The field of self-access language learning, and related fields such as language learning advising and self-directed language learning, is a growing and dynamic field of scholarly research and pedagogical practice. This research is conducted all over the world, and in many languages. The early groundbreaking work in the wider field of learner autonomy in the 1980s was led by Henri Holec at the Council of Europe working predominantly in French. In Mexico, the field has a very active research community working in Spanish. However, the majority of the research is often published in English.
At SiSAL Journal, we would like to recognise and highlight the hugely valuable contributions being made by colleagues in all contexts and provide a platform for those researchers working languages other than English to connect to others in their field in their own language. SiSAL often features articles about research in non-English speaking contexts, and has always welcomed submissions in languages other than English, but there is no mistaking that English is often assumed as the dominant language of educational (and other academic) research, and few such submissions have been received. Therefore, we would would like to announce a new multilingual SiSAL column and are putting out this Call for Editors. If you are working in self-access in a language other than English and would be interested in editing a column of several papers in that language to appear in an upcoming issue of SiSAL Journal, please get in touch.
The column
Each column instalment will feature three papers about self-access language learning in the featured language of that instalment. The papers can be any format from the SiSAL guidelines, but at least one should be a substantial research paper, perspective or literature review.
The editor(s) of each instalment will be responsible for:
- Writing a call for papers in the featured language
- Organising a double blind review of manuscripts (this includes finding and offering guidelines to reviewers)
- Suggesting revisions to authors
- Accepting or rejecting papers
- Proofreading final manuscripts
The regular SiSAL Journal editorial team will offer advice and support throughout the process, but the instalment editor will be in charge of making editorial and content decisions. Editors may like to refer to the following previous Calls for Papers when writing their own Calls:
- Virtual and other learning spaces
- Young learners
- Accessing and accessorizing for self access language learning
Column Timelines
Later dates are also possible.
Next steps
Potential editors should contact Chief Column Editor Katherine Thornton at columns@sisaljournal.org and state the following (in English):
- Your interest in self-access
- The country (or countries) that you are working in
- The language that you would like to publish in
- The proposed focus of your column (this can be in the form of a Call for Papers, or a more general outline)
- Details of your own publishing and editing experience
- Which issue of SiSAL you would like to publish in (if you have a preference)
If you would like to make an informal inquiry before submitting these details, feel free to do so.
SiSAL Journal 