English as a second language learners and acquisition

¶ … Standards

English language learners

Journal comparison: TESOL Journal and the English Quarterly

Both the TESOL Journal and The English Quarterly, the official refereed journal of the CCTELA (Canadian Council of Teachers of English Language Arts), offer the opportunity to publish materials on the subject of English-language learning. However, the two journals have fundamentally different purposes. TESOL Journal is primarily a peer-reviewed academic journal with areas of specific interest. It is designed with a professional audience of educators in mind, although it does publish a few non-journal type articles. It is designed to use the research process to help teachers better use theory to "inform, shape, and ground teaching practices and perspectives" in the field of ESL (Submission requirements, 2012, TESOL Journal).

Submissions to TESOL Journal can take the form of general feature articles (which must include an abstract), articles on 21st century language skills, and articles on ESL students with interrupted formal education. There is also an ESL student voices section, in which students are encouraged to submit their material directly. In this area, "the editor welcomes essays that need development and will assign the author to a mentor for the purposes of developing the idea into a publishable manuscript" (Submission requirements, 2012, TESOL Journal). Other sections designed to elicit submissions from teachers in the field include a section on communities of participation in TESOL, which is solution-focused and discusses using community engagement to promote TESOL education. The language teacher research section showcases research conducted by teachers into their own practice. There is also a section for reviews of secondary materials. Examples of articles in the Journal's March 2010 issue include "ESL coteaching and collaboration: Opportunities to develop teacher leadership and enhance student learning;" "The uniqueness of EFL teachers: Perceptions of Japanese learners;" and "Serving ELLs with limited or interrupted education: Intervention that works."

The English Quarterly, in contrast, publishes a wide range of genres: debates, interviews; narrative explorations; poetry; point and counterpoint positions; research investigations; position papers; reviews, and even works-in-progress. The guidelines are more flexible for The English Quarterly. While TESOL Journal has specific formatting requirements and different word limits for every category, The English Quarterly merely requires that all submissions are less than 5,000 words, and even this guideline may be waived, depending on the nature of the piece and the identity of the author (Official website, 2012, The English Quarterly). Both journals exclusively accept online submissions and both accept submissions on the education of students ranging in age and ability from pre-kindergarten to adult, as well as special needs and older ESL students.