{"id":5287,"date":"2009-10-31T19:47:27","date_gmt":"2009-11-01T02:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=5287"},"modified":"2026-08-02T16:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T00:46:11","slug":"media-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/sub_howto\/media-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Review Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
TESL-EJ welcomes reviews of software, websites, videos, and other non-print media designed for or useful in language learning or teaching. Reviews of development tools (e.g., web design applications), management tools (e.g., course management systems), research tools (e.g., data gathering and analysis tools), and authoring tools (e.g., test development systems) useful to those working in the fields of language education or applied linguistics are also welcome. We are also interested in reviews that compare and contrast similar products and reviews that include a \u201chow-to\u201d component (how a product could be used by teachers or researchers).<\/p>\n

Those interested in reviewing a media product for TESL-EJ may do so by choosing a software package, website, or other media product, and contact the Media Review Editors about its suitability. If approved, write a review of it, following the Media Review Guidelines.<\/p>\n

Please refer to the guidelines below, as well as the text specifications outlined in Submission Procedures and APA Formatting.<\/p>\n

Media Review Guidelines (updated June 2026)<\/h3>\n

Please note that due to the wide variety of language learning media that are available, the following guidelines should not be looked upon as strict rules, but rather as a set of general suggestions. Some of these points may not apply to a given product and media review authors are encouraged to use their own judgment about what to include and how to format it. If in doubt, please contact the Media Review Editors to discuss the issue. It is always recommended that you read previous reviews for proper examples. Note that in the Guidelines, the term \u201cproduct\u201d is used for software, websites, tools and other media for consistency reasons.<\/p>\n

In general, media reviews should be from 900-2,000 words in length, and should include the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A table of basic information at the beginning of the review (keeping in mind that not all of these categories may apply, while others that are not listed might).
    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Title<\/td>\ninclude version number if applicable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Author<\/td>\nIf applicable\/ascertainable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Contact information<\/td>\nIf the product is commercially available software, provide the publisher’s contact information; if it is a website, provide the URL<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Type of product<\/td>\ne.g., “Grammar practice website,” “Pronunciation CD-ROM,” etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Platform<\/td>\nMac, Windows, Linux, cross-platform, other? (May be omitted for websites)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Minimum hardware requirements<\/td>\nOS Version, memory, processor speed, etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Supplementary software<\/td>\nOther software used with the product; for websites include necessary plug-ins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Price<\/td>\nIf applicable, including type of currency accepted<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    ISBN<\/td>\nIf applicable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
  2. A general description of the product: What is it? What does it try to do? Things that could be addressed: target users, language level and skill, main features, technical characteristics (installation, operation)<\/li>\n
  3. An evaluation of the product: What is the purpose of the product? How well does it achieve its purpose? Things that could be addressed: content (activities, media), design (interface, interactivity, feedback, control), use (pedagogical soundness, appropriateness, suggestions for use with learners)<\/li>\n
  4. A summary of the review: What are the overall conclusions? Things that could be addressed: positive qualities and potential shortcoming, summary of description and evaluation<\/li>\n
  5. References (using APA format) to appropriate CALL, SLA, or pedagogical literature as appropriate. For suggestions on APA formatting, please see the TESL-EJ Style Sheet.<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. A paragraph about the reviewer: The reviewer\u2019s name, contact information, and institutional affiliation as well as a brief 2-3 sentence bio demonstrating the writer\u2019s skills and background regarding ability to review the product. Include your email address and Orcid ID, in the same manner as other recent reviews.<\/li>\n
  7. The reviewer may include approximately 8 screenshots (titled like \u201cFigure 1. \u2013 Student survey.\u201c, etc.) that help to illustrate points within the article. for examples of how other reviewers have used graphics in an article, please look at previous media reviews. Before taking each screenshot, please enlarge the section to full screen size so that it will be as clear as possible.<\/li>\n
  8. When sending your review, please send the Word document with graphics (screenshots) included AND the graphics as separate, numbered files (\u201cimage1,\u201d \u201cimage2,\u201d and so on). This allows the webmaster to see how the reviewer intended the document to look while also enabling him to individually manipulate the graphics files to fit the needs of the website. Note that the PDF version of all articles are rendered in grayscale, so be sure that all content is clearly readable in that mode.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Media Review Editors reserve the right to edit submissions for style, length, and format, and may also reject reviews which are not of an acceptable standard.<\/p>\n

    Contact Information<\/h3>\n

    Questions, comments, submissions of materials for review, and any other inquiries regarding TESL-EJ Media Reviews should be directed to the Media Review Editors via media\"atmark\"tesl-ej.org.<\/p>\n

    \nJihee Im, Washington State University
    \nZeynep Sinan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    TESL-EJ welcomes reviews of software, websites, videos, and other non-print media designed for or useful in language learning or teaching. Reviews of development tools (e.g., web design applications), management tools (e.g., course management systems), research tools (e.g., data gathering and analysis tools), and authoring tools (e.g., test development systems) useful to those working in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":98,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5287","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5287"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24364,"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5287\/revisions\/24364"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}