Submissions
Volume 7(1) submission Deadline: January 22, 2024.
Special theme: For the upcoming issue, we welcome submissions on the theme of RILAE’s 11th LAb Session, “Learner Autonomy, Positive Psychology and Well-Being.” General submissions on other topics related to learner autonomy are also welcome.
Submit via Scholastica (https://relayjournal.scholasticahq.com/for-authors)
Submissions reviewed after January 22.
Contact us
For enquiries regarding submission and publication, please contact us by email at: relayjournal@kuis.ac.jp
Readership
The intended audience of this journal includes researchers and practitioners interested in issues connected with autonomous language teaching and learning both within and beyond the classroom in formal and informal learning situations.
Contributions
Relay Journal welcomes submissions in a number of categories:
Articles
We welcome articles of up to 6,000 words that highlight research and issues connected with learner and teacher autonomy. The articles should be scholarly, yet generally accessible to language professionals, highlighting practical applications where possible.
Contributors are asked to take into account the following important factors when writing their articles:
- Articles should be of interest and relevance to the readers of Relay Journal.
- Articles should be well-written and proofread by at least one peer before submission.
Relay Journal may also consider reprinting previously published articles if permission is obtained from the original copyright holder.
Summaries and work in progress
Short summaries and progress reports are welcome. References are not necessary.
Perspectives (opinions and reflections)
General opinion pieces and reflections on research or practice of around 2,000 words are welcome.
Reflective practice (edited by Kie Yamamoto, Fergal Bradley and Eduardo Castro)
Share deep insights from advising practice and explore how autonomy is being developed. For example, you could use a narrative approach or another framework to analyse a recording of a teaching episode or advising session.
Teacher autonomy
Share experiences of instances of the development of teacher autonomy. Articles might present teaching histories or episodes describing to how teacher autonomy is being demonstrated or developed.
Case studies (edited by Jason Brown and Huw Davies)
This column includes full articles, works in progress, and summaries related to research case studies of individual learners. The purpose is to understand the complex processes that individuals experience when learning a language.
Curriculum-based approaches (edited by Neil Curry)
Share research papers, works in progress, or summaries related to approaches to developing autonomy and self-directed learning within a classroom or course.
Innovative practice
Share innovative examples of learner autonomy in action. These can be in any format, for example, a series of images, or audio/video-recordings of practice, or a written description with examples.
Reviews of books, resources, and events
Reviews of events and conferences, academic books or articles, materials promoting learner autonomy, or useful websites of around 1,000 words are welcome.
Interviews
Interviews with leaders in the field of autonomy. These can be written (approximately 2,000 words) or in the form of audio or video recordings.
Postgraduate research updates
Short updates on postgraduate student research in the area of autonomy of approximately 1,000 words. This could range from an initial ‘bright idea’ to a request for feedback, an update on research in progress, or a presentation of preliminary findings.
Video recordings of conference presentations (forthcoming)
Recordings should have good sound and video quality and be accompanied by a summary of between 500-1,000 words.
Style
Articles may be submitted in any language, but an English summary of around 200 words must accompany the original manuscript. When preparing your English manuscript, please use British English or American English (be consistent) and follow the style templates [LINK (currently being updated)]. References should follow APA style (7th edition). Many authors find this website useful for APA conventions.
Copyright
The authors retain copyright over their work under a creative commons 3.0 agreement and may submit it for publication elsewhere. Relay Journal retains the right to publish the journal in multiple formats to maximise exposure. Articles may be republished at the editors’ discretion as long as the appropriate permission is received in advance.
Submissions
All submissions are briefly reviewed by members of our editorial board. After this initial screening, all articles are published online, using a post-publication peer review system whereby public (i.e. not anonymous) feedback is given by invited and self-nominated peers after publication. The purpose of this is to create an open, collaborative and dynamic conversation. Please ensure that your manuscript is formatted according to our style template [LINK (currently being updated)] and has been proofread by a colleague. Please note that Relay Journal does not charge authors or potential authors any processing fees.
Submission and publication dates
Issues of Relay Journal are published in January and September of each year. Authors can expect accepted articles to be published in the upcoming issue.