc.edu. Thank You Reviewers! Dialog on Language Instruction relies on peer review for quality and suitability to the journal’s aims and scope. Special thanks go to our DLIFLC colleagues listed below, who volunteered their time and expertise to serve as reviewers and consultants for this issue. The publication of Dialog on Language Instruction was made possible with their generous time and support. Thank You! Jamil Al-Thawahrih, Roger Anderson, Gyseon Bae, Natalia Barley, Shengmei Chang, Yali Chen, Olga Dobrunoff, Clarissa Eagle, Sonia Estima, Ivanisa Ferrer, Liwei Gao, Siyi Gao, Daniel Jimenez, Inna Kerlin, Hanan Khaled, Jisook Kim, Myoyoung Kim, Pascale Koayess, Hye-Yeon Lim, Dennis Moradkhan, Jeansue Mueller, Svetlana Mylnikova, Michelle Omidi, Jon Phillips, Daniel Wang, Sandy Wagner, Rong Yuan, Shen S. Zhu
Copyright (c) 2026 Dialog on Language Instruction
Open Architecture Curricular Design in World Language Education, by A. R. Corin, B. L. Leaver, & C. Campbell (Eds), 2025
Open Architecture Curricular Design in World Language Education addresses a persistent challenge in language education: how to structure educational experiences that are at a student’s level(s) and tailored to their needs. Textbooks offer many benefits, particularly in terms of quality control of content, organization, and efficiencies for busy teachers. Yet they also pose considerable challenges—they can include lockstep and seemingly soulless activities, dampening student (and teacher) motivation and creativity, while simultaneously offering overly general information or mindless worksheets that fail to meet the needs of students. Open Architecture Curricular Design (OACD) was thus developed, first institutionalized at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) in 2015 for use with high-beginner language students and above. Now, 10 years after the adoption of OACD, this book brings together the experiences of teachers and administrators who used this approach.
Indigenous America in the Spanish Language Classroom, by A. Fountain, 2023
In military and government language programs, linguistic proficiency without historical and cultural literacy constitutes a strategic vulnerability. Anne Fountain’s Indigenous America in the Spanish Language Classroom offers a timely, practice-oriented framework for embedding Indigenous histories, epistemologies, and contemporary voices into Spanish instruction. Our central appraisal is that Fountain operationalizes decolonial and content-based pedagogy for secondary and postsecondary contexts with remarkable clarity, ensuring direct applicability to Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) courses and Foreign Area Officer (FAO) training. The book’s most significant contribution lies not in presenting superficial “cultural add-ons,” but in reframing Spanish as a pluricentric language whose lexicon, pragmatics, and textual traditions are inseparable from Indigenous presence and influence.
Leverage Professional Learning to Build Trust and Enhance Teacher Engagement
This article describes a structured seven-step professional development (PD) model that was initiated and implemented at the Persian Farsi School (UPF) of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC). The program intended to improve collaboration, trust, teacher engagement, and instructional effectiveness, and to enhance student learning outcomes. Recognizing the challenge of effectively translating professional learning into classroom practice, this professional development model adopts a systematic approach to meeting faculty needs. It incorporates data-driven needs assessments, targeted training workshops, reflective post-workshop discussions, classroom mentorship, trend analysis and systematic follow-up, best practice sharing, and centralized resources for ongoing learning. Of particular importance to UPF have been the steps related to classroom implementation, mentorship, class observation, and feedback as well as trend analysis and systematic follow-up. Faculty members who participated in this cyclical PD process reported increased engagement, better integration of various teaching methodologies, and improved responsiveness to student feedback. This approach shows potential for replication across DLIFLC programs, directly contributing to the mission of developing combat-ready linguists.
Perennial, Thorny Issues: Addressing Learners’ Unfamiliarity with Concepts
“What is a subsidy?” “What’s an internship?” “A tariff, what is that?” As an instructor of French for American military students studying at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), I have been asked these questions by the youngest learners in my class. These types of questions demonstrate that instruction cannot only focus on second language acquisition but must include knowledge of concepts as well. Defining terms or concepts that may be laden with socio-cultural or political value can put an instructor in a difficult position. Responding effectively requires intentionality, self-reflection, and some forethought. Instructors’ responses can lead to an increased openness among students or to students’ sealing off their vulnerabilities. True, lasting learning can only grow when learners recognize gaps in their knowledge, are willing to expose them, and are provided accurate content with which to fill these gaps. This instructor reflection highlights one such interaction that occurred in my classroom. I reflect on my decision to use English to explain one particularly thorny concept. From this interaction, I deduced several beliefs and principles when facing gaps in learners’ knowledge. The reflection closes by underscoring that creating trusting relationships in the classroom is foundational for deep, lasting learning. Such learning exceeds the use of an additional language. To develop such relationships, instructors must dispassionately recognize students’ knowledge gaps, but also identify their “funds of knowledge,” and leverage them for student learning.
