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Call for papers: Languages Special Issue: Language Practices in English Classrooms – from Primary School to Higher Education

English is taught in classrooms across the globe to learners of all ages, from very young learners in primary school to older learners who have reached retirement and occupy their time in the so-called third age by studying English. Further, depending on the (national) context as well as researchers’ preferred theoretical approaches to teaching and learning, English is sometimes described as a foreign language (EFL), a second language (ESL), or an additional language (EAL) in the literature. In this Special Issue, we aim to collect papers on the topic of Language Practices in English Classrooms. That is, language practices is the common core of all contributions. We welcome both empirical and conceptual papers and are open to different theoretical frameworks and methodologies, as long as the focus is on language practices in the English classroom (regardless of preferred ‘label’ for English). We are interested in studies that examine language practices in English classrooms with learners of different ages and in different contexts. Further, we welcome studies that investigate practices in classrooms at all levels of education that may be linguistically homogenous, but also language practices in classrooms that are more linguistically diverse (multilingual English classrooms). Moreover, we welcome papers that study teachers’ (or learners’) beliefs or ideologies that underpin practices, as long as beliefs and ideologies are discussed in relation to English classroom practices. Methodological approaches can include qualitative studies (for example, linguistic ethnographies, conversation analysis, interviews, or video-based language research), quantitative studies (for example, analyzing language practices with the help of quantifiable measures, including classroom-based testing and assessment practices, and intervention studies), and mixed-methods studies (for example, studies that draw on both survey data and qualitative classroom data). Theoretically-oriented papers should offer a solid conceptual discussion targeting classroom practices and the teaching/learning of English, and may include language policy. Thus, for this Special Issue, we seek proposals that specifically target language practices in English (EFL, ESL, EAL) classrooms.

Topics could cover, but are not limited to:
- Primary/secondary school English classroom practices
- English teaching practices in higher education
- Language use in English classrooms
- Classroom-based assessment and testing (formative and summative)
- Language practices in monolingual/multilingual English classrooms
- Teachers’ (or learners’) beliefs about language practices
- Oral interaction and language play in English classrooms
- Teaching English grammar/pronunciation/vocabulary/phraseology/formulaic language
- Focus on form in English classrooms
- Language practices in the course of an English lesson (introduction/lesson/end)
- Pedagogical approaches to English language teaching
- Translanguaging/multilingual practices (including code-switching)
- Language and culture in the English classroom
- Learner voices about language practices in the English classroom
- ICT for teaching/learning, including CALL and game-based teaching and learning
- Task-based language learning in English classrooms

Contributors should submit a word document with a title, a 300-word abstract, and a short 50-word bio to our Editorial Office (languagesmdpi.com) by 1 June, 2021. Authors of successful abstracts will be invited to submit full papers by 31 October, 2021, which will be sent out for double-blind peer review. In line with the international diverse spirit of Languages, we encourage the submission of papers that study English language classrooms across the globe.

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