Submissions

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Author Guidelines

It is understood that articles submitted to TESOL in Context have not been previously published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

  • Articles around 6,000 words are preferred (including references and appendices), and an abstract of up to 200 words should be included with each article submitted.
  • Electronic submission of files is required (Microsoft Word or rich text format).
  • The first file should be the cover page. This file should contain a separate cover page with the article’s title, the names of the author/s, their preferred titles, and the contact details for the author to whom correspondence should be sent (address, telephone numbers, and email address). About 70 words of biographical data should also be included. 
  • The second file should be the anonymised article. This file should contain the title followed by the abstract, the body of the paper and the list of references. Number the pages but do not use identifying headers or footers. 
  • Headings and sub-headings should be left aligned, with the first letter capitalised.
  • Indicate new paragraphs by using one extra line space.
  • Text should be Times New Roman, 12 point, with 1.5 spacing.
  • Short quotations should be incorporated into the text and enclosed with double quotation marks.
  • Quotations of more than about 40 words should be set off from the main text by indentation, without any quotation marks.
  • Referencing should follow the APA 7th edition referencing style; for examples, see a recent issue of the journal at 2023 Vol. 32 No. 1.
  • References in the text should be ordered alphabetically and contain the name of the author and the year of publication, e.g. (Adams, 2017; Wang, 2009). For direct quotations include the relevant page number(s), e.g. (Jones, 2006, p. 34).
  • Tables, figures or diagrams should be numbered. consecutively and included in the relevant part of the text. Each should have an explanatory title.
  • Numbers up to and including ten should be spelt out and numbers over ten should be expressed as figures.
  • The spellings used should be those given in The Macquarie Dictionary.
  • All articles submitted are subject to blind, impartial refereeing; referees are asked to report against the following criteria:
    • The topic of the article is of relevance to readers of the journal (see ACTA Statement at Publications - For Writers).
    • The article is grounded appropriately in relevant published literature.
    • The article’s claims/conclusions are based on rigorous analysis of primary data and/or well-supported argument and/or analysis of teaching practice.
    • The article is well structured and clearly linked.
    • Language use and style are appropriate to the audience and purpose.
    • Notes for contributors have been followed in all respects, including consistent use of the APA 7th edition style.
    • The article has potential to make a worthwhile contribution to the TESOL field.

To register as an author and to submit a manuscript, please visit: https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/tesol/index

Authors need to email the Journal Coordinator to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

Contact for submissions: 

TESOL in Context Journal Coordinator Dr Fiona Tang: tic@tesol.org.au

Materials for review (books, websites etc.) should also be sent to this email address.

Peer-review process:

Reviewers also need to follow the registration process above to view and upload articles for review. Reviewers can access instructions for uploading manuscripts here.

Once authors have received reviewers' comments, they need to respond to these comments in two ways:

1) Log in and submit a revised manuscript to the same article submission, with the file name and date reflecting the revised submission.

2) Submit a table noting the changes addressing the reviewers' comments. A suggested template is available here.

Copyright Notice

Copyright for all articles published in TESOL in Context is vested in the journal, through the Australian Council of TESOL Associations. Permission to publish articles elsewhere should be sought from the Journal Coordinator tic@tesol.org.au.

Authors may submit author accepted manuscripts but not final published versions to repositories, such as Institutional repositories or discipline-based repositories for wider dissemination of their work.

Creative Commons License

Published content may be used in the journal in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This allows for the following:

  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

 Full details of CC BY licensing can be found here: About CC Licenses - Creative Commons

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party. 

Click here to read the ACTA privacy policy.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

As an open access journal, we are committed to promoting the highest standards of publication ethics and preventing any form of malpractice in the research publication process. Our editorial team, authors, and reviewers must adhere to the following guidelines:

  1. Authorship and Originality: All authors must ensure that their work is original and has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere. Any form of plagiarism, data fabrication, or manipulation of data is considered unethical and unacceptable. All authors must agree to the final version of the manuscript and take responsibility for its content.

  2. Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may influence their work or its interpretation. Such conflicts may include financial, personal, or academic relationships that may impact the research.

  3. Peer Review Process: We use a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the quality and integrity of the research published in our journal. All manuscripts are reviewed by at least two independent experts in the field. The reviewers' identities are kept confidential, and authors are encouraged to provide a list of potential reviewers. Reviewers are expected to provide objective and constructive feedback to improve the manuscript's quality.

  4. Editorial Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision on manuscript acceptance, rejection, or revision. The decision is based on the scientific merit of the research, the quality of the manuscript, and its relevance to the scope of the journal.

  5. Corrections and Retractions: In case of errors or inaccuracies discovered in published articles, we will publish corrections or retractions as soon as possible. We will investigate any allegations of research misconduct and take appropriate action if necessary.

  6. Copyright: TESOL in Context maintains copyright for published articles, through the Australian Council of TESOL Associations.

We take publication ethics and malpractice very seriously and will investigate any allegations of misconduct. We encourage our authors and reviewers to report any concerns regarding publication ethics to the editorial team.