Letter from the Editors

Andy Jiahao Liu, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Curtis Green-Eneix, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China

Keeping the Ship Afloat in Turbulence

When we took the new co-editorship helm of Applied Linguistics Forum in April, we didn’t recognize that we both would embark on a new professional chapter in our lives this past summer. We have both relocated to new cities (as shown in our author bylines) and are experiencing transitions. As we navigate our way through these transitions, we recognize the increasing challenges our colleagues and the field face in this time of unparalleled uncertainty for higher education and the world. Turbulence seems a fitting word (if not the exact word) to capture the complex sociopolitical and sociocultural dynamics influencing our work and lives. The waters are rough, colleagues.

In such kairotic moments, the metaphor that lingers in our mind is keeping the ship afloat. Instead of introducing new initiatives, keeping the ship afloat means we endeavor to maintain the status quo. A status that continues to create spaces that welcome all practitioners and researchers in our field to share their diverse voices and experiences during a time of vindictive and malicious acts toward language education. To keep the ship afloat is to provide windows through which we can look at the mundane in our field with fresh eyes, courtesy of our contributors. We promise to keep the Applied Linguistics Forum ship steady and sailing. We view our editorial work as scholarly and collaborative, as ongoing conversations that amplify diverse voices within our community.

Now, we have the privilege to share the articles in this issue with you. Readers, we hope you will enjoy sailing this issue as much as we did! The following paragraphs briefly introduce this delayed collection, with letters from the Chair and the Chair-Elect, two feature articles, and a book review.

ALIS Chair and Chair-Elect, Miriam Moore and Andreea Cervatiuc, in their respective leadership letters, extend their warm welcome to our community members and preview upcoming ALIS academic and intersection sessions at the TESOL 2025 Virtual Convention and the TESOL 2026 International Convention & Expo. In the meantime, they encourage community members to actively engage in other professional development activities, such as coffee chats and webinars, organized by ALIS steering committee members, as well as opportunities from TESOL more broadly.

In her feature article arguing for the importance of teaching gendered language use in the English language teaching curriculum, Jennifer Marshall begins with the compelling claim that masculine words like guys are not as innocent as we might claim. From a feminist perspective, she further argues that gender biased language is exclusive, and we should be mindful of the potential impacts language can have on people, teaching, and society. Marshall ends her article with practical, feminist-oriented strategies to promote inclusive language use in English language classrooms.

A much-needed addition, Tsun Sing Hung’s article presents how cognitive linguistics can be applied pedagogically to teach English grammar to L2 learners. Drawing on key cognitive linguistic concepts—image schemas, polysemy, and conceptual metaphors—Hung showcases how commonly perceived challenging aspects of English grammar (i.e., prepositions, modal verbs, and conditionals) can be taught innovatively with vivid examples and actionable strategies. Further resources and pedagogical tips are also shared.

The book review features Chapelle et al.’s (2024) Exploring AI in Applied Linguistics, an open-access book published by Iowa State University Digital Press. Through carefully articulated experience and deep reflection, Olesia Pavlenko underscores three key themes—students’ strategic use of AI, AI in assessment, and teacher agency—in her review and advances the conversation by sharing future directions. She powerfully argues that “Our task is to help students learn language, not to rely on machines,” and that “Real learning should guide AI use, not novelty.” Interested readers are invited to continue the conversation by reviewing Chapelle et al.’s (2025) Researching Generative AI in Applied Linguistics.

Together, the pieces of this issue offer several valuable lessons to help keep the ship afloat in turbulent times. We hope you will learn as much from them as we have. As always, we also warmly welcome you to contact us with questions or interesting research/teaching ideas.

Happy reading,

Andy and Curtis

References

Chapelle, C. A., Beckett, G. H., & Ranalli, J. (Eds.). (2024). Exploring AI in applied linguistics. Iowa State University Digital Press. https://doi.org/10.31274/isudp.2024.154

Chapelle, C. A., Beckett, G. H., & Gray, B. E. (Eds.). (2025). Researching generative AI in applied linguistics. Iowa State University Digital Press. https://doi.org/10.31274/isudp.2025.211

Andy Jiahao Liu, Chair of the Second Language Writing Interest Section at TESOL International Association, is now a Ph.D. student in Language, Literacy, and Social Studies Education at the University of Iowa. His research interests center around second language writing, English for research publication purposes, and language testing and assessment. 

Curtis Green-Eneix is an assistant professor in the School of Education and English at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. He is the book review editor for the Journal of Education, Language, and Ideology. His work on critical teacher education has been featured in prominent journals, such as TESOL Quarterly.