Focus and Scope

ETERNAL – English, Teaching, Learning and Research is an international, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing rigorous research in English language education. Guided by its mission, “Researching the Transformation of English Language Education,” the journal is interested in how English language education develops, changes, adapts, and responds to emerging educational, technological, linguistic, cultural, institutional, and societal conditions.

ETERNAL welcomes empirical, conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and research-synthesis studies from diverse geographical, linguistic, cultural, and educational contexts. The journal does not restrict submissions by research methodology, educational level, or geographical setting. However, manuscripts should demonstrate a clear scholarly contribution and, where relevant, explain the significance of the findings beyond the immediate research context.

Areas of Focus

ETERNAL welcomes research addressing, but not limited to, the following areas:

1. English Language Teaching and Learning

Research on the processes and practices of teaching and learning English, including:

  • language skills and language development;
  • classroom interaction and discourse;
  • teaching and learning approaches;
  • learner engagement, motivation, autonomy, and agency;
  • feedback and corrective feedback;
  • language learning strategies;
  • English as a Foreign, Second, or Additional Language;
  • innovative and emerging approaches to English language education.

2. Curriculum, Pedagogy, Materials, and Assessment

Research examining the design, implementation, evaluation, and development of English language education, including:

  • curriculum development and implementation;
  • pedagogy and instructional innovation;
  • English language teaching materials and resources;
  • English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP);
  • language testing and assessment;
  • formative and summative assessment;
  • alternative and technology-mediated assessment;
  • curriculum and pedagogical change.

3. Teachers, Learners, and Professional Development

Research addressing the roles, experiences, identities, and development of participants in English language education, including:

  • teacher education and professional development;
  • teacher cognition, beliefs, and practices;
  • teacher identity and agency;
  • learner identity and agency;
  • researcher identity and agency;
  • teacher and learner autonomy;
  • professional learning and communities of practice;
  • changing roles and relationships among teachers, learners, and researchers.

4. Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Emerging Educational Practices

Research examining the relationship between English language education and emerging technologies, including:

  • artificial intelligence and generative AI;
  • AI-assisted language learning and teaching;
  • digital and technology-enhanced language learning;
  • mobile-assisted language learning;
  • online, blended, and flexible learning;
  • learning management systems and digital platforms;
  • automated feedback and assessment;
  • digital literacy and AI literacy;
  • emerging technologies and their implications for English language education.

ETERNAL welcomes research that critically examines not only the use of technology but also its implications for pedagogy, agency, identity, assessment, ethics, equity, and educational practice.

5. Language, Culture, Identity, and Multilingualism

Research exploring English in relation to language, culture, identity, and society, including:

  • multilingualism and multilingual practices;
  • translanguaging and language practices;
  • Global Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca;
  • intercultural communication and competence;
  • language and identity;
  • language, culture, and interculturality;
  • language policy and planning;
  • English in local, regional, and global contexts;
  • linguistic diversity and social change.

6. English Language Education in Diverse Contexts

ETERNAL encourages research that examines English language education across diverse educational and sociocultural settings, including:

  • primary and secondary education;
  • higher education;
  • teacher education;
  • vocational and professional education;
  • adult and community education;
  • international and transnational education;
  • educational contexts in the Global South and other underrepresented settings.

Studies situated in a particular country, institution, classroom, or community are welcome when they generate insights that contribute to wider scholarly discussions.

7. Research, Theory, and Methodological Innovation

ETERNAL also welcomes scholarship that advances how English language education is conceptualized, investigated, and understood, including:

  • research methodology in English language education;
  • quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research;
  • methodological innovation;
  • measurement and research instruments;
  • validity, reliability, and trustworthiness;
  • corpus-based and discourse-analytic research;
  • systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and meta-analyses;
  • conceptual and theoretical development;
  • emerging approaches to researching English language education.

Researching Transformation

Transformation is a cross-cutting orientation of ETERNAL rather than a requirement that every manuscript explicitly address a particular type of change.

For the journal, transformation may involve changes in:

  • teaching and learning practices;
  • teacher, learner, or researcher roles and agency;
  • curriculum and assessment;
  • professional identities and practices;
  • language and multilingual practices;
  • educational technologies and AI;
  • institutional and educational arrangements;
  • research practices and methodologies; or
  • relationships between English, culture, identity, and society.

Accordingly, a manuscript does not need to use the term “transformation” in its title, research questions, or theoretical framework to be considered for publication. What matters is that the study provides a meaningful scholarly contribution to understanding, explaining, evaluating, developing, or rethinking an aspect of English language education.

ETERNAL therefore encourages research that moves beyond simply asking:

What is happening?

to also consider:

Why is it happening?
How is it changing or developing?
What does the evidence reveal?
What does it mean for English language education?

What ETERNAL Looks For

Across all areas of focus, ETERNAL particularly values manuscripts that demonstrate:

  • Significance — addresses an important problem or question;
  • Originality — offers new evidence, interpretation, theory, method, or perspective;
  • Rigor — employs appropriate and transparent research procedures;
  • Criticality — engages critically with existing scholarship rather than merely describing it;
  • Insight — explains patterns, relationships, processes, or meanings rather than only reporting findings;
  • Contribution — advances knowledge, theory, pedagogy, policy, methodology, or professional practice; and
  • Broader relevance — enables readers to draw meaningful insights beyond the immediate research setting.

ETERNAL particularly welcomes studies that connect contextually grounded evidence with broader international debates in English language education.

The journal does not require every article to address technological innovation or transformation explicitly. Instead, ETERNAL seeks scholarship that helps the field better understand how English language education is evolving, what drives or shapes that development, how it is experienced and negotiated, and what its implications may be for research, teaching, learning, institutions, and society.