Implementing Bottom-Up Listening Activities in a Basic French Course
Listening skills are among the hardest to develop. Implementing Bottom-Up Listening (BUL) strategies I learned during a May 2025 DLIFLC workshop into the Basic French course, I collected students’ evaluation of the lessons’ usefulness. Into two lessons I incorporated three different BUL activities combined with a production task. Ultimately, this modest action research project found that students viewed these lessons positively. This report describes the context of the two lessons into which BUL activities were incorporated, the BUL activities themselves, and the introductory and production activities sandwiching them. Results of the action research are shared and discussed, highlighting potential factors that may have contributed to students’ high scoring of the lessons. Insights for replication of BUL activities by other instructors are shared. Ultimately, BUL activities may prove a powerful tool to sharpen students’ listening competencies, but may need supplementing with additional activities targeting comprehension, of which fellow instructors should take heed.
Maximizing the Effectiveness of Special Assistance: Insights from Student Perspectives and Classroom Practice
The Special Assistance (SA) program serves as a critical intervention at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), as it provides targeted academic support for at-risk students. While the program can provide many benefits, it can also be challenging to manage at a school level and hard to know what students expect and appreciate. This Faculty Forum article reports on students’ perceptions of what they consider to be effective SA sessions. Student survey responses, sensing session feedback, and qualitative reflections reveal that students perceive SA hours as most valuable when instruction is tailored, strategy-rich, and delivered within a supportive environment. Conversely, SA sessions are perceived as least effective when they replicate classroom tasks or are framed as a punitive measure. The article concludes with recommendations for maximizing the impact of the SA program within the Undergraduate Russian School (URU) and DLIFLC. By aligning SA practices with both theory and student experience, faculty can increase learners’ confidence, reduce attrition, and improve outcomes on high-stakes assessments such as the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). Additionally, implications are discussed with an emphasis on practical strategies instructors can readily apply.
Beyond the “Vocabulary Cult”: A Six-Step Approach to L2 Listening
This paper explores the challenges of listening comprehension for Persian language learners at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), where an overemphasis on the role of vocabulary can overshadow the development of other crucial skills, particularly listening. I call this a “vocabulary cult.” Drawing on research highlighting the importance of syntactic knowledge and real-time processing for successful listening, this paper details a six-step pedagogical approach implemented at the Persian Farsi School (UPF), with students drawn from multiple departments, to address these challenges. The intervention focuses on progressively developing learners’ ability to parse spoken language, starting with identifying subject-verb units in short sentences and advancing to comprehending complex and compound sentences containing embedded modal verbs, prepositional phrases, and low-frequency vocabulary. The approach incorporates strategies such as chunking, syntactic mapping, identifying dependent and independent clauses as well as verb mood. Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) results indicate that explicit instruction in sentence structure and real-time processing strategies can contribute to student improvement in listening comprehension, even for students who initially struggled with severe listening difficulties. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of a structured, progressive approach to second language (L2) listening instruction. Although this paper will focus on examples from Persian Farsi, many of these techniques can be applied to other languages as well, shifting content to the specific needs of the language being taught.
Leveraging AI-Driven ChatGPT for Pedagogical Personalization
This article explores how AI-powered tools like generative AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, can transform tailored instruction during the Special Assistance hour (7th-hour) at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. I share how I have used ChatGPT to create interactive, relevant materials, including grammar and vocabulary exercises and comprehension activities tailored to individual learning needs. By providing strategies for crafting precise and pedagogically sound prompts, the article highlights how instructors can optimize Generative AI (GenAI) tools to create customized interventions that enhance engagement and student success.
