Guide for Authors

Guide for Authors 

Language Teaching Journal (LT) considers only “full-length research papers” for publication. Full-length articles present empirical research and analyze original data that the author has obtained using sound research methods. LT publishes both quantitative and qualitative studies.

  • Manuscripts should be 4,500-7,000 words including references, notes, and tables, located in the most recent research on the topic as well as in the more general research area in which it is situated. Please indicate the number of words in the section “Note for Editor” while submitting your manuscript.
  • To submit a manuscript for a full-length article, please go to: http://www.ltjournal.ir/
  • To facilitate the submission process, please have the following items at hand before you begin:

• names and contact information for all authors
• cover letter
• abstract
• manuscript
• tables
• figures
• acknowledgments (if any)

 

  • Please also note that all in text citations and references should be written according to APA (6th Edition).
  • Please refer to the "Submission Guidelines" below for the general guidelines on how to frame your manuscript.

 

Submission Guidelines

LT publishes original empirical research papers in the field of language teacher education within the scope of applied linguistics. More specifically, the areas include:

  • First and Second Language Learning and Teaching
  • Language and Culture
  • (Critical) Discourse Analysis
  • Reflective Language Teaching
  • Language Policy, Planning, and Practice
  • Language testing,
  • Multilingual education
  • Distant Education
  • Interlanguage Pragmatics
  • ESP/EAP
  • Materials Development and Evaluation
  • …

The peer-reviewed LT journal invites researchers to submit previously unpublished papers within any one of the aforementioned realms of study. Papers should be mainly genuine empirical research studies with all necessary details of the procedure and data analyses. Drafts, which need to be submitted electronically via submission link of the website should be between 4500 to 7000 words, including tables, figures, references, and appendixes. 

Submissions Must Include: 

ðThe proofread manuscript (including title, abstract, main body, tables, figures, and references)

  • Do not include acknowledgments
  • Remove any identifying information, including authors’ names from file names and ensure document properties are also anonymous.

  Complete affiliation(s) of the author(s)

 Academic email address of the author(s)

 Manuscripts should follow the guidelines below:

ðTitle page (in a separate document):

  • Title page should include the full title and the name, the institutional affiliation, the academic email address, and the contact number of the author.
  • The title should be center justified and bolded in Times New Roman, size 14.
  • If there are more than one author(s), the above information should be for each author, and the person to whom correspondence should be sent must be indicated.

Text

  • The submissions should only include these headings: Abstract, keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, and biodata.
  • The whole paper must be typed in 1.5 line spaced format with one- inch (2.54 cm) margins on the right, left, top, and bottom of each page.
  • The first line of every paragraph except the one following a heading should be indented and the right margin must be justified.
  • The font should be 11 pt Times New Roman.
  • Headings should be arranged according to APA 6th edition.
  • Any numbering from the headings must be removed.
  • Tables and figures should be arranged and titled based on APA 6th edition style
    • For more information, please refer to Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2010.

Abstract

  • The abstract should be an informative summary of the purpose, participants, design, data collection and analysis, the findings of the study, and the contribution to the new knowledge.
  • It must be between 150 and 200 words.
  • It should not include text citations.
  • It should not be indented.

Keywords

  • Keywords should be between three and five.
  • They should appear immediately after the abstract.
  • They must be arranged alphabetically.
  • The first letters of the keywords should be in capital letters.

 Introduction

  • The introduction must answer these four questions for the reader:

1. What was I studying?

2. Why was this topic important to investigate?

3. What did we know about this topic before I did this study?

4. How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding?

Please note that introduction section should lead to the research questions or hypotheses and ensure that you summarize prior studies about the topic in a manner that lays a foundation for understanding the research problem. Moreover, explain how your study specifically addresses gaps in the literature, insufficient consideration of the topic, or other deficiency in the literature. It is important to note the broader theoretical, empirical, and/or policy contributions and implications of your research.

Method

Please make sure that the following sections are included in the method of the study:

  • Participants
  • Materials
    • Textbooks
    • Testing materials
    • Background Questionnaire(s)
    • Interview questions
  • Procedure
    • Tasks
  • Design and Analyses
    • Experimental design
    • Data coding and dependent measures

Results

  • Tables and Figures
  • Qualitative data
  • Statistical and quantitative data

 Discussion

  • Organize the discussion from the specific to the general points including your findings to the literature, to theory, and to practice. 
  • Use the same key terms, the same verb tense (present tense), and the same point of view that you used when posing the questions, or hypotheses in the introduction. 
  • Begin by restating the hypothesis you were testing and answering the questions posed in the introduction. 
  • Support the answers with the results.  Explain how your results are related to the expectations and to the literature. Clearly state why they are acceptable and how they are consistent or fit in with previously published knowledge on the topic.
  • Address all the results relating to the questions, regardless of whether or not the findings were statistically significant.  
  • Discuss and evaluate conflicting explanations of the results. This is the sign of a good discussion. 
  • Discuss any unexpected findings.  When discussing an unexpected finding, begin the paragraph with the finding and then describe it. 
  • Discussion section should lead the reader to the limitation section.
  • Identify potential limitations and weaknesses and comment on the relative importance of these to your interpretation of the results and how they may affect the validity of the findings.

Conclusion

  • Begin with a clear statement of the principal findings. 
  • State your conclusions clearly and concisely. 
  • Explain why your study is important to the reader.  You should instill in the reader a sense of relevance. 
  • Prove to the reader and the scientific community that your findings are worthy of note. This means setting your paper in the context of previous work.  The implications of your findings should be discussed within a realistic framework. 
  • Strive for accuracy and originality in your conclusion. If your hypothesis is similar to previous papers, you must establish why your study and your results are original.
  • Conclude with how your testing supports or disproves your hypothesis.  By the time you reach the end of your conclusion, there should be no question in the reader's mind as to the validity of your claims. 
  • Do not rewrite the abstract. Statements with “investigated” or “studied” are not conclusions.
  • Do not introduce new arguments, evidence, new ideas, or information unrelated to the topic.
  • Do not include evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper.

 References

Please do your best to ensure that your reference list follows the APA style 6th edition.