About the journal
ELT Journal is a quarterly publication for all those involved in English Language Teaching (ELT), whether as a second, additional, or foreign language, or as an international Lingua Franca …
Find out moreHighlights and Features
Key concepts articles
Explore this collection of articles looking at some of the central ideas in ELT. They are informed by current debate on aspects of theory and practice, and free to read online.
70th anniversary
2016 marked seventy years since the publication of the first issue of what is now known as ELT Journal. We delve into the archive as well as reflect on what the future holds in the anniversary collection.
Editor’s choice
Browse through the editor's pick of articles -- one paper from each issues of the ELT Journal is available to read online for free. You can also listen to the authors discuss their work, with our playlist of brief, introductory videos.
Editor’s Choice – Author Videos
Language teacher action research: achieving sustainability
By Emily Edwards and Anne Burns
The positive impacts of action research on language teacher development are well documented, but the important question of how those impacts can be sustained over time is virtually unexplored.
What should we talk about? The authenticity of textbook topics
By Aki Siegel
Are the topics presented in textbooks useful for learners? We frequently discuss the authenticity of language in textbooks, but less often examine the topics being used and their relevance for students.
Affordance, learning opportunities, and the lesson plan pro forma
By Jason Anderson
Anderson proposes an alternative, affordance-based approach to lesson planning and makes a number of practical suggestions to modify the pro forma and its role in lesson observation.
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Key Concepts in ELT
Criticality
The word ‘critical’ can be used in different ways, qualifying different phenomena. Thus, the development of ‘critical thinking’ is a goal in some ELT classrooms or teacher education programmes; there is also ‘critical pedagogy’, which seeks empowerment and social transformation; and ‘critical perspectives’ can be taken towards the enterprise of ELT itself.
Creativity
Creativity is attracting increasing attention in the field of ELT. From a practical point of view, teachers have a growing number of resources to tap into if they wish to add a more creative dimension to their classes and away from purely practical issues, there is also a need to understand certain underlying processes and principles relating to creativity.
Browse all the Key Concepts articles
Collaboration
Within the field of education, collaboration comes in many guises: teacher collaboration in the classroom (peer teaching/team teaching), collaborative learning among learners themselves, collaborative research, and collaborative curriculum development, to name some of the most common.
ELT Journal Debates
2016: This house believes that teacher training is a waste of time
Every year ELTJ hosts a debate at the IATEFL conference on a different question relating to ELT.
Read a blog introducing the 2016 debate:
Teacher training: a waste of time?
by Graham Hall (Editor, ELT Journal)
2015: This house believes that Language testing does more harm than good
Read the arguments from the 2015 debate:
Language testing does more harm than good
by Richard Smith, Anthony Green, and Graham Hall
2014: This house believes that Primary ELT does more harm than good
Read an introduction to the 2014 ELTJ debate:
#IATEFL – This house believes that Primary ELT does more harm than good
by Graham Hall (Editor, ELT Journal)
Read reflections on the debate:
Janet Enever reflects on the #ELTJ Debate at #IATEFL 2014
by Janet Enever (Umea University, Sweden)
Explore More
About ELT Journal
ELT Journal provides a forum for informed discussion of the principles and practice of ELT. The Journal links the everyday concerns of practitioners, with insights gained from relevant academic disciplines such as applied linguistics, education, psychology, and sociology.
What’s the use of book reviews?
What are book reviews for? Who reads them, and why? What makes a good review?
Alessia Cogo, Reviews Editor for ELT Journal, discusses answers to these questions in our blog post.
An editor's advice on writing for an academic journal
Do you want to write an article for an academic journal? Don’t know how to get started? Graham Hall, editor of ELT Journal, offers his tips and insight on the process in this blog post, covering everything from writing to the peer review process.
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