Call for Papers A refereed journal devoted to applied research into all aspects of innovation in language learning and teaching, Dialog on Language Instruction publishes research articles, review articles, book/materials reviews, and community-oriented columns – Faculty Forum, News and Views, Quick Tips, and Resources. Articles should have a sound theoretical base with a visible practical application which can be generalized. Dialog on Language Instruction is published annually. Review our Guide for Authors and past issues on our SharePoint site (https://dliflc01.sharepoint.com/sites/OSAE). Be sure to follow all guidelines before you submit your paper for consideration. Only DLIFLC faculty and staff can submit manuscripts for publication consideration. Send all questions, comments, and/or submissions to the Editor: journals@dliflc.edu. Thank You Reviewers! Dialog on Language Instruction relies on peer review for quality and suitability to the journal’s aims and scope. Special thanks go to our DLIFLC colleagues listed below, who volunteered their time and expertise to serve as reviewers and consultants for this issue. The publication of Dialog on Language Instruction was made possible with their generous time and support. Thank You! Jamil Al-Thawahrih, Natalia Barley, Yali Chen, Clarissa Eagle, Sonia Estima, Alice Filmer, Siyi Gao, Donald Harootian, Hanan Khaled, Yue Li, Yanmei Liu, Tatiana McCaw, Dennis Moradkhan, Ragaa Shenouda, Rana Surinder, Sandy Wagner, Semi Yeom, Rong Yuan, Shen S. Zhu
Copyright (c) 2025 Dialog on Language Instruction
Enhancing Classroom Understanding through Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) and Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs)
This article showcases how teachers can use Generative AI (GenAI) to create comprehension questions that determine if students understand the meaning of what is being taught. The author defines concept checking questions (CCQs) as questions used to confirm that students fully understand the meaning of a vocabulary or grammar being taught, and then provides examples of how they can be used specifically for grammatical and lexicological content. Instruction checking questions (ICQs) ensure that students understand the directions for an activity. CCQs and ICQs can be more useful in checking student understanding vs. simply asking students questions such as "Did you understand?" Examples are given.
Student-Created Videos for Esprit de Corps in an Arabic Classroom
This article discusses how I utilized student-created video projects to enhance morale, increase student engagement and motivation, and foster active participation in the learning process. I collected informal feedback on the project through interviews with students, daily in-class observations, and coaching sessions with the teacher, both individually and in groups, as well as students’ bi- weekly class presentations of video projects. Additional feedback was elicited from faculty and student comments after these videos were posted on Microsoft’s Viva Engage (formerly Yammer), a communication platform that allows individuals in an organization to connect. I outline how I conducted the project and also share feedback.
Using Microsoft’s Immersive Reader Tool to Enhance Students’ Listening Comprehension
Listening is a fundamental aspect of acquiring a foreign language, yet it is a challenging skill for many language learners to acquire. Not only must learners grasp pronunciation nuances, rhythm, and intonation, but they also need to understand the meaning of the passage or conversation they are hearing. This article recommends using transcription of listening passages with Microsoft’s Immersive Reader tool to help foreign language learners attain higher listening proficiency levels. Specific examples of using Immersive Reader with Arabic language learners are given, and student feedback is provided.
Reflection on Variables of Vocabulary Acquisition in the DLIFLC Learning Context: Language Anxiety, Motivation, Learning Strategies, and Teaching Methods
Vocabulary acquisition is crucial to language learning, yet is also quite challenging. To master a word means not only to know its general and specific meanings in isolation but also its written forms, phonological representations, syntactic categories, sociolinguistic connotations, and other features. Vocabulary acquisition is a long-term learning process affected by various factors, such as language anxiety, motivation, learning strategies, and teaching methods. This article summarizes valuable vocabulary learning strategies and pedagogy, discusses theoretical aspects of two affective variables of vocabulary retention (language anxiety and motivation), identifies their relevancy to DLIFLC students, and proposes rules of thumb to alleviate language anxiety, develop motivation, and improve vocabulary learning and teaching.
The Power of Expectations and Implications for DLIFLC Teachers and Students
This paper explores the crucial role that instructors’ explicit and implicit expectations play in students’ learning and performance and their transmission from the instructor to students in the classroom. Strategies to prevent or interrupt the damage that low expectations may cause are recommended to foster more inclusive classrooms.
When Faculty Become Learners: Faculty Perceptions of Navajo Vocabulary Instruction
Prompted by learner feedback and by my own difficulties learning vocabulary in other languages, I reviewed the scholarship on vocabulary acquisition. On Indigenous People’s Day 2024, I presented five individual lessons in which faculty/ staff in attendance became learners of the Navajo language. Each lesson was designed with a unique set of target vocabulary and allowed attendees to experience different methods of vocabulary instruction. Secondarily, to gain an understanding of their preferences, I distributed a feedback sheet on which participants rated their retention of the targeted vocabulary following each lesson and other comments they wished to report. Reviewing this data revealed faculty found the method requiring use of the English-Navajo dictionary to be slightly more effective than other methods, while the method utilizing participants’ induction from “e-realia” was overwhelmingly viewed the most positively. Findings of this modest project suggest that effectiveness at retention and enjoyment may be orthogonal, but both may be important for DLIFLC learners. This project afforded faculty an opportunity in experiential learning, which may inspire instructors to vary their methods of vocabulary instruction. Moreover, positioning faculty as learners, however briefly, may enhance instructors’ empathy for their learners.
