The Language Teacher
Calls for Submissions

Sample Proposal for a Special Issue

Dear TLT Editors,

We would like to submit a proposal for a Special Issue of The Language Teacher with a focus on ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teaching and learning in Japanese post-secondary and professional contexts. English for Specific Purposes, encompasses English for business, economics, medicine, hospitality and tourism, and science and technology, and presents additional challenges for teachers, curriculum developers and materials designers, administrators, and students. Teachers who have previously only taught English for General Purposes may increasingly find themselves teaching new and unfamiliar discipline-specific content. Likewise, students will find that they have to deal with a new and often technical lexis and concepts, while struggling to develop a basic command of the English language.

As more ESP programs are emerging, we feel an ESP Special Issue addressing some of the above mentioned issues may assist teachers and administrators in their classroom teaching and program design efforts. As such, we envision the issue's content as follows:

1. An interview with a leading professional in the field of ESP examining its development in Japanese higher education
2. Research-based articles focusing on ESP teaching and learning
3. Several short essays (500 to 750 words) outlining various ESP contexts (i.e., explanations of a school's curriculum, goals and objectives, and assessment)
4. My Share practical teaching techniques for ESP content or context.

We feel there is an audience for such an issue and that the readership of The Language Teacher would greatly benefit from its inclusion as a Special Issue.

We look forward to hearing from you regarding our submission. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your consideration.

Sample Call for Contributors

The Language Teacher is seeking papers (1,500-2,000 words) related to ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teaching and learning in Japanese post-secondary and professional contexts, and may include English for business, hospitality, medical, technical, or tourism contexts among others. Topics should be research or classroom based and may focus on the challenges teachers, materials designers, curriculum developers, program administrators, and students face in such contexts. Articles about new or innovative ways to teach ESP content, design ESP-related materials, or manage ESP programs are welcome. Additionally, please consider submitting shorter articles to the My Share column about practical ways to deal with ESP content in the classroom. If you are interested in writing a paper for this Special Issue or have suggestions which might fit with the above themes, please contact [editor] at [email address]. The deadline for manuscript submissions is [submissions deadline]. Articles should be completed and ready for editing by [completion deadline].