AUTHOR GUIDELINES

General Guidelines for Authors

Open Format Submission
JLARF, in square one, offers Open Format submission for an easy, author-friendly, and well-organized submission process. We welcome a wide variety of submissions including research papers, reviews, critical summaries and reports, classroom assessment and instruction explorations, media reviews, special topics in related areas, and reader’s forum in WRITTEN, AUDIO, and VIDEO.

This journal does not charge submission fees. Once the submission materials have been prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines, email the manuscript to us via: au*****@jl***.com.

Main Text File

As this journal operates on a double-anonymous peer review process, please ensure that all identifying information such as author names and affiliations, acknowledgements or explicit mentions of author institution in the text are on a separate title page.

The main text file should be in and include:

• A short informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations;
• Abstract (unstructured)
• Up to seven keywords;
• Main body;
• References;
• Tables (each table complete with title and footnotes);
• Figure legends: Legends should be supplied as a complete list in the text. Figures should be uploaded as separate files.

All submissions to JLARF should conform to the requirements of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), which can be obtained from the American Psychological Association. Per APA 7th edition, please note that DOIs are required in references and can be obtained at http://www.crossref.org/guestquery. Please contact the Managing Editor (ed********@jl***.com) if you experience difficulty.

Ready to Submit!

Before you submit as an author or creator, you will need:

If you submit as manuscript, it should be an editable docx file including text, figures, and tables, or separate files—whichever you prefer. All required sections should be contained in your manuscript, if RESEARCH REPORT, including abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusions.

• Figures and tables should have legends. Figures should be uploaded in the highest resolution possible.
• References may be submitted in any style or format, as long as it is consistent throughout the manuscript.
• Supporting information should be submitted in separate files.
• Your manuscript may also be sent back to you for revision if the quality of English language is poor.
• A separate title page of the manuscript, including:
• Your co-author details, including affiliation and email address. Include a footnote for an author’s present address if different from where the work was conducted
• Optional cover letter

IMPORTANT NOTE: JLARF operates a triple-anonymous peer review policy. Please anonymize your manuscript and supply a separate title page file.

IMPORTANT NOTE: An ORCID number, freely available at https://orcid.org. (Why is this important? Your article, if accepted and published, will be attached to your ORCID profile. Institutions and funders are increasingly requiring authors to have ORCID numbers.)

Submission Preparation Support 

JLARF offers expert help with English Language Editing, as well as translation, manuscript formatting, figure illustration, figure formatting, graphical abstract design, video and audio formatting – so you can submit your manuscript with confidence.

Review Process and Policy 

As this journal has adopted a triple-anonymous reviewing policy, please remove the author’s name from the main text, the in-text citations, the reference list, and any running heads. Please replace the author’s name with Author. If there are multiple authors, please use Author1, Author2, etc. Manuscripts submitted without author’s name(s) removed will be returned without review for alteration and resubmission.

All manuscripts go through a two-step review process:

1. Internal Review.The editors and/or section editors first review each manuscript to see if it meets the basic requirements (e.g., that it fits the mission and scope of the journal and its double-anonymized) that it is of sufficient quality to merit external review. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements are not sent out for further review. The internal review generally takes 2-3 weeks.
2. External Review.Submissions which meet the basic requirements are then sent out for double-anonymous peer review by two experts in the field. The external review takes approximately 3 months. Following the external review, the authors are sent copies of the external reviewers’ comments and are notified as to the decision (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject).

When evaluating a manuscript for publication in JLARF, reviewers generally consider the following factors:

• The manuscript appeals to the interests of JLARF’s readership.
• The manuscript elucidates either theory or practice: Practical articles must be anchored in theory, and theoretical articles and reports of research must contain a substantial discussion of implications or applications for practice.
• The manuscript offers a new, original insight or interpretation and not just a restatement of others’ ideas and views.
• The manuscript makes a significant (practical, useful, plausible) contribution to the field.
• The manuscript reflects sound scholarship and research design with appropriate, correctly interpreted references to other authors and works and its conclusions are justified.
• At revision, the manuscript is well written and organized and conforms to the specifications of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(7th ed.).

Submission Categories

JLARF invites submissions in the following categories:

1. Full – length (feature) articles: Contributors are strongly encouraged to submit manuscripts of no more than 15-20 double-spaced pages or 5,000 words (including references, notes, and tables). Submit your paper in both DOCX and PDF formats and include all figures, graphs, and tables in separate DOCX files. Your abstract should also be sent in a separate DOCX file and it should not exceed 200 words. If possible, indicate the number of words at the end of your article. To facilitate the blind review process, write the authors’ names only on a cover sheet, not on the title page. For more information, read our SAMPLE ARTICLE.

Feature articles are both 1) research-based, with strong pedagogical implications whether qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method research, and 2) theory- or concept-based practice. Both categories endorse 1) strong links between theory/research and practice and 2) relevance to the broader English language teaching community. All feature articles should contain an abstract of 150–200 words.

