Notes from the Editor

As I prepared the index for the 2023 volume, I was reminded of the mission statement of The Modern Language Journal with its priority to “promote scholarly exchange among researchers and teachers of all foreign languages and English as a second language,” and the commitment to publishing “high quality work in non-English languages” and work that links “the findings of research to teaching and learning in a variety of settings and on all educational levels.” The retrospective view provided by the index highlights how we have advanced this mission. The articles in the volume have investigated the teaching and learning of a wide range of languages (Arabic, Cherokee, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Yorùbá) in diverse educational contexts in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. There has been a variety of topics, theoretical orientations, and methodological approaches as well. I remark on an increase of studies with a focus on several aspects of lexical acquisition, and on continuing trends of studies exploring the role of emotion in learning and teaching, and studies deepening our understanding of translanguaging pedagogies. Two studies published this year expand the conversation on connecting second language research and practice that was the focus of a guest-edited issue by Shawn Loewen and Masatoshi Sato (106.3, 2022). Hyun-Bin Hwang (107.3, 2023) studied the influence of teachers’ research experience on their grammar teaching practice. Shu, Yang, and Sato (107.2, 2023) used an ecosystems model to investigate the dynamics of collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders in the development of English language textbooks. The 2023 supplement (107 S) was devoted to studies that take a sociocultural perspective on pedagogical research in East Asian contexts. Edited by James Lantolf and Matthew Poehner, the issue presents seven original articles that investigate the use of innovative pedagogies guided by concepts and principles of sociocultural theory, including concept-based instruction, dynamic assessment, languaging, perezhivanie or unity of emotion and cognition, and obuchenie or instruction-development dialectic. This is the second guest-edited issue devoted to sociocultural theory in the journal, after the publication of a special issue in 1994 (78.4), also guest edited by James Lantolf. For those with a special interest in this theoretical approach, reading both guest-edited issues will prove a worthwhile exercise of how application of the theory in second language contexts has evolved in research and in practice over the last decades. The next guest-edited issue, “Global perspectives on heritage language education and emotion,” in preparation for the 108 Supplement (Meagan Driver and Josh Prada, guest editors), explores how emotional variables interact with heritage speaker experiences across multiple educational contexts. The contributions in the issue are guided by three main questions: (a) What affective variables play a central role in heritage language education? (b) How do these central affective variables compare to those traditionally highlighted in SLA? and (c) How might positive and negative emotional factors unfold and interact to affect heritage speakers’ language experiences and use? Researchers working in Asia, Canada, Europe, and the United States, in learning contexts as varied as primary schools, university settings, or households, address these questions with a wide range of methodological approaches (see the “Forthcoming in The Modern Language Journal” note in this issue). The guidelines for preparation of guest-edited issues and submission of proposals are posted on the journal's Web site, where you will also find a list of titles published recently. As I reminded you last year, another opportunity to publish extended work in the journal is a monograph-length treatment of a topic within language studies. You may want to check the most recent monograph issue in 2020 (104 S) by Glenn Levine. Although proposals are accepted on a rolling basis, the monographs are published as a Supplement issue, which appears at the beginning of each volume year. Much like for guest-edited issues in the journal and monographs published by commercial publishers, the entire editorial process—from proposal submission to actual publication—tends to take 2–3 years. Please note that monographs carry a separate ISBN number and are sold by Wiley. They are also eligible for prizes that recognize outstanding scholarship in monograph form. The guidelines for prospective monograph authors and list of topics that have been featured in MLJ monographs are available on the journal Web page. Wander Lowie is the associate editor for monographs. Please reach out if you have questions or to express interest in developing a proposal. In the last issue I announced that Martha Bigelow had completed her term as associate editor of the Perspectives column after 8 years in this role. Her last column, in the 2023 edition, was devoted to the topic of language and gender with a position article by Kris Knisely entitled “Gender-justice beyond inclusion: How trans knowledges and linguistic practices can and should be re-shaping language education.” This article argues for trans