Integrating English as a Lingua Franca in Education

Guest Editor: Stefania Kordia

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to submit abstracts for papers to be included in our Special Issue of the Research Papers in Language Teaching and Learning (RPLTL) Journal (https://rpltl.eap.gr/) entitled ‘Integrating English as a Lingua Franca in Education’. RPLTL is an open access peer-reviewed electronic journal devoted to publishing high-quality research in the domains of TESOL and Applied Linguistics and this edited volume will focus on the ways in which the role of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), namely as the most frequent means of communication among speakers with diverse linguacultural backgrounds, could be integrated in English Language Teaching (ELT).

Overall aims

The need for modifying ELT practices in order to help learners of English develop skills and competences which are necessary for establishing effective communication in ELF interactions has been a hot issue in the last two decades. Based on the premise that this task fundamentally requires challenging a range of deeply rooted assumptions related to the ideology of native-speakerism, a significant and rapidly growing body of knowledge has been developed about how ELF could potentially impact all areas surrounding ELT, from curriculum and syllabus design, courseware development and teaching methodology to language assessment, teacher education and language policy. Despite, however, the extensive discussion that has taken place so far, there have been relatively few reports describing the ways in which ELF has actually been integrated in educational settings around the world, including, for instance, classrooms with young or adolescent learners or ESP settings in Higher Education and beyond. Aiming at bringing together theory and practice and, thereby, at moving the field forward, this Special Issue will be a collection of scholarly articles which offer a state-of-the-art theoretical and practical perspective on the integration of ELF in ELT, with a particular focus on lessons learned from empirical research on this topic.

Areas of interest

We invite abstracts which discuss the integration of ELF in ELT in relation to one (or more) of the following areas:

• Curriculum and syllabus design
• Courseware and instructional materials development
• Classroom practices, approaches and teaching methodology
• Language testing and assessment
• Teacher education and professional development
• Language policy

We also welcome abstracts which explicitly discuss the links between ELF and ELT in relation to other domains particularly relevant to ELF, including, but not limited to:

• Global Englishes, English as an International Language and World Englishes
• Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and English Medium Instruction (EMI)
• Decolonisation and linguistic justice
• Multilingualism, plurilingualism and translingualism
• Multiculturalism, pluriculturalism and transculturalism

Submission guidelines

Authors interested in submitting a manuscript should send by 30/07/2022 a document containing:

a) Their name, surname, email address and affiliation, as well as those of their co-author(s), if any

b) The title of the manuscript

c) An extended abstract (of between 300 and 500 words, excluding references)

d) A list of 3-5 keywords that describe their intended paper

e) A statement confirming that the submission has not been previously published, nor is it currently under consideration for publication in other journals, edited volumes or the like

f) A brief biographical note (of about 50 words) for each author

Contact information

All documents should be sent to the Guest Editor, Mrs. Stefania Kordia, at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Key Dates

• 30/07/2022: Abstract submission (including keywords)
• 10/09/2022: Decision on abstract (acceptance/rejection) and invitation to submit manuscript
• 30/01/2023: Manuscript submission
• 15/03/2023: Double-blind peer-review of submitted manuscript
• 01/05/2023: Submission of revised manuscript
• 30/06/2023: Guest Editor’s final review of revised manuscript
• 30/08/2023: Submission of final paper
• Expected publication of Special Issue: February 2024