Submission guidelines

Readership

The intended audience of this journal includes researchers and practitioners interested in issues connected with self-access language learning, self-directed language learning, and ways in which educators are supporting students learning languages outside the classroom. These issues include (but are not limited to):

  • learner autonomy and self-access
  • advising learners in a self-access centre
  • writing centres
  • self-directed learning and self-access
  • motivation and self-access
  • self-access materials design
  • conversation lounges
  • self-access centre management
  • theoretical underpinnings of self-access learning
  • CALL and self-access

Contributions

SiSAL Journal welcomes submissions in a number of categories:

Articles

We welcome articles of up to 5000 words that highlight research and issues connected with self-access learning or skills support centres. The articles should be scholarly, yet generally accessible to ELT professionals, highlighting practical applications where possible.

Contributors are asked to take into account the following important factors when writing their articles:

  • Articles should be of interest and relevance to the readers of SiSAL Journal.
  • Articles should be well written and proofread by at least one peer before submission.

SiSAL Journal may also consider reprinting previously published articles if permission is obtained from the original copyright holder.

Summaries and work in progress

Short summaries and progress reports of no more than 1500 words are welcome. References are not necessary.

Perspectives (opinions and reflections)

General opinion pieces and reflections on research or practice of around 2000 words are welcome.

Reviews of books, resources, and events

Reviews of events and conferences, academic books or articles, self-access materials or useful websites of around 1000 words are welcome. Read more details. Examples of self-access resources with accompanying explanations are also welcome.

Style

Articles may be submitted in any language, but an English summary of around 200 words must accompany the original manuscript. When preparing your English manuscript, please use British English or American English (be consistent), and follow the style guidelines indicated in this sample formatted paper (updated December 2020 based on APA 7th edition). Many authors find this website useful for APA conventions. Please anonymise your manuscript before submission.

Copyright

The authors retain copyright over their work under a creative commons 3.0 agreement and may submit it for publication elsewhere. SiSAL Journal retains the right to publish the journal in multiple formats to maximise exposure.

Submissions

All submissions are initially screened by members of our editorial board. After this initial screening, submissions are double-blind peer reviewed by experts in the field. Where possible, the editorial team provide feedback in order to help authors to reach the required publication standard. Please ensure that your manuscript does not contain any details that can identify the authors, is formatted according to our style guidelines, and has been proofread by a colleague. Please note that SiSAL Journal does not charge authors or potential authors any processing fees. Submit your manuscript via Scholastica:

Submit to Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal

Submission and publication dates

Editor@sisaljournal.org

Submission and publication dates

Please send articles, reports, opinions, reflections, reviews and works in progress for upcoming issues. Issues of SiSAL Journal are published in March, June, September and December of each year. Currently, authors can expect accepted articles to be published within six months of submission.

Upcoming issues

March 2022

Regular issue edited by Jo Mynard. Submissions closed.

June 2022

Special issue edited by Kerstin Dofs, Diego Mideros and Andy Gao. Submissions still welcome.

September 2022

Regular issue edited by Jo Mynard. Submission deadline: July 30th 2022

December 2022

Special issue on ‘Online advising and consultations in self-access’. Submission deadline: September 30th 2022. Editors TBC.

Copyright © 2021 Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, ISSN 2185-3762.
Copyright held by individual authors.