Special Issue

Call for Papers · Special Issue · Volume 4, Number 1 (2027)

Teaching and Learning Languages in the Digital Age

Guest Editors: Phuong-Nam Thi Nguyen, Ngoc-Tai Huynh, and Hoang-Anh Khau (Tra Vinh University, Vietnam)

The International Journal of Language Studies (IJLS) invites submissions for a Special Issue on Teaching and Learning Languages in the Digital Age. The Special Issue is guest-edited by colleagues from Tra Vinh University, Vietnam, in collaboration with the 3rd RELT conference, and is scheduled for publication as Volume 4, Number 1 on 25 March 2027.

Key dates

Abstract submission	10 November 2026
Notification of abstract decisions	25 November 2026
Full-manuscript submission deadline	31 December 2026
Initial editorial screening completed	10 January 2027
First round of peer review completed	24 January 2027
Notification of first decisions	31 January 2027
Submission of revised manuscripts	22 February 2027
Second-round review and final decisions	7 March 2027
Copyediting and production	20 March 2027
Publication of the Special Issue	25 March 2027

The timeline is tentative. Any change will be announced on this page.

About the Special Issue

Digital technologies are transforming how languages are taught, learned, assessed, and used. Artificial intelligence, generative AI, adaptive learning systems, virtual classrooms, digital assessment tools, and online communities open new opportunities for language education. They also raise significant pedagogical, cognitive, ethical, and professional challenges.

Integrating digital technologies into language education does not guarantee effectiveness. Teachers and institutions must address the quality of digital content, technological and pedagogical competence, learners’ digital literacy, cognitive load, accessibility, academic integrity, data privacy, and the balance between technology and human interaction. The availability of generative AI has accelerated these changes: educators are reconsidering the purposes of language assignments, the design of assessment, the development of learner autonomy, and the meaning of academic integrity.

This Special Issue offers an interdisciplinary platform for researchers, educators, curriculum designers, technology developers, and policymakers. It will feature theoretical, empirical, methodological, and practice-oriented studies that show when and how digital tools meaningfully enhance language learning, rather than merely replacing traditional methods.

Aims

The Special Issue aims to:

• examine the theoretical and pedagogical implications of digital technologies for language teaching and learning;
• investigate the use of artificial intelligence and generative AI in English language teaching and other language-learning contexts;
• explore how adaptive, personalised, blended, hybrid, and virtual learning environments influence language-learning outcomes;
• identify effective approaches to digital curriculum design, electronic content development, and technology-enhanced language assessment;
• examine digital literacy, professional-development needs, and the changing professional roles of language teachers;
• investigate learner autonomy, agency, motivation, interaction, and engagement in technology-enhanced environments;
• address ethical concerns related to academic integrity, plagiarism, data privacy, algorithmic bias, and responsible AI use;
• explore the psycholinguistic and cognitive dimensions of digital language learning, including cognitive load, attention, memory, and digital language processing; and
• provide evidence-based recommendations for teachers, institutions, curriculum developers, and policymakers.

Topics and sub-themes

Contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following areas.

