Thematic sections
Language Teaching is structured to promote a variety of different themes and perspectives in the field of second-language teaching, as well as academic and professional discussion on bilingualism and multilingualism. To these ends, each issue of the journal has been divided into eight main sections. To highlight these sections, a selection of sample material has been offered below, two from each.
State-of-the-Art Articles
A long-established and highly-regarded feature of the journal, each of these single-theme articles is accompanied by a review article on recent key books in the area under discussion.
Graham Hall and Guy Cook, 'Own-Language Use in Language Teaching and Learning'
Bonny Norton and Kelleen Toohey, 'Identity, Language Learning and Social Change'
Research Timelines
A graphic presentation of key thought and research in the history of a particular area in SLA together with their representative bibliographical references. Designed to help the reader obtain an overview of the most significant bibliography in the area and spot the emerging tendencies, as well as monitor the development of research.
Lydia White, 'Universal Grammar, Crosslinguistic Variation, and Second Language Acquistition'
Anne Barron, 'Interlanguage Pragmatics: from Use to Acquisition to Second Language Pedagogy'
Plenary Speeches
Keynote addresses and plenary speeches delivered at language teaching events and SLA conferences and lecture series around the world, giving readers an insight into current thinking and research agendas worldwide.
Claire Kramsch, 'The Symbolic Dimensions of the Intercultural'
Nina Spada, 'Beyond Form-Focused Instruction: Reflections on Past, Present and Future Research'
A Language / Country in Focus
An article series surveying recent research on the teaching and learning of a particular language / second language teaching and learning in a particular country..
Marta Antón, 'A Review of Recent Research (2000-2008) on Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching with Specific Reference to L2 Spanish'
Larissa Aronin and Bernard Spolsky, 'Research in English Language Teaching and Learning in Israel (2004-2009)'
Thinking Allowed
A space for contributors to present a personal stance either on a future research agenda or on the perceived current applications of research in the language teaching classroom.
Agneta M.-L. Svalberg, 'Language Awareness in Language Learning and Teaching: a Research Agenda'
I. S. P. Nation, 'Research into Practice: Vocabulary'
Research in the News
Recent and current work by research groups in institutions worldwide and reports from symposia.
Yongqi Gu, 'National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University - Strategising Foreign Language Education in China'
Marjolijn Verspoor, 'Symposium: Dynamic Systems / Complexity Theory as a New Approach to Second Language Development'
Replication Studies
This section is exclusively dedicated to empirical research papers which either specifically report on replication studies carried out in an area of language teaching and learning or that recommend suitable replication studies to be carries out.
Mark D. Johnson and Christine L. Nicodemus, 'Testing a Threshold: An Approximate Replication of Johnson, Mercado & Acevedo 2012'
Stuart Webb, 'Learning Vocabulary Through Meaning-Focused Input: Replication of Elley (1989) and Liu & Nation (1985)'
Surveys of Ph.D./Ed.D. Theses
A country-by-country overview of recent doctoral theses on mainstream topics.
Endorsements
'Language Teaching is more than just an invaluable resource: its organisation gives busy researchers and teachers the opportunity to review current developments in their chosen specialisms, while the blend of insight, overview and argument in its state-of-the-art papers makes them essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand what is happening outside their own research area.'
Keith Richards, University of Warwick
'The survey articles on key areas of language teaching are read profitably by both established researchers and students and are widely cited.'
Professor Rod Ellis, University of Auckland
'I have long found the Language Teaching state-of-the-art articles to be an invaluable source of up-to-date theoretical and practical guidance concerning the topics they cover, as well as, of course, a very handy comprehensive bibliographical reference.'
Alan Waters, University of Lancaster
'Since I was a graduate student in the 1980s one of the first sources I have looked to when beginning to research a topic has been Language Teaching. I have found the "state-of-the-art" reviews helpful to orient myself to inquiry, theories, and trends associated with specific topics. The abstracts of recent articles, and categorical indexing of them, are likewise valuable in pointing out diverse sources, many of which I might not otherwise have identified. This journal stands out for its balanced, comprehensive perspectives on educational issues, research, and theories. It is a source that I always recommend to graduate students for thesis research and course assignments.'
Alister Cumming, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
'Being a German speaking several languages I especially appreciate the idea to include languages other than English as a foreign language, which will emphasise the European concept that it is best to learn another foreign language besides English.'
Britta Hufeisen, University of Darmstadt
'An excellent source of information for academics, professionals and graduate students. The state-of-the-art articles are excellent and extremely useful to get the most relevant information in each area. The abstracts and indexes provide a very valuable tool for researchers in applied linguistics.'
Jasone Cenoz, University of the Basque Country
'Language Teaching is an invaluable resource for researchers across the applied linguistics field. The state-of-the-art articles provide succinct but authoritative surveys of key areas of the discipline with a wealth of references of value to experienced and novice researcher alike. A particular strength of the research abstracts has always been the coverage of languages other than English; the new focus on state-of-the-art surveys of L2 French, German, Spanish, etc. will make the journal a unique source of information for both researchers and practitioners in these languages.'
John Klapper, University of Birmingham
'Language Teaching offers language teaching professionals two unique supports: state-of-the art articles, which keep them up to date with key areas of research and development and provide essential bibliographies; and abstracts, which enable them to keep them abreast of the latest publications in all relevant sub-disciplines of linguistics.'
Professor David G. Little, Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Trinity College, Dublin
'Language Teaching is an excellent resource for researchers in the area of language teaching and learning. It is extensive in the topics it covers as well as extremely broad in the range of journals it draws material from. It is essential reading for language teaching researchers.'
Brian Paltridge, The University of Sydney
'For many years, Language Teaching has been for me and my students an invaluable source of authoritative, state-of-the-art accounts of research in the field as well as an excellent way of keeping abreast of the current literature.'
Anne Burns, Macquarie University
'A high-quality journal, compiling a number of often hard-to-find article formats and presenting rigorous academic research, plenary speeches and research reviews. It deals with issues which are of central concern to the field, has high-profile contributors, and the articles are of broad appeal and timely significance.'
'To catch up on what you missed at some of the big conferences, you need not suffer financial crises, jet lag, pressed schedules and student dorms as long as you subscribe to LT!'
'In sum, the subject matter of LT is academic research into language learning and teaching, so the material is serious stuff. Researchers in applied linguistics and language education will be well served by this journal, as will teachers who want to keep up-to-date with academic developments in the field.'
Dave Allen, TEFL.net