Incorporating Free Voluntary Reading for an Engaging Curriculum
This paper examines the impact of incorporating Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) into the DLIFLC Chinese Mandarin Basic course. The paper starts with two reasons for incorporating FVR: the documented benefits of FVR on language development as evidenced by research, and the intensity and low repetition rate of vocabulary of the DLIFLC Basic Chinese Mandarin course curriculum. This paper outlines the three phases of the reading program, provides an overview of teachers’ and students’ feedback on the FVR program, and does an informal comparison of test results. Despite some challenges, the program offers varied repetition of vocabulary, boosts students’ confidence in reading extended texts, enhances their enjoyment of language learning, and leads to improved performance in DLIFLC reading tests. The paper supports the use of FVR as an integral component of any DLIFLC Basic course curriculum.
Improving Vocabulary Retention by Training Students to Use Vocabulary Learning Strategies In and Out of Class
This article describes an action research study to enhance vocabulary retention in intro-level students by implementing an optimized blended approach of combining memory-enhancing vocabulary learning strategies. In a classroom setting, 18 Russian language learners participated in a well-structured, 3-week workshop series during which they used their concrete experience to build threshold vocabulary skills by integrating vocabulary learning strategies organized into logically structured learning blocks, aimed at helping them acquire all word aspects. Under the guidance of researchers, participants integrated digital technology with traditional vocabulary learning tools and developed their own algorithm of vocabulary learning pertinent to their needs. Utilizing both quantitative ratings from survey questions and qualitative analyses of surveys, interviews, and vocabulary journal comments as well as participant output during the project, this study seeks to ascertain the benefits of this approach in enhancing student vocabulary retention.
Process-Based and Learner-Centered Grammar Instruction
Mastering grammar is not quick and easy for students, but is rather a gradual learning process. This paper proposes a process-based approach to grammar instruction in foreign language teaching, emphasizing a learner-centered methodology. Students need to go through four key phases in the grammar learning process: comprehension, memorization, internalization, and application. This study outlines indicators for identifying which learning phase a student is in based on their performance, recommends specific instructional strategies tailored to each stage, and suggests classroom activities aligned with learners’ needs. By offering targeted and meaningful activities, this approach aims to support a successful progression through all phases of learning grammar, enhancing both the learning and teaching experience.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dialog on Language Instruction
The Role of Student-Centered Approaches in the Success of Mini-Immersion Activities
This article describes a “Job Fair” session, designed for Russian Basic Course students at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC). This immersion-based activity emphasizes the importance of a student-centered approach in crafting motivational teaching resources. The 6-hour activity plan includes interactive learning exercises, homework assignments, and a mini-immersion scenario that actively engages students, fostering a deeper understanding of cultural codes and vocabulary learning.
Purposeful Pairing Design (PPD): Pairing for More than Sharing
While many agree on the benefits of pair work, how to pair students for language learning remains uncertain (Storch & Aldosari, 2013). As such, this article offers Purposeful Pairing Design (PPD) to upgrade Think Pair Share from a collaborative discussion strategy to an invaluable teaching tool. PPD is a pairing technique created by the author, where the teacher designs interactive activities that result in students figuring out who their partner will be for the rest of class. Students’ curiosity during PPD activities can boost their engagement, focus, and overall motivation for language learning. Additionally, PPD can be a useful teaching tool to activate students’ background schemata, formal schemata, and mostly, critical thinking skills. Students appreciate PPD activities, as they are collaborative and promote community-based learning amongst the students.
Best Practices in Supervising and Mentoring Teaching Teams: Self-Reflection Checklists and Guiding Questions
This article shares tools that supervisors (i.e., Deans, Department Chairpersons, Academic Specialists) can use to reflect on their skills in the areas of Curriculum and Teaching, Team Creation and Environment, and Communication and Decision-making. Our aim is for these Self-Reflection Checklists and Guiding Questions to provide a means for leadership to streamline the time that is available and focus on these three areas, which have been shown to be important for teaching success. Self-reflection can be a fundamental yet powerful tool for all individuals at any institution. Using the tools presented in this paper, supervisors and managers can regularly look back on their knowledge, skills, and abilities to improve their leadership competence while mentoring their teams for success.
Transformative Language Learning and Teaching: Reflections on Theory and Practice
Transformative learning theory is being widely discussed in the field of adult learning. Some scholars suggest that the application of this theory to world language education is an effective way to reach higher levels of proficiency and intercultural competence. The purpose of this article is to share my ideas, reflection, and thoughts on transformative education in the context of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), after having read the book Transformative Language Learning and Teaching (Leaver et al, 2021). The book offers key insights into learner engagement and autonomy as well as teacher reflection. I have found the concepts in the book to be inspiring to me as a language teaching professional and in this article outline how I apply these concepts in my teaching routines.
