TESOL Quarterly (TQ), a professional, refereed journal, encourages submission of previously unpublished articles on topics of significance to individuals concerned with English language teaching and learning and standard English as a second dialect. As a publication that represents a variety of cross-disciplinary interests, both theoretical and practical, TQ invites manuscripts on a wide range of topics, especially in the following areas:

• psychology and sociology of language learning and teaching
• issues in research and research methodology
• testing and evaluation
• professional preparation
• curriculum design and development
• instructional methods, materials, and techniques
• language planning professional standards

Because TQ is committed to publishing manuscripts that contribute to bridging theory and practice in our profession, it particularly welcomes submissions that address the implications and applications of research in, for example,

• anthropology
• applied and theoretical linguistics
• communication
• education
• English education, including reading and writing theory
• psycholinguistics
• psychology
• first and second language acquisition
• sociolinguistics
• sociology

TESOL Quarterly publishes full length research articles, brief research reports, short forum pieces, as well as teaching matters and research matters contributions. 

 Every year the journal has a special issue. Recent special issues are:

2017: Complementary Perspectives on Task-based Classroom Realities

2016: Language Teacher Identity in Multilingual Education

2015: Multimodality in TESOL

2014: K-12 Standards-Based Educational Reform

2013: Plurilingualism in TESOL

TESOL Quarterly prefers empirical papers.

All papers that are considered for publication in TESOL Quarterly are double-blind reviewed. That is, the authors and the reviewers do not know each other’s identity.

It is extremely rare for an article to be published without revisions. The most common review decision is major revisions. Once an article has been sent out for review, the length of time from submission to final print depends on the revisions that have been requested and how many rounds of reviews the article needs to go through. The editors decide on the order of publication when articles have been accepted. Normally articles are published in the same time sequence in which they were received.

Young researchers should pay very close attention to the author guidelines provided on the journal’s website. They should also be sure their article fits with the aims and scope of the journal. In addition, they should be sure their article has been framed so that it is of interest to the international readership of the journal.

Be sure, whatever your topic, that you are aware of the most recent research on your topic and that this has been integrated into your article. 

Make sure, through your reading of the literature, that you are investigating a topic that has not been over-researched. Insufficient originality is a frequent reason an article may not be sent out for review.

Not necessarily. The topic of the article needs to be one that is of interest to the current readership of the journal. 

These are the questions we send to reviewers to evaluate a research article:

• Does the manuscript contain new and significant information to justify publication?
• Is the problem significant and concisely stated?
• Are methodological and/or theoretical matters comprehensively described?
• Are the interpretations and conclusions justified by the results?
• Is adequate reference made to other work in the field?
• Does the manuscript appeal to the general interests of the readership of the journal?
• Does the manuscript strengthen the relationship between theory and practice?

TESOL Quarterly does not hire part-time reviewers.

Of the people who published papers in TESOL Quarterly over the past four years, 77 per cent of them published in the journal for the first time. TESOL Quarterly, thus, has a strong focus on the publication of work by new authors, something that we hope early career researchers and more junior scholars, no matter in what part of the world, will find encouraging.