About the Journal
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.
Current Issue
The Editorial Board of Dialog on Language Instruction is excited to bring you our 2026 issue of the journal. This issue of eight articles spans the topics of listening, Generative AI tools, professional development, teaching in the target language, and supporting at-risk students, in addition to two book reviews.
The two action research articles in this issue address challenges related to helping students develop their target language listening skills. Kazemi draws on research highlighting the importance of syntactic knowledge and real-time processing for successful listening, offering a six-step pedagogical approach that can be replicated across different languages. Anderson implements bottom-up listening skills strategies in his action research project, finding that students viewed these lessons positively and that activities these strategies may prove a powerful tool to sharpen students’ listening competencies.
The Faculty Forum section features articles where faculty can share ideas and exchange views on innovative foreign language education practices. The first, by Gao et al., describes a structured seven-step professional development (PD) model intended to improve collaboration, trust, teacher engagement, and instructional effectiveness, as well as to enhance student learning outcomes. Amini Harsin showcases case studies in using Generative AI tools (namely, ChatGPT) to create interactive, relevant materials tailored to individual learning needs; Anderson reflects on how to address learners’ unfamiliarity with concepts that may be laden with socio-cultural or political value, noting the importance of trusting relationships in the language classroom; and Kalyanov provides concrete recommendations for maximizing the impact of the special assistance (SA) program at DLIFLC for at-risk learners.
Two book reviews close this issue. Roca and de Hoyos review Indigenous America in the Spanish Language Classroom (2023), by A. Fountain, and Bikowski reviews Open Architecture Curricular Design in World Language Education (2025), by A. R. Corin, B. L. Leaver, & C. Campbell (Eds), 2025. We hope you enjoy this issue and consider submitting your article to Dialog on Language Instruction.
We invite you to download the full issue below, or read any of the articles by clicking on the appropriate link. Enjoy!
