Open Call for articles/contributions: Special issue on Educational values of linguistic research for language teaching

2025-12-07

Open Call for articles/contributions:

Special issue on Educational values of linguistic research for language teaching

To be published in the international open access journal Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning (NJLTL), spring 2028

Editors: Jessica P. B. Hansen, Ida Syvertsen, Camilla Bjørke, Kristin Hagemann and Åshild Søfteland

In this special issue, we explore how to connect linguistic theory and language teaching practice more closely together for the benefit of language teaching in various first and additional languages (often referred to as mother tongue and second/third languages and foreign languages, respectively). Examples of language teaching practice could be language subjects in schools, language teaching in higher education, and communication practice and teaching in different contexts.

We are particularly interested in contributions by linguists who position themselves in different linguistic research paradigms (e.g., generative linguistics, cognitive linguistics, usage-based linguistics, structuralist linguistics, systemic-functional linguistics, (critical) sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, interactional linguistics and neo-Vygotskyan sociocultural linguistics) to highlight how various linguistic research paradigms may complement each other in language teaching practice.

We invite contributors who conduct research on teaching and learning of different first languages (L1s) and additional languages (L2s, L3s, L4s, etc.) to discuss applied values and/or language teaching operationalisations of linguistic research from various linguistic research paradigms.

We welcome a wide range of perspectives, starting from the following template:

[A chosen language teaching practice] in [a chosen language teaching context] informed by ontological and/or epistemological understandings of [a chosen topic/phenomenon] within [a chosen linguistic paradigm]

Here are some examples:

  • Operationalisations of multilingualism as a resource in Norwegian as an additional language informed by ontological understandings of linguistic repertoires in linguistic anthropology
  • Teaching communicative competence in Spanish as a university-level subject informed by ontological understandings of communication in relevance theory
  • Assessment of interactional competence in communication teaching informed by epistemological approaches to conversation structures in Conversation Analysis
  • Increasing motivation in a minority language informed by ontological understandings of motivational development in neo-Vygotskyan sociocultural linguistics
  • Assessment of language development in speakers’ first language informed by ontological and epistemological understandings of language competence in generative linguistics

Contributions may be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning has two sections:

Part one consists of double-blinded, peer-reviewed articles that present a theoretical framework and/or results from empirical research. Typical length of articles is between 5000 and 7000 words, in addition to abstracts of 150-250 words.

Part two consists of shorter articles of general interest, for example contributions by teachers and students on practical experiences in the classroom, book reports, opinion pieces, lectures and professional development reports. Contributions to the second part tends to be less than 2000 words. NJLTL accepts opinion pieces, responds to articles and utterances concerning topical events and language politics of relevance to practitioners, like teachers and textbook writers.

Let us know if you are interested in sending in a contribution. Please send us an abstract on the most important ideas in the article you are planning (maximum 500 words) together with a working title. If your contribution is meant for the peer-reviewed part, the abstract should present your research question(s)/main argument, linguistic paradigm and theoretical framework(s), discussion points and – if relevant – methodological approach.

Deadline: 4 February 2026.

Please send to jessica.p.hansen@hiof.no and ida.syvertsen@hiof.no.

Important dates:

  • Deadline for notifying your interest and submitting abstracts: 4 February 2026 to p.hansen@hiof.noand ida.syvertsen@hiof.no
  • Feedback on abstract and offer to contribute with full manuscript: 4 March 2026
  • Deadline for submitting full manuscript: 1 February 2027
  • Feedback to authors after peer review: 1 June 2027
  • Deadline for submitting revised, formatted and proofread manuscript: 1 December 2027
  • Expected publication: spring 2028