Research Articles

• SLRP publishes research articles of up to 8,500 words that report on original research or present an original framework related to program articulation, curriculum development, teacher professional development, student learning, assessment, or other topics relevant to postsecondary language education and language program direction. All research articles should offer meaningful and practical implications for constructing, improving, administering, or researching postsecondary language programs.

• Articles containing only descriptions of or position statements related to topics in postsecondary language education and language program direction should follow guidelines for “Reports.” 

• General guidelines for reporting on both quantitative and qualitative research (see SLRP Research Guidelines) should be followed in all articles.

• Manuscripts that have already been published, are being considered for publication elsewhere, or have been previously rejected by SLRP will not be considered. If your submission is part of a larger study or if you have used the same data in whole or in part in other papers published or under review, you must write a cover letter stating where the paper is published/under review and describing how the current submission to SLRP makes a different and distinct contribution to the field.

Reports

• SLRP publishes descriptive reports and position papers of up to 5,000 words that describe or present original and/or innovative positions on curriculum projects, pedagogical practices, professional development examples, program administration, and the like. This section of the journal thus provides a space for language researchers and educators to reflect on their current practices and discuss their relevance and implications for postsecondary language education and language program direction.

• Although practical in nature, reports should reference relevant applied linguistics scholarship to provide a broader context for the reader.

• Manuscripts that have already been published, are being considered for publication elsewhere, or have been previously rejected by SLRP will not be considered. 

Submission process

• SLRP accepts submissions on a rolling basis at any time of the year. However, for publication in the current year’s volume, priority will be given to submissions received by January 30

• All submissions must be uploaded through our online management system at https://opensubmissions.org/index.php/SLRP/index.

• Before submitting your manuscript, you will be asked to first register and log in to use the online system. Complete instructions are provided on the site. Please contact Richard Medina (rmedina@hawaii.edu) if you experience technical difficulties.

• All article submissions must be properly anonymized. Please delete author names from the text, with “Author” and “Year” used in in-text citations, references, and footnotes, instead of the authors’ name, article title, etc. Author identification should also be removed from all submitted files.

• Manuscripts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word (.docx) or OpenOffice (.odt) file. 

• The main manuscript file should include the title, abstract, body text, references, and appendices. 

• Please include all tables, figures, and images in a second, separate file.

• List the names, institutions, e-mail addresses, and if applicable, web page addresses (URLs) of each author. Include a 50-word biographical statement for each author. This information will be temporarily removed during the review process. 

• Research articles should be no more than 8,500 words in length, including references and appendices. Reports should be no more than 5,000 words in length, including references and appendices. The abstract, tables, and figures do not figure into the total word count.

• Titles of articles should not exceed 12 words and should adequately desribe the content of the article. 

• The submission shoud include an abstract that does not exceed 200 words.
  

• Entries in the list of references should include a DOI or URL.

• All manuscripts should be double spaced and in a 12-point font.

• All submissions should conform to the requirements of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition, 2020). Authors are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts proofread by an editor familiar with English academic prose and APA guidelines. Only U.S. spelling conventions are acceptable. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all references and citations.

• Authors are invited to take advantage of the electronic format by including hypermedia links to multimedia and other materials both within and outside the manuscript. 

• The editors of SLRP reserve the right to make editorial changes to manuscripts accepted for publication for the sake of style or clarity. Authors will be consulted only if the changes are substantive.

• Authors of accepted manuscripts will assign to SLRP the permanent right to distribute their article/report electronically, but they will retain copyright. Authors may republish their work (in print and/or electronic format) as long as they acknowledge SLRP as the original publisher.

• Minor edits may be made within 14 days after publication. Post-publication changes involving content will be made only if there is a problem with comprehensibility. Such changes must be requested by the author and be accompanied by a note of revision. External links will be validated at the time of publication. Broken links will be fixed at the author’s request.

• Begin Submission

Review process

All research articles and reports go through a two-step review process:

1. Internal Review. The editors first review each manuscript to see if it meets the basic requirements (i.e., that it reports on original research, presents an original framework, describes, or presents an original/innovative position on topics related to postsecondary language education or language program direction), that it is of sufficient quality to merit external review, and that it aligns with the aims and scope of the journal. Manuscripts that meet these requirements are then sent out for anonymous peer review. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements are not sent out for further review and the authors are contacted regarding the editors' decision. The internal review takes approximately 2-3 weeks. 

2. External Review. Submissions that meet the basic requirements above are sent out for anonymous peer review by two experts in the field. The external review takes approximately 3-4 months. Following the external review, authors are sent copies of the reviewers’ comments and are notified as to the decision (accept as is, accept pending changes, revise and resubmit, or reject).