The Mission of TESL-EJ
TESL-EJ publishes original articles, books, or monographs in the research and practice of English as a second, additional, or foreign language. TESL-EJ welcomes studies in ESL/EFL pedagogy, second language acquisition, language assessment, applied socio- and psycholinguistics, and other related areas, for quarterly publication. Qualitative articles, as well as research using other approaches to ELT research, are welcome provided that their findings are useful across contexts and can raise questions regarding existing ELT practice and research. As with any journal, the purpose of publication is to advance knowledge of the field under study. Readers, whether novice or advanced professionals, must be able to take away something new from every published article. TESL-EJ also welcomes well-documented constructive discussions of the current and future state of specific aspects of ELT.
Please note that literature reviews must critically review extant knowledge and indicate areas where further research is required. Take care with papers considered to be “action research” as they are often unsuitable due to issues such as theoretical grounding, N-size, generalizability, and other factors. See About TESL-EJ for further information about the journal.
Checklist for preparing your academic article for submission to TESL-EJ
In order to be accepted for review, manuscripts must comply with the items marked with an asterisk. Submissions under review are more likely to receive favorable evaluations when they adhere more closely to the full checklist.
✔ * Topic. Make sure that your topic is within those dealt with by TESL-EJ, keeping in mind that articles which are relevant to only one country with no implications for other readers are not accepted. Articles that are intended for a specialized audience, without practical implications for teachers or learners, would be better submitted to an appropriate journal dealing with that aspect of Applied Linguistics.
✔ Titles. Succinct titles that fit on one line appear more attractive and professional. Unnecessarily long titles may result in rejection of the submission. Avoid mentioning country names in the title this can imply that your research is not applicable elsewhere. There is no need to mention the methodology employed such as “a mixed-methods approach” in the title. PLEASE DO NOT USE ALL CAPS like this!
✔ * Originality. By submitting this paper to TESL-EJ you declare that the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration. Expanded versions of proceeding publications that are less than 3 pages in length are acceptable as are papers based on a dissertation, but in either case, the previous work must be cited and/or acknowledged. Replication studies, while not technically “original” are encouraged. The author must clearly outline how the intended study is different in terms of the context and the variables used from the original.
✔ * Ethics. All papers must comply with our full statement of “Author’s Ethical Responsibilities” listed here.
✔ Formatting. The text must be single-spaced; preferably using a 12-point font such as New Times Roman. Use italics rather than underlining (except with URL addresses). illustrations, figures, and tables should be placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. Read the TESL-EJ Style Sheet for the specifics such as the style of headings and conformance to APA7 formatting (with some departures mentioned therein). Please note that TESL-EJ does not use numbered sections.
✔ Illustrations. Figures should be single images, not a collection of word processor objects. More information is available in this PDF file which demonstrates an easy way to create flat graphics from Excel graphs.
✔ Statistics. Modern statistical programs produce more results than are needed for publication. All statistics that you use must be explained so that the readers can understand their purpose and relevance to the study. Report your statistics in tables, not with statistics embedded in paragraphs. See “How to make your statistics more readable” (PDF) for some hints on how to do this. For quantitative articles, it is required to report the effect size.
✔ Length. Limit your abstract to 200 words. TESL-EJ has no word limit for the length of manuscripts, although 6,000 words may be considered to be the average length. It expects papers to be written in a succinct manner, avoiding irrelevant details. For example, your literature review needs only to deal with the background that is relevant to your paper. It should provide the readers with sufficient information to understand your research question(s) and why there is a need for the study. It should help the reader make good sense of your findings even if the reader is not a specialist in your area of research.
✔ Structure of your paper. The submitted document should start with the title, followed by the abstract and keywords. In accordance with APA7 style, please do not start the first section with the heading “Introduction.” You may use a heading that hints at why there is a need for a study of the problem you are addressing, for example, or simply proceed with no initial heading. Follow the usual structure for an academic paper being sure to conclude with recommendations for applying your findings in other teaching contexts along with an honest evaluation of the limitations in your study and how they might be addressed in future studies. You may review recent TESL-EJ articles to gain a good understanding of the expected structure and writing style.
✔ * Citations and References. All citations within the text must be included in the references and vice-versa. We expect all references to published articles to include a URL, preferably a DOI. Place a line return at the end of each reference not at the end of each line.
✔ * Preparation for double-blind review. All identifying information on the authors, including any publications, your institution, etc. must be removed from the version that you submit for double-blind review. Cite your papers as (Author, Year) and place the references in alphabetical order under “A” in the list of references. See this document (mp4 video) for information on how to remove your hidden, personal information.
✔ Acknowledgments and information required by your school may be added once the paper has been accepted for publication.
✔ Revision of a previous study. If your submission is based on a dissertation, or a previous paper please mention this when submitting the paper. Note that the style of these two genres are quite different!
✔ * Unlink your reference helper tool. If you are employing a reference helper such as Endnote, Mendeley or Zotero, please unlink it from the version that you submit. You may wish to save a copy with the citations and references linked in case future revisions are required.
Submit your research paper to https://teslej-sub.org/ejojs2/index.php/. (See below for other article types.) The manuscript should be saved in MS Word .docx format with a file name that does not reveal the identity of the author. Please note that only one submission for any one author can be under consideration at any point in time. No other documents such as bio-data, permission information, etc. should be submitted on the main submission page. Please read each section of the online submission form carefully. In particular, authors who state that they have read the above guidelines when they clearly have not shall have their papers rejected.
The Review Process. Before accepting any article for publication, the assigned editor shall solicit recommendations from two or more qualified peer reviewers. You may expect to hear a decision from your assigned editor after all reviews have been submitted.
The Reviewers. The reviewers are members of the TESL-EJ Editorial Board, Board of Reviewers, or other qualified experts. It may be helpful review our Guidelines for Reviewers to see how your paper will be evaluated.
Article Types
1. Feature Articles
Feature articles present an empirical project on second and foreign language education or related areas that consists of original data the author has obtained using appropriate and well-justified methodological approaches and strategies of inquiry. The articles should also provide implications for second and foreign language teaching and learning in international contexts.
2. On the Internet (OTI)
OTI publishes scholarly articles of varying length and on various aspects of
teaching English as a second and foreign language utilizing the Internet, including reports on unique edtech applications, or discussions of trends in educational technology, or providing pedagogical implications for second and foreign language teachers on utilizing educational technology. More information can be found here.
3. Other TESL-EJ sections:
Book Reviews: Please read the Book Review Policies.
Media Reviews: Please read the Media Review Policies.
Special Issues: Potential editors of special issues, please see this page.
Books and Monographs: Currently, TESL-EJ is not accepting applications for new book or monograph manuscripts.