1. Artificial intelligence and generative AI in English language teaching — chatbots, large language models, automated writing tools, intelligent tutoring systems, machine translation, speech recognition, and AI-supported feedback; learning effectiveness, perceptions, prompt literacy, responsible use, human–AI collaboration, bias, and accessibility.
2. Adaptive and personalised language-learning systems — learner modelling, personalised feedback, intelligent tutoring, learning analytics, differentiated instruction, and the effectiveness of adaptive environments.
3. Blended, hybrid, and virtual classroom pedagogies — instructional models combining face-to-face teaching with synchronous or asynchronous online learning; engagement, interaction, teacher presence, virtual exchange, online language courses, and emergency remote teaching.
4. Digital curriculum design and electronic content development — multimedia resources, interactive textbooks, mobile applications, open educational resources, digital storytelling, multimodal and corpus-based materials, and culturally responsive digital content.
5. Digital literacy and professional development for language teachers — digital competence, technological pedagogical content knowledge, AI literacy, online classroom management, teacher identity, professional learning communities, and institutional support for digital transformation.
6. CLIL and English for Specific Purposes in digital contexts — digitally supported content and language integrated learning, English-medium instruction, English for Academic, Occupational, and Specific Purposes; virtual simulations, discipline-specific materials, and AI-assisted specialised language learning.
7. Digital assessment, formative electronic evaluation, and alternative testing — automated scoring, online testing, electronic portfolios, game-based, peer, self-, and multimodal assessment; validity, reliability, fairness, feedback quality, authenticity, test security, and learning analytics.
8. Academic integrity and plagiarism management in the AI era — authorship, originality, and misconduct in the age of generative AI; AI-detection tools, assessment redesign, institutional policies, student and teacher perspectives, citation practices, and ethical AI use.
9. Learner autonomy and agency in technology-enhanced environments — self-regulated learning, digital motivation, metacognition, learner identity, persistence, resource selection, evaluation of AI-generated information, and out-of-class language learning.
10. Psycholinguistic factors and cognitive load in digital language processing — working memory, attention, cognitive overload, multimedia processing, reading and listening on digital platforms, vocabulary acquisition, language production, automated-feedback processing, and human–AI interaction.
11. Virtual learning communities and online social interaction — online communities, social media, forums, virtual exchange, multiplayer environments, and collaborative platforms; social presence, peer interaction, collaborative writing, identity construction, online discourse, intercultural competence, and informal digital learning.

Scope and article types

The Special Issue welcomes original research articles, systematic reviews, conceptual papers, methodological studies, case studies, design-based research, and theoretically grounded practitioner research. Submissions may investigate the teaching and learning of English or other languages in primary, secondary, tertiary, vocational, professional, community-based, or informal contexts. Comparative and interdisciplinary studies are particularly encouraged, as are contributions from different national, linguistic, educational, and socioeconomic contexts.

Studies may use quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, experimental, quasi-experimental, longitudinal, bibliometric, systematic-review, learning-analytics, corpus-based, discourse-analytic, or design-based approaches, and may involve school and university students, adult learners, language teachers, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, curriculum designers, or educational leaders.

Although technology is central to this Special Issue, submissions must show a clear connection to language teaching, language learning, language use, applied linguistics, or language-teacher education. Papers that describe digital tools without sufficient theoretical, pedagogical, or empirical analysis will not be prioritised.

How to participate

1. Submit an abstract by 10 November 2026. Abstracts will be received through the email address of the RELT conference. The address and abstract instructions will be announced on this page and on the journal’s homepage. Authors will be notified of abstract decisions by 25 November 2026.
2. Submit the full manuscript by 31 December 2026. Authors of accepted abstracts submit through this journal’s online system (see Submissions), choosing the section Special Issue: Teaching and Learning Languages in the Digital Age. You will need to register or log in.

Prepare your manuscript in the official IJLS Paper Template and follow the Author Guidelines, including APA 7th edition citations, an ORCID iD for every author, and at least two suggested reviewers, which the submission form requires.

Editorial and review process

All submitted manuscripts first undergo editorial screening by the Guest Editors, who assess:

• relevance to the Special Issue theme;
• alignment with the aims and scope of the journal;
• originality and scholarly contribution;
• theoretical and methodological quality;
• ethical compliance; and
• clarity and quality of academic writing.

Manuscripts that pass screening undergo peer review, and each manuscript is normally reviewed by at least two specialists with relevant expertise. The Guest Editors recommend one of four decisions: Accept, Minor revision, Major revision, or Reject. Revised manuscripts are assessed to determine whether the authors have adequately addressed the reviewers’ comments and, where necessary, may be returned to the original reviewers.

The Guest Editors work closely with the journal’s editorial office throughout the process, and final acceptance decisions remain subject to the journal’s editorial policies and approval procedures. The editorial team seeks diversity in contributors’ locations, institutions, research methods, educational contexts, and theoretical perspectives, but all decisions are based on scholarly quality and relevance. The Special Issue is expected to include approximately 12–20 articles.

Guest Editors

In collaboration with

	Tra Vinh University, Vietnam Home institution of the Guest Editors.
RELT	The 3rd RELT conference Abstracts for this Special Issue are received through the conference’s email address, which will be announced on this page.

Contact

Questions about the Special Issue may be sent to the Guest Editors at the addresses above, or to the journal’s editorial office at editor@ijlangstudies.org.