inclusion in language classrooms and research. Knisely proposes helpful pedagogical and conceptual tools to consider trans people's rich ways of defying binaries across various languages. The position paper poses important questions such as: What will we do to work toward a world in which language supports, inspires, and enriches the livability of everyone? Five commentaries to this piece take up these questions and others providing diverse views on the topic. I take this opportunity to thank Martha again for her outstanding work as associate editor, and to welcome Kristin Davin as the new associate editor for the section. If you are interested in proposing a topic for Perspectives, please contact Kristin Davin. I would also like to draw your attention to several award-winning articles published recently in the journal. Engman and Hermes's (2021) article, “Land as interlocutor: A study of Ojibwe learner language in interaction on and with naturally occurring ‘materials’” (MLJ, 105, S1, 86–105) received the AAAL Research Article Award in 2023. LaScotte and Tarone's (2022) article, “Channeling voices to improve L2 English intelligibility” (MLJ, 106, 4, 744–763) was selected as the winner of the 2023 TESOL Award for Excellence in Research. Hopp and Thoma's article “Effects of plurilingual teaching on grammatical development in early foreign-language learning” (2021, MLJ, 105, 2, 464–483) was the recipient of the ACTFL-NFMLTA/MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in World Language Education at the end of 2022. In addition, the MLJ editorial board selected the following three articles as Best of MLJ (2022): Costache et al., “Is English the culprit? Longitudinal associations between students’ value beliefs in English, German, and French in multilingual Switzerland” (MLJ, 106, 2, 313–327); Kennedy Terry, “At the intersection of SLA and sociolinguistics: The predictive power of social networks during study abroad” (MLJ, 106,1, 245–266); and Paradowski et al., “How output outweighs input and interlocutors matter for study-abroad SLA: Computational social network analysis of learner interactions” (MLJ, 106, 694–725). You may access these articles under the “Best of MLJ” tab on the journal's Web site. In last year's Winter issue, I had announced some new initiatives supported by MLJ’s governing organization, NFMLTA. Following a successful first year with a AAAL 2023 colloquium on positive mentoring organized by Tammy Gregersen, the second NFMLTA/MLJ Roundtable Conference Grant has been awarded to Dwight Atkinson, Marije Michel, and Amable Custodio Ribeiro for a roundtable entitled “Synergies: Diverse approaches to second language acquisition and teaching SLA/T in dialogue, searching for common ground.” NFMLTA/MLJ also continues to collaborate with AAAL supporting two graduate students with grants for conference presentations at the annual conference of AAAL in 2024. The announcement for the NFMLTA/MLJ Roundtable Conference Grant is posted on the journal's Web site. Information about additional NFMLTA/MLJ grant opportunities for graduate students, researchers, and language professionals is available at https://nfmlta.org/grants/ The publication of the journal is only possible through the efforts of many committed people. The closing of the volume is an appropriate place to show my sincere appreciation for our reviewers, who generously devote their time and expertise to provide rich and valuable feedback to authors and editors. Without them, peer reviewed journals could not exist. As a small gesture of appreciation for their important contribution in the making of the journal, their names appear in the Winter issue each year. I also thank my editorial team and editorial board. They are always enthusiastically willing to undertake tasks, and to guide me with their expert advice in our efforts to bring to our readers valuable and engaging research for the advancement of the field. Along with many others in the profession, we mourn the recent loss of Tim McNamara, who served as a member of the editorial board until 2020. As an author, Tim contributed to the pages of MLJ on topics about which he was so influential: social dimensions of language assessment, fairness and justice in assessment, poststructuralist views on multilingualism in education, etc. A tribute to his work and legacy will be published early next year. Finally, I have some updates in regard to formal aspects of the journal. We have transitioned to a new journal style, Wiley's journal style for APA (7th ed.), and to a new format with a single column. Manuscript formatting requirements can be found on the journal's Web site. We are also making full use of the linguistics submission transfer network initiative. As I announced last year, this allows authors of quality manuscripts rejected “with referral” the option to transfer their manuscript and any associated reviews automatically for submission to one of several linguistics journals published by Wiley. The initiative is intended to benefit authors by easing the submission process and speeding time to publication. The journal initiates the transfer option, but the author makes the decision whether to transfer the manuscript to a particular journal or not.

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