Open Access Published since January 2, 2014

Journal of World Languages

ISSN: 2169-8260

Editor-in-chief: Wei He

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About this journal

Objective

Journal of World Languages (ISSN: 2169-8252, e-ISSN: 2169-8260) is an international, peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal that explores the roles, functions and structures of languages in the world. Special attention is given to studies of languages in the fields of ecolinguistics (including the Haugenian Tradition and the Hallidayan Tradition), systemic functional linguistics, critical/positive/multimodal/ecological discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, pragmatics, linguistic typology, linguistic anthropology and philosophy of language.

Topics

ecolinguistics
systemic functional linguistics
discourse analysis
sociolinguistics
corpus linguistics
pragmatics
cognitive linguistics
contrastive linguistics
linguistic typology

Article Formats

Research Articles
Book Reviews

Journal of World Languages continues the tradition of special issues focused on topics of current interest. Prospective editors of special issues are very welcome to inquire the Editor-in-Chief Wei He (francesweihe@bfsu.edu.cn) concerning their proposals.

Recently published Special Issues

New directions of systemic functional linguistics; Guest Editors: Yanmei Gao and Jonathan J. Webster
Practical applications of ecolinguistics; Guest Editors: Meng Huat Chau and George M. Jacobs
Ecostylistics: Texts, methodologies and approaches; Guest Editor: Daniela Francesca Virdis
Heritage languages and socialization: the case of Spanish; Guest Editors: Francisco Moreno-Fernández and Óscar Loureda Lamas

Your Benefits

State-of-the-art research on the roles, functions and structures of languages
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to the study of languages
Comprehensive overview of functional linguistics as well as neighboring disciplines
Timely publication of high-quality peer-reviewed articles
Internationally recognized editorial board and reviewers
No submission nor publication fees

History

Journal of World Languages was launched in 2013 by Jonathan Webster, Guowen Huang and Wei He together with the publisher Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). The first issue came out in January 2014.

Beginning with volume 7 in 2021, Journal of World Languages is sponsored by Beijing Foreign Studies University, and co-published by De Gruyter Mouton and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) in three issues per year.

Abstracting and Indexing

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Supplementary Materials

Topics

External Links

Online Submission of Manuscripts

Volume 9 Issue 3

December 2023

Publicly Available November 8, 2023

Frontmatter

Page range: i-iv

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Editorial

Open Access October 5, 2023

Language and literacy in educational contexts

Zhihui Fang

Page range: 327-332

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Research Articles

Open Access September 7, 2023

A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge

Dianna Townsend, Rachel Knecht, Sarah Lupo, Li-Ting Chen, Vickie Smith Barrios

Page range: 333-370

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Abstract

This qualitative-dominant mixed methods study aimed to investigate how native English speaking third graders ( n = 72) and sixth graders ( n = 88) navigate cohesive ties in academic sentences. There are studies on supporting students with academic language at the word and text levels, but less research has been done on readers’ knowledge of the dense and challenging sentences in academic texts. The current study examines both how students navigate cohesion in academic sentences as well as how their knowledge of cohesion relates to their performance on reading comprehension measures. With a multi-case study framework, we analyzed students’ ( n = 6) metalinguistic interviews with academic sentences. We then designed Maze tasks for a larger sample ( n = 160) to identify patterns in students’ knowledge of cohesion. We also conducted correlational analyses between students’ sentence-level knowledge and performance on measures of reading comprehension. Qualitative findings suggest that students draw on both metalinguistic and epilinguistic knowledge to explain cohesion, and that students value explicit instruction with academic sentences. Quantitative findings show that knowledge of cohesive ties is significantly correlated with performance on reading comprehension measures. Implications and future research for both monolingual and multilingual learners are addressed.

