SiSAL Journal is planning to publish a special issue on AI-Supported Self-Access and Socially Adaptive Learning Environments for Outside-Class Language Education in December 2027 (Volume 18, Issue 4).
Editors: Dr. Aboobucker Ilmudeen, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka; Dr. Robert James Crammond, University of the West of Scotland; and Prof. Alaa A. Qaffas, University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Information for potential contributors
Self-access learning and outside-class language education have become increasingly important in contemporary educational environments where learners are expected to manage, personalize, and extend their learning beyond formal classroom settings. The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), intelligent tutoring systems, learning analytics, and socially adaptive educational technologies has created new opportunities to support learner autonomy, self-regulation, motivation, and social interaction in self-access contexts.
AI-supported self-access environments are transforming traditional digital learning spaces into adaptive ecosystems capable of responding to learners’ cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social needs. Through technologies such as intelligent tutoring systems, conversational agents, multimodal analytics, emotion-aware feedback systems, and personalized recommendation engines, these environments can provide individualized guidance, adaptive scaffolding, reflective feedback, and socially supportive learning experiences outside formal instructional settings.
Such systems are increasingly used in language-learning applications, virtual self-access centers, mobile-assisted language learning, independent vocabulary development, speaking-practice platforms, peer-supported online communities, remote tutoring environments, and lifelong-learning ecosystems. These technologies can enhance learner engagement, sustain motivation, facilitate autonomous learning behaviors, and support learners in managing their own learning pathways according to personal goals, contexts, and preferences.
At the same time, significant pedagogical, ethical, and practical challenges remain. Questions persist regarding how AI-driven systems can effectively foster genuine learner autonomy rather than over-dependence on automation, how socio-emotional and intercultural dimensions can be meaningfully integrated into outside-class learning, how learner privacy and transparency can be maintained in data-rich environments, and how adaptive systems can remain inclusive and accessible for diverse learner populations.
This special issue seeks contributions that critically explore the role of AI-supported adaptive technologies in self-access and outside-class learning contexts. We particularly welcome empirical, theoretical, methodological, and practice-oriented papers that examine how intelligent systems can support autonomous, socially connected, reflective, and equitable learning experiences beyond the classroom.
The potential list of topics includes, but is not limited to:
- AI-supported self-access language learning environments
- Intelligent tutoring systems for outside-class learning
- Conversational AI and chatbots for autonomous language practice
- Socially adaptive technologies supporting learner autonomy
- Gamified intelligent learning systems for sustained outside-class engagement
- Mobile-assisted and ubiquitous self-directed learning environments
- Culturally responsive adaptive learning systems for diverse learners
- Adaptive recommendation systems for independent learning pathways
- Virtual self-access centers and digital mentoring systems
- Peer interaction and social presence in AI-mediated learning communities
- Multimodal analytics for monitoring autonomous learning behaviors
- Future directions for AI-enhanced learner autonomy and independent education
Submissions will follow the usual blind peer review process. Please refer to the following page for a detailed description of submission types and format:
https://sisaljournal.org/for-authors/submission-guidelines/
Important dates
- Closing date for manuscript submission: March 15, 2027
- Date by which authors will be notified: June 20, 2027
- Resubmission closing date: August 25, 2027
- Approval to be finalized by: October 30, 2027
- Expected publication: Volume 18, Issue 4 (December 2027)
Authors should prepare manuscripts according to the journal’s APA 7th edition formatting and referencing guidelines.
Articles should be submitted via the usual channels outlined on the SiSAL Journal website: https://sisaljournal.org/ with a note to the editors that the paper is intended for the Special Issue.
References
Alnufaie, M. R. (2022). Mobile-assisted language learning applications: Features and characteristics from users’ perspectives. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 13(3), 312–331. https://doi.org/10.37237/130302
Ferguson, S. B. (2021). Accessing the creative self: Encouraging innovative L2 expression within a Japanese business university self-access center. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 12(1), 40–69. https://doi.org/10.37237/120104
Herda, R. K., Friatin, L. Y., Peristianto, S. V., Savitskaya, E. S., & Sain, Z. H. (2026). Fostering self-directed learning through automated written corrective feedback (AWCF): Praxis and reflection. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 17(1), 76–105. https://doi.org/10.37237/170106
Yaşar, M. O. (2025). Developing self-regulated learning in ELT through a video-based pedagogical framework (VIDPEF): A conceptual model for EFL learners. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 16(1), 76–99. https://doi.org/10.37237/160105
Managing Editor
Dr. Aboobucker Ilmudeen, Professor, Department of Management & IT, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil, Sri Lanka. ilmudeena@seu.ac.lk
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YNFVQrgAAAAJ&hl=en
Aboobucker Ilmudeen works as a Senior Lecturer in Management and IT at the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. He has completed a PhD in Management Science and Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. His research interests are IT governance, business-IT alignment, big data, social media, and IT-enabled capabilities and innovation. He has published many research articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and participated in local and international research conferences.
Co-editors
Dr. Robert James Crammond, Director, Transformative Enterprise Research Group (TERG), Senior Lecturer, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland. robert.crammond@uws.ac.uk
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gdFuu7gAAAAJ&hl=en
Dr. Crammond is a senior lecturer (associate professor) in enterprise and management with a distinct teaching and research interest in enterprise and entrepreneurship education, reflecting on relevant stakeholders and the university context. Dr Crammond is a Senior Fellow (SFHEA) of Advance HE, and Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE). He is also a visiting professor at CBS International Business School, Cologne, Germany.
Alaa A. Qaffa, Professor, Department of Management Information Systems, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. aaqaffas@uj.edu.sa
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aMOd1s0AAAAJ&hl=en
Alaa Asim Qaffas received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2007, a master’s degree in computer science from Hertfordshire University, Hatfield, UK, in 2010, and a PhD in computer science from the University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, in 2016. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management Information Systems (MIS) at the University of Jeddah. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 publications in several journals and international conferences. His research interests include adaptive advertising, adaptation model, personalization, user modeling, authoring and delivering personalized content, and social networks analysis.
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