CALL FOR GUEST EDITOR PROPOSALS - TESOL in Context 2026 Special Issue

2025-05-15

TESOL in Context (TIC) invites Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from prospective guest editors for its 2026 Special Issue, the second issue of the calendar year. This issue is an opportunity to bring together a collection of scholarly and practice-oriented articles that address a theme of current interest and significance in the field of TESOL and/or EAL/D.

 

Scope and Focus

The proposed theme should be of clear relevance to TESOL and/or EAL professionals and researchers, with particular consideration of the Australian context, though the issue need not focus exclusively on Australia. Contributions may be authored by scholars and practitioners based anywhere in the world. Recent special issues have addressed the following topics:

  • Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Schooling for Multilingual Learners (2025, edited by Mei French and Julie Choi)
  • Teaching English Language Learners Across the Curriculum (2023, edited by Leonardo Veliz, Gary Bonar, and Jessica Premier)
  • Interactional Competence in the Online Space (2022, edited by David Wei Dai, Averil Grieve, and Sharon Yahalom)
  • Language in Early Childhood Education (2021, edited by Yvette Slaughter, Anne Keary, Gillian Pennington, and Gary Bonar)
  • Growing TESOL in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Contexts (2020, edited by Vincent Backhaus, Henry Fraser, and Shem Macdonald)

 

To view the full archive of past issues, visit: https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/tesol/issue/archive

 

Submission Requirements

EOIs should be submitted via email to Managing Editor, Dr Fiona Tang (tic@tesol.org.au) by 1 July 2025. The EOI should include:

  1. A brief proposal outlining the theme and its significance to the field;
  2. A list of potential articles and/or authors to be invited to submit abstracts to complement the open call for papers;
  3. A short biography (up to 100 words) of each prospective guest editor and contact information (name, affiliation, address, and email).

 

TIC prioritises empirical research articles, although theoretical or position papers may be considered. We also welcome diverse formats, including:

  • Co-authored reflective pieces by teaching practitioners and academics
  • Practice-based contributions from classroom teachers, including strategies and pedagogical insights
  • Creative submissions that centre the voices and experiences of students and/or educators in TESOL or EAL/D contexts

 

Special issues typically consist of 5-8 articles, each approximately 6,000 words in length. All submissions must adhere to the journal’s Submission Guidelines.

 

Guest Editor Responsibilities

Guest editors (minimum of two) are responsible for:

  • Recruiting contributors;
  • Managing the peer review process, including serving as the first reviewer for all papers;
  • Appointing a second reviewer (either the same individual for all papers or separate reviewers per paper);
  • Overseeing the academic quality of submissions, ensuring that accepted papers are well-structured, clearly written, and meet scholarly standards;
  • Submitting the final set of accepted papers to the TIC editorial team, who will make the final publication decision.

 

Guest editors may contribute as author or co-author to no more than one manuscript in the special issue they curate, but it will be handled by a separate editor to ensure an independent review process.

 

Proposed Timeline

  • 1 July 2025 – closing date for EOIs
  • 15 July 2025 – guest editors appointed
  • 1 October 2025 – contributors submit their papers to the guest editors; papers go to review
  • 1 December 2025 – reviewers’ comments to authors; authors revise
  • 1 February 2026 – revised papers to re-review where necessary
  • 1 March 2026 – re-review comments to authors; authors make final minor revisions
  • 1 April 2026 – papers to the TIC editorial team for formatting
  • July 2026 – online publication

 

A full Call for Proposals can be found here (Click the link).