Open Access September 29, 2023

Meaning-making and collaboration: teacher scaffolds within a translanguaging pedagogy

Yuxin Cui, Mark B. Pacheco

Page range: 371-399

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Abstract

This study examined the forms and functions of collaborative scaffolds used by a monolingual teacher within a translanguaging pedagogy, which we frame as instruction that invites students to draw from their entire linguistic repertoires in ways that honor and sustain their multilingualism. More specifically, it investigates how a 9th-grade teacher of multilingual students fostered collaboration within a literacy activity that leverages strategic translation of grade-level texts. Data sources include ten consecutive video-recorded class periods involving strategic collaborative translation, interviews with the teacher, instructional materials, and translation artifacts. Findings show three major themes that capture teacher approaches to foster learners’ meaning-making. First, the teacher fostered collaboration to support meaning-making within the text by suggesting resources, guiding the collaborative steps, and praising to help students’ meaningful engagement with the text. Second, the teacher fostered collaboration around the text by setting collaborative ground rules and promoting joint construction of meaning to support students’ learning. Lastly, the teacher offered new teacher-student roles to support collaboration, which included affirming aspects of students’ identities during translation. This study offers specific ways that teachers might foster meaningful engagement with texts when they have limited experience with languages other than English, and similarly, emerging proficiencies in engaging in translanguaging pedagogies.

Open Access October 10, 2023

Teaching writing to English language learners: two science teachers’ perspectives and practices

Yang Qi, Zhihui Fang

Page range: 400-426

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Abstract

Writing is fundamental to science and integral to its practice. This study examined two sixth-grade science teachers’ perspectives on and practices in teaching writing to English language learners (ELLs). Both teachers were interviewed on their beliefs about and experience in teaching writing to ELLs in science. They were also each observed once per week for their writing instruction over one semester. All writing samples produced by the ELLs during the semester were collected. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that both teachers recognized the importance of writing to science but provided few opportunities for extended writing and limited writing instruction to ELLs. The teachers cited ELLs’ disinterest in science and lack of writing proficiency, as well as their own lack of time and preparedness to teach writing, as the main reasons for not making writing a priority in their teaching practice, for having lower expectations for ELLs, and for not offering substantive language/literacy support to ELLs. These findings indicate that the lofty goal of literacy-science integration remains largely unfulfilled, despite nearly two decades of strong push for border crossing by both science and literacy educators. They suggest that a reenvisioning of the relationship between literacy and science is needed to ensure effective science instruction for ELLs and other students in need of language/literacy support.

Open Access September 29, 2023

Beyond content: exploring the neglected dimensions of mathematics literacy

Zhihui Fang, Suzanne Chapman, Geoffrey C. Kellogg, Michelle Commeret

Page range: 427-454

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Abstract

Becoming mathematically literate means not only knowledge of the content of mathematics but also understanding of the nature of mathematics and the literate practices involved in the creation, communication, and consumption of its content. This case study examined one mathematician’s view of the nature of mathematics and his literate practices. Data collected include semi-structured interviews with the mathematician, observations of his daily work routines, and his think-alouds during the reading of a disciplinary text. These data were analyzed qualitatively through an iterative process involving multiple readings and identification and refinement of codes. The analysis revealed that the mathematician (a) viewed mathematics as rigorous and demanding, both theoretical and practical, relatively stable but highly rewarding, interconnected with other disciplines, and involving discipline-legitimated discursive practices; (b) engaged in extensive reading/viewing and writing, valued learning from repeated trials and errors, and collaborated with an international network of peers in research; (c) used a range of reading strategies (e.g. close reading, summarizing, questioning, storying, evaluating, annotating) to help him make sense of the disciplinary text; and (d) marshaled both verbal and visual resources to create specialized knowledge, engage in rigorous reasoning, develop logical argument, and construct professional identity. These findings provide important insights that can help teachers design activities that are authentic to mathematics practices and effective for promoting mathematics literacy.