Preparing Students for Iso-Immersion: Activities about Cultural Norms to Improve Speaking Skills
This article explores an innovative, experiential-learning based approach to enhance the speaking skills of students and raise their cultural awareness during Isolation Immersion (Iso-Immersion). The focus lies in designing and implementing real-life scenarios that aim to cultivate a better understanding of diverse cultural traditions and improve their ability to communicate effectively.
Teaching Culturally-Complex Topics: Nuancing DLIFLC Students’ Views of the « Headscarf » among French-Speaking Muslim Women
Given the recurrence of debates in France regarding “the headscarf” and France’s secularizing laws, the topic of Islamic dress in France and francophone countries must be approached with care. This reflection discusses my design of a two-hour lesson on French “secularism” and “the headscarf” to include the voices of Muslim women. Availing multiple perspectives on a singular issue invites learners to see culture as dynamic rather than monolithic, an approach that I call a “diverse voices” approach to studying culture (Anderson, 2022). The lesson utilized a content-based approach, incorporating multiple modalities and tasks to maximize student engagement. The following day, I asked students to complete a 5-question survey to explore their perceptions of studying topics related to Islamic culture within francophone countries. Feedback was strongly positive; students appreciated the content-based approach and engagement strategy employed within the lesson. One student’s comments highlighted the presence of a test-centric “washback” effect, demonstrating that more explicit scaffolding was needed. This perspective suggests that students’ pedagogical goals and values may not perfectly align with the instructor's. Inventorying students’ pre-extant assets and conducting a needs analysis of our students’ future work as warrior-linguists could better inform pedagogy. Insights from this successful lesson could be utilized to spark ideation or replication across the Institute when teaching sensitive cultural topics.
The Read-Aloud Method as an Effective Teaching Tool: Mixed-Methods Action Research
The purpose of this exploratory action research is to examine whether the Read-Aloud Method is beneficial for improving underperforming students’ reading fluency and automaticity, which in turn may help improve their reading comprehension. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to assess the method’s potential benefits. Results indicate that the Read-Aloud Method not only contributed to improved fluency features but also helped increase student confidence in learning Korean.
Recycling Lower-Level Concepts in Semester III to Build Language Proficiency
This action research investigated the efficacy of an 8-week program designed to improve language proficiency in Arabic language programs during Semester III at DLIFLC. This analysis aims to determine whether this program led to improvements in students’ language proficiency as assessed by the In-Course Proficiency Test (ICPT) 302 and the Defense Language Proficiency Test/Oral Proficiency Interview (DLPT/OPI). The program integrates principles such as recycling, review, and repetition, derived from established literature on language acquisition. The instruction incorporated core curriculum and authentic materials encompassing listening, reading, speaking practice, and comprehensive reviews, basing material selection and individualized instruction on a careful analysis of student needs and test performance. This action research project compared students’ scores on the ICPT 301, ICPT 302, and DLPT/OPI. The findings suggest that the program effectively reinforces foundational language skills and knowledge. Further investigation can focus on adapting this program for other language categories; examining its potential as an intervention for at-risk students; or as part of Graduation Readiness Intensive Training (GRIT) courses.
Target Language Use among DLIFLC Faculty and Students
A considerable body of research has shown the benefits of target language use in language instruction; challenges and questions remain, however, in terms of how to use the target language effectively. To emphasize the importance of target language use at DLIFLC, the Target Language Use Command Policy #21 was issued in October 2022 and reinforced in July 2024. This research project was conducted two years after the policy was originally issued (i.e., from February to August 2024) and sought to evaluate the implementation of the policy, as well as to identify best practices for target language use in Basic Courses. Six Undergraduate Education (UGE) languages were studied: Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Persian Farsi, Russian, and Spanish. Data collection consisted of aggregated and anonymized End of Program Student Questionnaire, (ESQ) ratings and comments; 20 classroom observations; 15 interviews with deans and chairs; and survey results for faculty (N=83) and students (N=222). Quantitatively, students and faculty report that the Target Language Use Command Policy is generally followed by faculty and students and that schools and teachers enforce the policy. For example, in their ESQ final course evaluations, students reported that their teachers “ensured that the target language was the primary language in the classroom” at a level of 3.73 out of 4.0 (N=6,631), and a majority of faculty respondents reported that the policy is enforced in their school (4.06/5.0). Yet interviews, observations, and survey comments reveal challenges to implementing the policy and opportunities for training and greater enforcement.