Guides: TESOL: Finding Articles for TESOL Topics

Why Look for Articles

Scholarly journal articles are great for learning more about narrow and focused topics within a discipline, will present research findings and identify specific issues within the field of study. Professional trade publications are written for practitioners in a field and provide timely and practical articles for their audience. More general newspaper and magazines are an excellent source for general readers about current topics.

Core Journals in TESOL

Applied Linguistics Applied Linguistics publishes research into language with relevance to real-world problems.
ELT Journal ELT Journal is a quarterly publication for all those involved in English Language Teaching (ELT), whether as a second, additional, or foreign language, or as an international Lingua Franca. The Journal links the everyday concerns of practitioners with insights gained from relevant academic disciplines such as applied linguistics, education, psychology, and sociology.
Journal of Second Language Writing The Journal of Second Language Writing is devoted to publishing theoretically grounded reports of research and discussions that represent a significant contribution to current understandings of central issues in second and foreign language writing and writing instruction. Some areas of interest are personal characteristics and attitudes of L2 writers, L2 writers' composing processes, features of L2 writers' texts, readers' responses to L2 writing, assessment/evaluation of L2 writing, contexts (cultural, social, political, institutional) for L2 writing, and any other topic clearly relevant to L2 writing theory, research, or instruction.
Language Learning and Development The journal is multidisciplinary and seeks to examine language development in all of its many guises. Among the many issues LL&D explores are biological versus environmental factors in language development; learning in humans versus animals; learning of signed versus spoken language; computer models of learning; and how neurotechnology and visualization of the brain inform our understanding of language learning and development.
Language Learning Journal The Language Learning Journal (LLJ) provides a forum for scholarly contributions on current aspects of foreign language and teaching. LLJ is an international, peer-reviewed journal that is intended for an international readership, including foreign language teachers, language teacher educators, researchers and policy makers. Contributions, in English, tend to assume a certain range of target languages. These are usually, but not exclusively, the languages of mainland Europe and ‘Community Languages’; other languages, including English as a foreign language, may also be appropriate, where the discussion is sufficiently generalisable.
Language Teaching Research Language Teaching Research is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research within the area of second or foreign language teaching. Although articles are written in English, the journal welcomes studies dealing with the teaching of languages other than English as well. The journal is a venue for studies that demonstrate sound research methods and which report findings that have clear pedagogical implications.
Language Testing Language Testing is a fully peer reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles on language testing and assessment. It provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and information between people working in the fields of first and second language testing and assessment. This includes researchers and practitioners in EFL and ESL testing, and assessment in child language acquisition and language pathology.
RELC Journal The RELC Journal is a fully peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles on language education. The aim of this Journal is to present information and ideas on theories, research, methods and materials related to language learning and teaching.
Second Language Research Second Language Research is an international peer-reviewed, quarterly journal, publishing original theory-driven research concerned with second language acquisition and second language performance.

Education and Linguistic Databases for TESOL Topics

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
Provides access to education literature and resources. The database provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index. The database contains more than 1.6 million records and links to more than 337,000 full-text documents dating back to 1966. For tips on using ERIC, please visit visit this tab from the TESOL InfoGuide.
Education Full Text
Subject coverage includes adult education, special education, multicultural/ethnic education, and teaching methods.
Chronicle of Higher Education This link opens in a new window
Presents news and information for college and university faculty and students.
MLA International Bibliography
Coverage is international and includes literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
In addition, the MLA Directory of Periodicals and their proprietary thesaurus used to assign descriptors within the Bibliography are included.

Multidisciplinary and Linguistics Databases for Articles on TESOL Topics

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Provides full text coverage to peer-reviewed titles in the social sciences, humanities, general science, multi-cultural studies, education and more.
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Content from CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index along with other peer-reviewed journals in communication, mass media, and related fields of study.
JSTOR
Archive of interdisciplinary journals and books, covering the Arts, Business & Economics, History, Humanities, Law, Science & Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Religion.
Project MUSE
Full-text current and archival articles from scholarly journals covering literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more.
PsycINFO
The American Psychological Association’s (APA) resource of peer-reviewed articles in psychology, behavioral science and mental health.
Scopus
Abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed scientific journals, books and conference proceedings covering fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Theses and Dissertations on TESOL Topics

Dissertations & Theses Global (ProQuest)
Doctoral dissertations and master's theses, from 1743 to the present. Full text for most dissertations since 1997.