Open Access August 18, 2022

Developing e-reading pedagogies informed by research

Ángel Garralda Ortega, Abel Hon Man Cheung, Michelle Yuen Shan Fong

Page range: 455-481

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Abstract

This paper explores whether the reading comprehension of complex texts can be facilitated through an online reading platform designed for novice readers with English proficiencies below the Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) threshold. We hypothesize that computer-mediated text glosses could speed up lower-level processing in the readers’ working memory and thus enhance the overall comprehension of complex texts for study purposes. We tested 46 participants with estimated International English Language Testing System (IELTS) reading scores between 5 and 5.5, sampled from a pool of 1,406 students who took a diagnostic reading test and 631 students who completed a survey on their reading practices. Our participants were randomly assigned to read one General Reading IELTS text and one Academic Reading IELTS text, either on an on-screen Word file or on the e-reading platform with the glossing tool. The tests were video-recorded and the participants completed post-test interviews for further qualitative analysis. While the Mixed-model ANOVA did not suggest an interaction effect between the two language proficiency categories and the mode in which the tests were administered, it revealed a main effect on the use of online reading ( p < 0.01) across the 5–5.5 IELTS spectrum, indicating that the electronic glosses enhanced reading comprehension. Implications for further research and pedagogy are discussed.

Open Access August 4, 2023

Emotions, positive comparisons, and unexamined assumptions in novice U.S. teachers’ perspectives on English learners

Brittany Adams, Elizabeth Y. Stevens, Tess Dussling, Sunny C. Li

Page range: 482-504

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Abstract

This article focuses on a study of the decision-making and patterns of discourse of 21 novice teachers as they engaged with, reflected on, and discussed school-based scenarios about English learners. Employing qualitative content analysis, researchers explore patterns related to intention, bias, and criticality in participants’ discourse. Participants avoided engaging with scenarios where solutions could not be enacted solely within their classroom, expressing hesitation about being disruptive to the school ecosystem and fear of conflict with colleagues, superiors, or parents. They focused on immediate solutions but rarely endeavored to identify the underlying assumptions that compelled characters to act in biased ways. While participants expressed awareness of their own privileged social positionings, they often struggled to connect their social identities to the underlying assumptions that informed their reactions to the scenarios. Notably, participants often used language that exonerated them from the judgment being cast on a character. Additionally, participants repeatedly racialized social identities unrelated to race and expressed distrust of students speaking a language they could not understand. These findings offer insight regarding novice teachers’ intentions and (mis)understandings when working with English learners and offer important implications for teacher educators’ as they prepare pre-service teachers to respond to such learners.

Open Access July 28, 2023

Language and the mind: how language shapes our thinking

Xiaodi Zhou

Page range: 505-529

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Abstract

This paper analyzes languages and their connections to thinking and culture using an autoethnographic lens. This autoethnography utilized personal examples and those from the author’s students’ compositions as evidence of the link between languages and cultures. Both named languages and dialects of those languages are contemplated for the basis of how their traits influence perceptions. A neuroscientific rationale is also made between human languages and human cultures. The link between culture and language, including dialects, is made, positioning the act of translanguaging as real time dialogue between cultures. Finally, classroom implications are presented with actual student writing and multimodal performances to showcase how students’ cultures are manifested via classroom engagements, particularly through translanguaging.

Book Reviews

Open Access June 27, 2023

Lay Hoon Seah, Rita Elaine Silver & Mark Charles Baildon: The role of language in content pedagogy: A framework for teachers’ knowledge

Qinghua Chen, Amy Hughes, Scott Hughes, Angel Mei Yi Lin

Page range: 530-536

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Open Access August 1, 2023

María Estela Brisk & Mary J. Schleppegrell: Language in action: SFL theory across contexts

Kathryn Accurso, Sally Humphrey

Page range: 537-543

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Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Volume 9 (2023)

Volume 8 (2022)

Volume 7 (2021)

Volume 6 (2020)

Volume 5 (2018)

Volume 4 (2017)

Volume 3 (2016)

Volume 2 (2015)

Volume 1 (2014)

CiteScore	1.0	2022, Scopus (Elsevier B.V., 2023)
SCImago Journal Rank	0.231	2022, SJR (Scimago Lab, 2023; Data Source: Scopus)
Source Normalized Impact per Paper	0.597	2022, CWTS Journal Indicators (CWTS B.V., 2023; Data Source: Scopus)

More information about journal rankings

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Submission

Please submit your manuscript via the Journal of World Languages manuscript submission system: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jowl

