Free open-access journals on English language teaching

Continuing professional development (CPD) is crucial for English language teachers in such a changing world today. Keeping updated and making research-informed decisions are unquestionably required for English language teachers to improve their own teaching as well as students’ learning experience and outcomes. There are different ways for English language teachers to do so, such as going to conferences or reading books and journal articles; however, to do so could sometimes be quite costly, or even unaffordable for many teachers, especially those in underprivileged areas. Open-access journals seem to be among solutions to this issue. Therefore, a comprehensive list of free open-access journals for English language teachers seems necessary. There are few posts providing such a list, so I’ve decided to compile a list myself with a hope to benefit English language teachers’ CPD. Here we go!

Notes:

+ These journals are also good places to submit articles on English language teaching.

+ These journals come in a random order in this post.

+ This list is, I believe, not yet complete, so more recommendations on high-quality, free open-access journals are absolutely welcome!

Bonus: A photo of the central library at my beloved KU Leuven.

1. English Teaching Forum: This is a quarterly journal, i.e. published 4 times a year.

https://americanenglish.state.gov/forum

2. TESL Canada Journal: Although this biannual journal, as its title suggests, primarily serves English as a Second Language (ESL) in Canada, many articles could be useful for those teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in other contexts.

https://teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl

3. The Asian EFL Journal: A quarterly journal with many good quality articles useful for EFL teachers in particular.

http://www.asian-efl-journal.com

4. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics: (Note: Some articles are in French.)

https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/CJAL

5. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching (e-FLT): Published twice a year by National University of Singapore (NUS), this journal contains articles aimed at foreign language teaching in Asia and beyond.

http://e-flt.nus.edu.sg/index.html

6. TESL – EJ: This quarterly journal is, as the website goes, “an internationally-recognized source of ESL and EFL information for people in scores of countries”.

http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/

7. L2 Journal: This journal is published by UC Berkeley (USA) and, as described on the website, covers all aspects of applied linguistics broadly conceived, i.e., second language acquisition, second language pedagogy, bilingualism and multilingualism, language and technology, curriculum development and teacher training, testing and evaluation.

https://escholarship.org/uc/uccllt_l2

8. BC TEAL Journal: a peer-reviewed publication of the Association of British Columbia Teachers of English as an Additional Language in Canada.

https://ojs-o.library.ubc.ca/index.php/BCTJ

9. JALT Journal: published semi-annually by the Japan Association for Language Teaching.

http://jalt-publications.org/jj

10. Language Learning & Technology (LLT): published triannually (February, June, and October) on issues related to technology and language education.

https://www.lltjournal.org/about/

11. ETAS Journal: a journal by English Teachers Association in Switzerland.

https://www.e-tas.ch/journal/issues

12. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment: a journal exclusively for language testing and assessment by the Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand.

http://www.altaanz.org/papers-in-language-testing-and-assessment-plta.html

13. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics (AJAL): published online bi-annually.

https://www3.caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/index

14. The Taiwan Journal of TESOL: publishes 2 issues a year.

http://www.tjtesol.org

15. NYS TESOL Journal: published biannually by NYS TESOL- New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

http://journal.nystesol.org

16. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics: published 3 times a year.

http://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/IJAL/index

17. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research (IJLTR): publishes 3 issues a year.

http://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir

18. The IAFOR Journal of Language Learning: published annually.

https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-language-learning/

19. The Journal of Asia TEFL: a quarterly journal published by the Asian Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language.

http://journal.asiatefl.org

20. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching: published four times a year

https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/ssllt/index

21. ESP Today: Journal of English for Specific Purposes at Tertiary Level published biannually.

http://www.esptodayjournal.org

22. International Journal of English Studies (IJES): published biannually.

https://revistas.um.es/ijes

23. PASAA: publishes two volumes annually.

http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/publicationsonline/home_p1.php

24. Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics (AJAL): a biannually published journal.

http://www.arjals.com/ojs/index.php/Arjals2016

25. English Language Teacher Education and Development (ELTED) Journal

http://www.elted.net

26. Reading in a Foreign Language (RFL) journal published twice a year.

http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/

27. Reading Matrix: published twice yearly.

http://www.readingmatrix.com

28.  Journal of the European Second Language Association (JESLA): publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed open-access articles in the field of second language research, one continuous issue per year. (Credit goes to Benjamin Kremmel).

https://www.euroslajournal.org

29. TESOL in Context: publishes two issues a year by the Australian Council for TESOL Associations (ACTA).

https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/tesol/index

30. Journal of Second Language Teaching and Research: published twice a year.

http://pops.uclan.ac.uk/index.php/jsltr/index

31. MEXTESOL Journal: published four times a year.

http://www.mextesol.net/journal/

32. English Australia Journal: published twice a year in April and September.

https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/professional-development/journal

33. Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics:

https://benjamins.com/catalog/dujal

34. Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics

https://journals.castledown-publishers.com.au/index.php/ajal/

35. Intercultural Communication Education

https://journals.castledown-publishers.com.au/index.php/ice

36. Technology in Language Teaching & Learning

https://journals.castledown-publishers.com.au/index.php/tltl

37. Language Education and Assessment

https://journals.castledown-publishers.com.au/index.php/lea

38. The Language Scholar

https://languagescholar.leeds.ac.uk

Best regards,

Duy Van Vu

Twitter: @Duyvvu