THE JOURNAL FOR DISTINGUISHED LANGUAGE STUDIES

                    

The Journal for Distinguished Language Studies (JDLS) was founded by the Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers under the direction of Dr. Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman in 2002,

The JDLS is a refereed volume and the only journal to focus exclusively on the highest levels of language achievement, that is, native-like or near-native. This level is labeled Distinguished by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Level 4/Advanced Professional Proficiency by the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR), and also Level 4 as part of the Standardized Agreement (STANAG) 6001 of NATO’s Bureau of International Language Co-ordination (BILC). Descriptions can be found at the ACTFL, ILR, and BILC websites.

The purpose of the JDLS is to create a robust international movement to promote and support language learning to the near-native level of proficiency. Contributions are sought in the areas of theory, research (quantitative, qualitative, case studies, action research), and applications. The journal typically has published a balance of articles in all three categories. Published papers develop theory, share applications that work (based on the experience of those who teach that level), and report on the research conducted and/or needed for proper evaluation and assessment of theory and application.

Articles are particularly welcomed in the following areas:

  • current status of Level 4 proficiency research in each of the four skill areas;
  • teaching methods to/at/above Level 4 proficiency in each of the four skill areas;
  • the role of culture in achieving Level 4 proficiency in each of the four skill areas; and
  • assessment to/at/above Level 4 proficiency in each of the four skill areas.

Editors

  • Editor, Yalun Zhou, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, USA
    contact: yalunzhou@yahoo.com
  • Assistant Editor, Donna Bain Butler, Ph.D., Delaware State University, Delaware, USA
    contact: dbainbutler@yahoo.com

Advisory Board

  • Rajai Al-Khanji, Ph.D., University of Jordan
  • Andrew Corin, Ph.D., Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (Emeritus)
  • Rebecca Oxford, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • Karin Ryding, Ph.D., Georgetown University (Emerita)
  • Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholle, Ph. D., Yale University

ISSN1547-7819.

Contents of JDLS Issues

All issues of the JDLS (2003-2011) are shelved at the Library of Congress. All current and back issues are available from the MSI Press webstore. Some back issues are also still in inventory at Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. Current issues may be found in local public and university libraries.

We are moving toward e-publication in addition to print publication. We are also working to make the journal contents more accessible. Abstracts, book reviews (accessibility) coming soon), and sample articles (one per issue) can be downloaded from this webpage gratis. Other articles (accessibility coming soon) can be downloaded from our webstore for $5 per article via link from the Table of Contents document; we are currently working on that mechanism, so please check back with us later or contact editor@msipress.com for assistance.

Volume 1.
Volume 2.
Volume 3.
Volume 4.
Volume 5.
Volume 6.

Volume 7. 2011-2020.
Table of Contents
Abstracts in Arabic.(available only online; they are not in the print journal)
Abstracts in English.
Sample article (Rethinking the Rating Process: Solution to the Threshold Performance Dilemma/DiBiase-Lubrano & Vasilj-Begovic)

Volume 8. 2021-2022
Table of Contents
Abstracts in Chinese
Abstracts in English
Abstracts in French
Abstracts in German
Abstracts in Russian
Abstracts in Spanish
Sample article (Protocol-Based Formative Assessment: Evolution and Revolution at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center/Andrew R. Corin & Sergey Entis)

Friends of Distinguished Language Proficiency

In conjunction with the JDLS, the Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers awarded a Friend of Distinguished Language Proficiency plaque to an individual or individuals who had contributed significantly to the advancement of learning and teaching to near-native levels of language proficiency. That practice has been continued by MSI Press LLC.

Awardees 2003-2022

  • 2003. Ambassador Ruth Davis
  • 2004. Dr. Dan Davidson & Dr. Maria Lekic
  • 2005. HRH Prince Firas bin Ra’ed of Jordan & Renee Meyer
  • 2006. Dr. Richard Brecht
  • 2007. Ambassador James Collins
  • 2008. Kevin Gormley
  • 2009. Dina Kupchanka
  • 2010. Boris Shekhtman & Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
  • 2011-2020. Dr. Ray Clifford & Dr. Madeline Ehrman
  • 2021-2022. Dr. Christine Campbell & Dr. Wilmsen

Nominations 2023-2024. Open. Please submit the name of the nominee along with a short justification to editor@msipress.com no later than September 15, 2024.

Submissions

To submit an article to the next issue, Volume 9, 2023-2024, download the current call for papers: Call for Papers.

To submit a review of a book about near-native levels of language learning, please follow the JDLS Book Review Guidelines_2021, which reflect the Linguist List guidelines, and submit to the associate editor of the JDLS, Dr. Donna Butler, with a cc to the editor, Dr. Yalun Zhou, or to editor@msipress.com. If you have written or published a book on a topic related to the JDLS and would like to have it reviewed, please contact editor@msipress.com for guidance.

Submissions should represent original work. They should not have been previously published elsewhere nor be currently submitted to another journal or collected volume.

 

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