For inquiries, please send an email to editorial office via: jowl2021@163.com

Your benefits of publishing with us

Double-blind peer-review aimed at improving the quality of your paper
All articles published open access with a CC BY 4.0 license without costs for the author
All authors retain copyright, unless – due to their local circumstances – their work is not copyrighted. The use of each article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY 4.0). Articles appearing prior to May 31, 2021 were published under CC By-NC-ND 4.0 license
Rapid online publication ahead-of-print with short turnaround times
Accepted papers will be published online first as DOI-citable, forward-linked articles for quickest possible visibility for the scientific community
Every article is easily discoverable because of SEO and comprehensive abstracting and indexing services
Secure archiving by De Gruyter and the independent archiving service Portico

Submission Process

Check that the topic of your contribution fits the Objective of the journal.
Prepare your manuscript in accordance with De Gruyter Mouton journal style sheet, especially regarding the proper format for in-text citations and reference entries.
Submit your article to: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jowl. Please note that your manuscript may be checked for plagiarism via Crossref Similarity Check.
Peer review process: The editorial office will forward your manuscript for double-blind peer-review. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by at least two independent, anonymous expert referees. This takes on average 3-4 months.
Decision on your article: You will be informed by e-mail if your manuscript has been accepted or rejected or if it requires further attention.
Once your article is accepted it will be published with immediate open access.

Please note

Before submitting your article please have a look at our Instructions for authors.
Do not submit work that has been submitted elsewhere or has been published previously.
Manuscripts must be written in clear and concise English. Authors who are not expert users of written academic English should have their manuscripts carefully checked by such an expert user (preferably a linguist familiar with the discourse of our discipline) before submitting the article.
A Research Article should normally be no less than 8,000 words. Review of a newly-published monograph or collection should normally be between 2,500 and 5,000 words in length.
The De Gruyter Mouton journal style sheet contains formatting details for your manuscript.
A Publication Ethics Statement and a signed copyright agreement are required before publication.
If you have any general questions please visit our FAQ page for authors

We look forward to receiving your manuscript! 　

Editorial

Editor-in-Chief
Wei He (何伟), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China
E-mail: francesweihe@bfsu.edu.cn

Co-editors
Guowen Huang (黄国文), City University of Macau, China
Ángel Garralda Ortega, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China
Jonathan Webster, City University of Hong Kong, China

Associate Editors
Khawlah Ahmed, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Alice Caffarel-Cayron, University of Sydney, Australia
Lise Fontaine, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada
Adolfo Martín García, Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina

Assistant Editor
Wei Shen (沈维), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China

Honorary Board
Adam Jaworski, The University of Hong Kong, China
Yuming Li (李宇明), Beijing Language and Culture University, China

Editorial Board
David Banks, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France
Tom Bartlett, University of Glasgow, UK
Kingsley Bolton, Stockholm University, Sweden
Wendy Bowcher, Sun Yat-sen University, China
Chenguang Chang (常晨光), Sun Yat-sen University, China
María Cecilia Colombi, University of California, Davis, USA
Stephen Cowley, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Eric Friginal, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Andrew Goatly, Lingnan University, China
Susan Hunston, University of Birmingham, UK
Derek Irwin, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, China
Nelya Koteyko, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Lew Lancaster, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Kang Kwong Luke, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain & Hunan University, China
Xingwei Miao (苗兴伟), Beijing Normal University, China
Tema Milstein, University of New South Wales, Australia
Francisco Moreno-Fernández, Heidelberg University, Germany
Hermine Penz, University of Graz, Austria
Robert Poole, The University of Alabama, USA
John E. Richardson, University of Liverpool, UK
Mariana Roccia, The International Ecolinguistics Association, UK
Sune Vork Steffensen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Erich Steiner, Saarland University, Germany
Arran Stibbe, University of Gloucestershire, UK
Hongyin Tao (陶红印), University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Nesrine Triki, University of Turin, Italy
Daniela Francesca Virdis, University of Cagliari, Italy
Jinjun Wang (王晋军), Guangzhou University, China
Wenbin Wang (王文斌), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China

(Deutsch)

Type: Journal
Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
First published: January 2, 2014
Publication Frequency: 3 Issues per Year
Audience: scholars and researchers in the field of linguistics