Dear Readers,
This issue is a “low volume, high interest” edition. We have four feature articles, three book reviews and a very interesting “On the Internet” piece on the use of Minecraft for language learning.
The feature articles discuss four different themes: online professional development in a developing country – Vietnam – which did not live up to its intending purpose, the pedagogical implications of implementing TOEFL classes at English language programs in American universities, how ethnic identity does or does not affect the perception or acceptability of various speech constructs, and an examination of the differences and perceptions of students and teachers on two approaches to ‘form-focussed instruction’, “integrated” vs. “isolated”.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome two new co-editors to our team, Mohammad Ali Heidari-Shahreza who teaches at the Islamic Azad University, Iran and Iryna Lenchuk from Dhofar University, Oman. Each co-editor takes charge of between 5-10 manuscripts that are in various stages in the submission process. They select reviewers for each paper, send timely reminders when the reports are overdue, and then once all reviews are in make a recommendation to the editor on whether the paper can be accepted, requires further work, or should be rejected. The work requires regular monitoring of our submission site to deal with newly arrived evaluations or overdue reports. Without their dedicated assistance, TESL-EJ could not be published with sufficient content and on a regular schedule. We all owe them our deepest gratitude.
I hope you enjoy this issue. Also, look forward to the next issue with its special collection of articles on “Study Abroad” along with a variety of feature articles on other topics.
Thomas N. Robb, Ph.D.
For the editorial team