AL Forum, May 2026
Letter From the Editors
Andy Jiahao Liu, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
Curtis Green-Eneix, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Letter from the Chair
Andreea Cervatiuc, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Letter from the Past Chair
Miriam Moore, University of North Georgia, Gainesville, Georgia, USA
Letter from the Chair-Elect
Zahra Safdarian, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dependency Parsing in Computational Linguistics
Quy Huynh Phu Pham, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Chi Cuong Chau, Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
Duong Nguyen, English Department, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
How can computers understand the grammatical structure of human language? How can they identify which words depend on others in a sentence, or determine which words function as nouns, verbs, and adjectives? Dependency parsing is a computational technique designed to address these challenges. This keywords article introduces dependency parsing through real-world examples and discusses key considerations for practitioners who wish to apply it to human language processing tasks.
Critical Digital Applications of Generative AI in L2 Classrooms: Listening and Speaking
Harriet Dentaa, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
Okim Kang, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
With the current proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in ESL/EFL classrooms comes an urgent need to develop critical literacy for their responsible use, especially in listening and speaking instruction. Framing AI literacy as a form of sociolinguistic awareness requires both teachers and students to understand how AI listens to, evaluates, and often misinterprets speech. This article conceptualizes AI as the new listener and proposes adaptable classroom practices for speaking and listening instruction.
Finding Voice Before AI: A Translingual Personal Narrative of Identity and Literacy Assignment for Multilingual College Writers
Jainab Tabassum Banu, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
This article presents a translingual, voice-centered Personal Narrative assignment that helps multilingual students connect identity and literacy while developing reflective and rhetorical skills. It highlights inclusive, adaptable pedagogy that prepares students to navigate AI-mediated writing contexts thoughtfully.
Translingualism in First-Year Writing: Insights From the Two-Year College
Antonella Pappolla, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
This article examines translingual teaching strategies employed by three first-year composition instructors at a two-year college to support multilingual students from underprivileged backgrounds. It shows that, by practicing critical inquiry and using linguistic diversity as a pedagogical tool, these instructors have found nuanced ways to balance their institutional roles with their commitment to fostering a more inclusive language culture in higher education.
Native-Like Models or Multilingual Practitioners? Re-Evaluating the Pedagogical Roles of Nests Through Translanguaging
Gayoung Choi, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
When English feels alien, students lose interest. Moving beyond native-speakerism, this article shows how two experienced Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) in Korea use translanguaging practices—shifting from Eurocentric examples like “A for Apple” to local foods such as “A for Andong jjimdak”—to become translingual guides who validate student expertise and make English meaningful and identity-affirming.
Breaking the Fourth Wall in Chinese EFL: Stakeholder Perceptions of Situated Learning “In the Wild” With Young Learners
April Jiawei Zhang, City University of Macau, China
Zhuohan Chen, University of Oxford, UK
How can we bridge the chasm between classroom-bound grammar and real-world fluency? This study explores a learning “in the wild” intervention that relocates EFL instruction to the semiotic richness of supermarkets, museums, and bookshops. By documenting how situated engagement reconfigures the affective landscape of young learners and challenges the rigid, examination-oriented ideologies of parents, we offer a theoretically grounded yet practically viable blueprint for pedagogical innovation in high-stakes educational contexts.
When Input Is Not Enough: Cognitive Load, Dyslexia, and Instructional Architecture in ESL Contexts
Anna Rzepecka-Karwowska, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
This article investigates whether input is effective not only because of how much learners receive, but also because of how it is taught. Drawing on cognitive load theory and research on orthographic mapping, this study compares exposure-oriented and structured instructional sequencing in ESL classrooms. Findings from a classroom-based randomized controlled study (N = 320) suggest that instructional architecture—rather than exposure volume—may play a decisive role in literacy development, particularly for learners with dyslexic profiles.
Purpose of Language: Using Systemic Functional Linguistics To Advance Multiliteracy
Olivia Orichiella, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, United States
This article discusses how educators can take transformative approaches to multiliteracy through systemic functional linguistics, a theory by Halliday that underscores how language is used in context to make meaning (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2006; Matthiessen et al., 2022). Through this deconstructed approach to linguistics, educators can redefine language instruction for multilingual learners.