Share Your Scholarship with Okinawa and Beyond

📖 Scope & Purpose

The Okinawa JALT Journal publishes original work in English relevant to language education, with particular focus on contexts in Okinawa and Japan. The journal welcomes contributions from teachers, researchers, graduate students, and emerging scholars at any career stage.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• English language teaching (ELT) in Japanese contexts
• Second language acquisition (SLA) research
• Task-based language teaching (TBLT)
• Curriculum and materials development
• Technology in language education (CALL/MALL)
• Content and language integrated learning (CLIL)
• Assessment and testing in EFL/ESL settings
• Learner motivation, autonomy, and identity
• Teacher training and professional development
• Intercultural communication and education
• Extensive reading and vocabulary acquisition
• Reflective practice and action research

📄 Article Types & Structures

Choose the article type that best matches your work. All types undergo peer review and carry equal scholarly standing upon publication.

Academic Research Article · 3,000–5,000 words

Presents original empirical or theoretical research following a recognized methodology. Suitable for quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies, as well as theoretical papers. Required structure:

• Introduction: background, rationale, and research questions or objectives
• Literature Review: critical synthesis of relevant prior research (not a simple summary)
• Methodology: participants, instruments, data collection procedures, and analysis approach
• Results / Findings: data presented clearly with tables or figures where appropriate
• Discussion: interpretation of findings, connection to literature, limitations
• Conclusion: summary, pedagogical implications, and directions for future research
• References: APA 7th Edition; minimum 10 peer-reviewed sources recommended

Practice-Based Article · 2,000–4,000 words

Describes, analyzes, and reflects on language teaching practice, lesson or unit design, program development, or professional experience. These are equally valued alongside research articles and are especially encouraged from classroom teachers. Recommended structure:

• Introduction: context and purpose of the article
• Context & Setting: the teaching environment, learners, and goals
• Description of Practice: what was done, how it was designed, and why
• Outcomes & Reflection: what worked, what did not, student response, evidence of impact
• Conclusion: key takeaways and recommendations for other practitioners
• References: APA 7th Edition; sources as appropriate

Student Section Submission · 1,500–3,000 words

For current undergraduate or graduate students, and recent graduates within one year of submission. The Student Section uses a developmental peer review model: all submissions receive detailed, constructive written feedback regardless of the editorial outcome. A faculty supervisor or mentor name is required on the title page. Eligible submissions include:

• Research papers based on coursework, seminar papers, or thesis chapters (significantly developed beyond the original)
• Small-scale classroom research or action research projects
• Literature reviews or theoretical explorations of a focused topic
• Reflective essays on teaching practice or language learning experience
• Teacher training practicum reports

Co-authored submissions with a faculty mentor are welcome, provided the student is listed as first author. Accepted student authors receive an official Certificate of Publication from the Okinawa JALT Journal.

Proceedings Section Submission · any of the above lengths

For presenters at Okinawa JALT conferences. Proceedings submissions are given special consideration by the editorial team in recognition of the scholarly work already demonstrated at the event. The submission window is open for 3 months following the close of each conference.

You may submit in any of the article formats above. The manuscript should expand meaningfully upon your conference presentation, not simply reproduce your slides or handout, but develop the ideas, methodology, or reflection further for a reading audience. Include the conference name, date, and original presentation title on your title page.

Book Review · 500–1,000 words

A critical review of a recently published (within the last 3 years) book in language education, applied linguistics, TESOL, or a closely related field. No abstract is required. Reviews should provide a fair summary of the work and offer a critical evaluation of its contribution, strengths, and limitations. Include at the top of your review (in APA format):

📐 Manuscript Formatting

All manuscripts must be submitted as a Microsoft Word (.docx) file. The following formatting is required throughout, including the reference list.

APA Heading Levels

🔒 Preparing for Blind Review

All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review. Neither authors nor reviewers know each other's identities. Before uploading, you must remove all identifying information from your manuscript file.

Anonymizing self-citations

📝 Abstracts & Keywords

Every abstract must be self-contained: a reader should understand the full article from the abstract alone. Do not cite sources within the abstract. Include:

• Purpose/aim: what the study or article set out to do and why
• Approach or methodology: how the work was conducted or structured
• Key findings or outcomes: what was discovered, learned, or recommended
• Implications: what this means for teachers, researchers, or the field

Sample abstract · Practice-Based Article (152 words)

Keywords

List 3–8 keywords on a new line directly below the abstract, introduced with the label Keywords: in italics. Separate with semicolons. Choose terms that reflect your topic, methodology, context, and learner population.

📚 APA 7th Edition: Reference Guide

All manuscripts must follow APA 7th Edition (published 2020). Key changes from APA 6th include “et al.” from the first citation for 3+ authors, updated DOI format, and revised heading levels. The authoritative resource is apastyle.apa.org.

In-Text Citations

Reference List Formatting

• Alphabetical by first author's surname
• Double-spaced throughout with a 0.5-inch hanging indent
• Include a DOI for all journal articles where available, in the format https://doi.org/xxxxx
• Do not include retrieval dates for stable online sources
• All authors listed (up to 20); for 21+ authors, list the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the final author

Reference Examples

⚖️ Ethics & Publication Policies

Originality & Simultaneous Submission

Submissions must be original, unpublished work not currently under review at any other journal or publication. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is not permitted. Self-plagiarism (reusing substantial portions of your own previously published text without disclosure) must be declared.

Human Participants & Consent

Research involving human participants, including classroom observations, surveys, interviews, or the use of student work, must have received appropriate ethical clearance. Authors confirm that participants provided informed consent. Documentation must be available to editors upon request. Student data must be anonymized in the manuscript.

Authorship

All listed authors must have made a substantive intellectual contribution to the work. The corresponding author confirms all co-authors have read and approved the final manuscript. AI tools may not be listed as authors.

AI Writing Tools

Authors who used AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Grammarly) in drafting or editing must disclose this in a brief note at the end of the manuscript, before the reference list. Describe what tool was used and how. AI-generated text must be reviewed and verified by the author.

Copyright & Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their published work. The Okinawa JALT Journal is granted a non-exclusive license to publish and distribute the article. Authors may post accepted manuscripts to personal or institutional repositories.

COPE Guidelines

The journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct for editors, reviewers, and authors. Allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, or undisclosed conflicts of interest, are taken seriously and investigated accordingly.

📋 Title Page Requirements

The title page is a separate .docx file from your manuscript. It is seen by editors only and is never shared with peer reviewers. It must include all of the following:

• Full manuscript title
• Author name(s) and institutional affiliation(s) for all authors
• Corresponding author email address
• ORCID iD (optional but encouraged; register free at orcid.org)
• Article type: Academic Research Article | Practice-Based Article | Student Section | Proceedings Section | Book Review
• Word count (body text only; exclude abstract, references, and appendices)
• Short author bio (50–100 words per author; used in publication if accepted)
• Confirmation that the manuscript is not under review elsewhere
• Ethics confirmation: ethical approval or informed consent obtained (or not applicable)
• Student Section only: faculty supervisor/mentor name and email
• Proceedings Section only: conference name, date, and original presentation title
• AI disclosure (if applicable): tools used and nature of use

Sample entries

📬 After You Submit