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 1st issue of 2025. This issue of nine articles spans the topics of grammar, vocabulary, reading and listening with technologies introduced, as well as building student morale, the effect of faculty expectations on student motivation and strategies to enhance classroom understanding.
In her Feature Article, Liu (Yanmei) tackles a challenge faced by all language teachers: how to teach grammar. Liu proposes a process-based approach to grammar instruction, emphasizing a learner-centered methodology of four phases, and walks the reader through the implementation process with an example from Chinese Mandarin.
Reading comprehension and vocabulary memorization are addressed in two Action Research articles. Jing showcases how to use free voluntary reading in the language course, while Foster and Saenko outline a 3-week workshop they created that not only discovers which vocabulary learning strategies students enter class using, but also identifies the strategies they find most useful. Student reflection is a key component in both articles, with data demonstrating areas of success. Readers will leave these articles with key takeaways to try in their own classrooms.
The Faculty Forum section features articles where faculty can share ideas and exchange views on innovative foreign language education practices. Anderson shares a professional development activity he created, putting faculty in the shoes of learners, while Phillips explores how faculty expectations can impact student motivation and therefore learning. The following three articles address vocabulary, reading, listening, and technology; Zhu reflects on how anxiety can impact vocabulary acquisition and what teachers can do about it, Bairaqdar showcases how to use a reading tool to help students' listening comprehension, and Kassis summarizes how she used student-created video projects to build lagging student morale.
Teaching a new language in the target language is a real challenge, particularly if teachers want to check student understanding. The Quick Tip article by Liu (Suyi), which concludes the issue, offers strategies on how teachers can use Concept Checking Questions and Instruction Checking Questions to enhance classroom understanding.
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!