Empirical Feature Article (3,000 –5,000 words)

Manuscripts in this category address issues from an applied research perspective, reporting on data-based studies that provide evidence that informs pedagogy. Research can be qualitative, quantitative, mixed, or other and must be based on a strong theoretical framework.

Conceptual Feature Article (2,500–5,000 words)

Manuscripts in this category address practical strategies, techniques, approaches, and methods from a theoretical or conceptual perspective. For example, a manuscript may suggest instructional strategies based on Motivation Theory or techniques that support the principles of task engagement.

 

2. Book Reviews: Our journal invites brief and evaluative reviews of professional books. Reviews should provide a descriptive and analytic summary as well as a short discussion of the significance of the work in the context of both present (current) and past (antediluvian) theory and practice. Submissions should generally be no longer than 1,000 words. Submit one copy by e-mail to the editor. (Sample)

3. Article Reviews: We welcome occasional article reviews published in revered and seminal journals, that is, comparative discussions of several publications that fall into a topical category. Review articles should provide a description and evaluative comparison of the materials and discuss the relative significance of the works in language testing. Submissions should generally be no longer than 700 words, with the number of words indicated at the end of the article, if possible. Submit a DOCX file to the editor. (Sample)

4. Chapter Reviews: JLARF appreciates the submission of chapter review of educational books. We invite brief and critical chapter reviews of professional books. Chapter reviews should provide a descriptive and analytic summary as well as a short discussion of the significance of the chapter in connection with the other chapters of the book. Submissions should generally be no longer than 1,500 words. You can submit your chapter review via email. directly to the editorial board at au*****@jl***.com.

5. Research brief (2000 words) OR 10-minute Audio or Video: This section presents brief summaries of research areas or empirical studies in progress, with submissions encouraged from but not limited to: graduate students, early career researchers, and/or teacher action researchers. Research briefs may be in one of three formats: an empirical research study summary, a current literature review or an interview with an established scholar. Research briefs may be submitted via one of two media: a concise narrative manuscript of 2000 words and 10 references, or a 7–10-minute video.

Sample description: Videos might contain a presentation, a slide show, screen capture, links, and/or other multimodal resources. Each submission should include a 100-word text-based abstract and reference list of no more than 10 references. The 2000-word count for manuscript submissions includes references, tables, and end materials, but excludes the abstract. Manuscript submissions undergo the same review procedures as other manuscripts and should address topics within the focus of the journal. Video submissions will be evaluated exclusively by the editorial team including Lead Editor(s), Associate Section Editor, and/or any Guest Editors as applicable.
Supported video file formats: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, WebM

6. Classroom assessment/teaching Explorations (1,200-1,400 words) OR 10-minute Video/Audio files

This category offers a forum for ESL/EFL instructors and students to share personal perspectives on their own assessment, teaching, learning, challenges, successes, and stories that will provide valuable information to practitioners in terms of developing multiple perspectives on English language instruction. Submissions may address the range of issues that stem from teaching and assessing English language learners in primary, secondary, and post-secondary settings. Each submission should be based in a theoretical, conceptual, or research perspective, briefly outlined and supported in the first paragraph. Hyperlinks embedded within the text can serve a variety of purposes, such as offering additional resources or connecting readers to a video of the author’s creation that illustrates the topic. Preference for publication will be given to articles that focus on student voice and learning in conjunction with innovative pedagogy or different ways to interpret existing pedagogy.

7. Media Reviews (1000- 1500 words) OR 5-7 minutes Audio or Video:

This section presents media reviews, including book reviews and technology resources. Reviews in this section will be evaluated based on the review’s connections to a theoretical framework and pedagogical practice(s) in global TESOL classroom contexts. The review should also provide critical discussions of book or the material reviewed. Please secure permission from the publisher of the book if your review includes images/links of activities and/or other teaching tips discussed in the review for JLARF to reproduce. The media review word count generally falls within 1,500 words. Please use references only as necessary to the media review. JLARF accepts a maximum number of 5 references in each review.

8. Reader’s/Researcher’s/Author’s/Teacher’s Forum (100- 300 words) OR 5-7 minutes Audio or Video:

Well-thought-out responses that add information to, or provide evidence to support or oppose, the content of articles in JLARF will be considered for publication. Responses may, for example, comment on the theoretical or research base of an article, include and discuss additional references, or suggest an alternate take on the issues addressed in an article.

9. Special Topic Issues (100- 300 words) OR 5-7 minutes Audio or Video:

Typically, the February issue in each volume will be devoted to a special topic. JLARF seeks proposals for the special topic issue. Topics are approved by JLARF’s Editorial Advisory Board. Those wishing to suggest topics or serve as guest editors should contact the JLARF co-editors. Issues will generally contain both invited articles designed to survey and illuminate central themes as well as articles solicited through a call for papers.