Contribute to 'Classroom Talk'
General information
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The purpose of the Classroom Talk section of the English Australia Journal is to provide a space for teachers, trainers, managers and university educators to share new ideas, approaches, activities and tools. It aims to inspire readers to reflect on, or experiment with their current practice. |
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Becoming a Classroom Talk contributor
The Classroom Talk Editor welcomes submissions of practical, teaching-related articles at any time, and is also happy to discuss any ideas for potential articles. Popular types of article include:
- Activities and lesson ideas: to provide teachers and trainers with an original idea for various types of lessons (General English, Business English, EAP, literacy, professional development etc.) Should include aim, level, materials, preparation, time, procedure and (possibly) variations.
- Tips & techniques: to provide teachers and trainers with 3-5 fresh activities linked to a particular theme (e.g. using e-portfolios, ending a course, using rods, m-learning, integrating pronunciation in class, etc.) Should include some background or discussion of the theme, although this should not outweigh the practical portion of the article.
- Tools for teachers: to introduce teachers and trainers to a new website/tool and describe how it could be used in class.
- Action research: to share new findings from an action research project, show wider implications for classroom practice, and suggest ways new directions and/or ways to find out more about this topic.
Please note, however, that submissions can only be considered if they strictly adhere to the guidelines on this page. Although readers/writers may be from Australia or overseas, articles should be appropriate to ELICOS. If an article is accepted for publication, the contributor will receive a complimentary copy of the journal issue in which their article appears. Contributors must keep the Classroom Talk Editor informed of their current mailing address, e-mail and contact telephone number.
Length, tone and structure of Classroom Talk articles
Articles should be between 1000 and 1200 words, and may go up to 1500 words with the approval of the Classroom Talk Editor. They should be written in a semi-formal, easy-to-read style. The general tone expected is similar to that of an in-house professional development session – sharing of ideas, from one ELT professional to another.
All Classroom Talk articles should include the following:
- Title information Include on separate lines: full title, author(s).
- Introduction A general lead-in. It may be appropriate to start with some background, or discussion of the wider issue/context. If relevant, you may want to bring in your own experience of/reactions to the topic. However, keep this brief as the main emphasis is on practical applications.
- Main content The body of your article should elaborate the information you wish to convey to readers, in clear, logical and well-connected steps.
- Conclusion This can be simply a sentence or two to wrap up your piece or suggest ways to find out more about the topic.
- Contributor’s biodata A third-person bio of approximately 30 words, including name, position/institution, experience/current research or interest, and preferred e-mail address for professional contact. Twitter handle and/or blog URL may also be included if appropriate.
Articles should be submitted as Word documents, using single spacing after full stops and Australian spelling. Original worksheets may be included, but note that these may be reformatted for layout reasons, and that they will appear in grayscale (black and white) in the print journal. For this reason they should not depend on colour differentiation to be understood.
Tables, figures and images
Please ensure that any table, figure, photo, screenshot or illustration is:
- attached separately: a) tables, graphs, charts and diagrams must be attached separately in their original file format (Word or Excel). Please do NOT send or embed as images. b) photographs, screenshots or illustrations must be attached separately as individual files in .jpg, .eps, or .tiff format, and must be of sufficiently high resolution (300 dpi or above).
- named appropriately and sequentially ( e.g. Table 1, Figure 2, Photo 3).
- titled/captioned in the appropriate place in the article, for example: [insert Figure 1 here] Figure 1. Results for EAP students pre- and post-course.
- not in breach of copyright (see ‘Copyright’ below).
- reproducible in grayscale for the print edition (i.e., with sufficient contrast, and not dependent on colour differentiation to be understood).
- formatted in accordance with APA Style where applicable.
- NB: Note that any table, figure, photo, screenshot or illustration may be reformatted or placed differently due to layout reasons restrictions.
Copyright
Contributors must obtain written permission to include any copyright-protected items, such as illustrations, photos, lyrics or screenshots. Copyright must be acknowledged in the article.
Style and Referencing
Quotations or paraphrases based on specific parts of a publication must include page references. Any works cited, paraphrased or otherwise mentioned must include page references where required and appear in a reference list at the end. The English Australia Journal uses APA Style for referencing; APA guides can be easily found online, for example, see here. However, there are some differences in APA for Australian English, and there may also be some areas, such as layout of titles and captions, capitalisation and hyphenation, which follow the specific Style Guide of the English Australia Journal. Please refer to the Style Guide for more information.
Deadlines
Deadlines are negotiable. Articles are subject to a revision process, and if an article cannot be revised in time for a print deadline, it will be carried over to the next issue.
Editorial process
After the first draft has been submitted, the Classroom Talk Editor is likely to return with a few questions and/or suggestions for structure and content. The revised version is then edited, primarily for style and length, and changes are agreed with the reviewer. Please note that there may be further changes at the copyediting and proofreading stages, but these are usually minor.
Publication
Classroom Talk articles are published twice-yearly (April and September) in the Classroom Talk section of the English Australia Journal. They will also appear on the English Australia website when the issue goes online.
Please note that only a limited number of articles may appear in each issue, so there may be a delay between acceptance and publication. English Australia reserves the right to reject articles or withdraw them from publication. Published articles are the property of the English Australia Journal but may be republished with permission.
Please feel free to contact the Classroom Talk Editor with any further questions or concerns.
Sophia Khan
Classroom Talk Editor
English Australia Journal
classroomtalk@englishaustralia.com.au
