Applied Linguistics Journals Research Articles

Can GPT-4 learn to analyse moves in research article abstracts?

Abstract One of the most powerful and enduring ideas in written discourse analysis is that genres can be described in terms of the moves which structure a writer’s purpose. Considerable research has sought to identify these distinct communicative acts, but analyses have been beset by problems of subjectivity, reliability, and the time-consuming need for multiple coders to confirm analyses. In this article, we employ the affordances of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (GPT-4) to automate the annotation process by using natural language prompts. Focusing on abstracts from articles in four applied linguistics journals, we devise prompts which enable the model to identify moves effectively. The annotated outputs of these prompts were evaluated by two assessors with a third addressing disagreements. The results show that an eight-shot prompt was more effective than one using two, confirming that the inclusion of examples illustrating areas of variability can enhance GPT-4’s ability to recognize multiple moves in a single sentence and reduce bias related to textual position. We suggest that GPT-4 offers considerable potential in automating this annotation process, when human actors with domain-specific linguistic expertise inform the prompting process.

Academic Vocabulary Distribution in Applied Linguistics Journal Research Articles: Do SINTA Rankings Matter?

Background: As a national database for indexing scientific journals, SINTA has considerable significance for the Indonesian academic community as it measures the performance of national journals and increases the visibility of Indonesian journals and researchers internationally. Although studies have been conducted to examine the role of academic vocabulary in scholarly publications, very little has investigated how academic vocabulary has been used in SINTA-indexed applied linguistics journals (SIALJ) research articles and whether there are differences in academic vocabulary coverage across SINTA rankings. Purpose: This study examines the academic vocabulary measure of whether significant differences in academic vocabulary coverage are present in SIALJ research articles across rankings. This examination will offer insights into the linguistic expectations set by the editorial boards of the journals across rankings. Method: Out of 8585 journals indexed by SINTA, we found 72 related to applied linguistics. We chose four journals with the highest impact factor in each ranking to ensure representativeness. We included approximately 250000 running words from each journal in each ranking and obtained 6073379 tokens in total. We used AntWordProfiler to analyse the lexical distribution with GSL and AWL as the base lists. Results: We found that the academic vocabulary coverage in SIALJ research articles accounts for 11.01%, similar to other studies that also found that academic words typically cover at least 10% of academic texts. We also identified that the higher the journal rank, the more coverage of the academic vocabulary. However, our quantitative measurement identified no significant differences in academic vocabulary coverage in SIALJ research articles. Conclusion: The absence of significant distribution disparities across rankings suggests a shared practice of strategies language use in SIALJ, irrespective of their rankings and challenges common assumptions about strategic language use discrepancies among journal clusters.

A methodological synthesis of narrative inquiry research in applied linguistics: What's the story?

AbstractNarrative inquiry has gained traction in applied linguistics as a complementary approach to positivistic research, focusing on the subjectivities of individuals’ lived experiences and using stories as data, analytical tools, and reporting practice. Although numerous methodologically oriented publications on narrative inquiry in the field reflect its vitality, scholars have raised questions about the complexity and ambiguity underlying what exactly constitutes narrative inquiry. While methodological diversity within narrative inquiry can signal innovation, it can also create uncertainty for novice and experienced scholars engaging with the methodology for the first time. To address these concerns, we conducted a systematic methodological synthesis of narrative inquiry studies in applied linguistics published from 2012 to 2022. Specifically, we searched 12 top‐tier applied linguistics journals and developed a corpus of 291 articles. We coded our corpus according to four areas: (a) theoretical framing, (b) demographic characteristics, (c) methodological design, and (d) reporting of ethics, researcher positionality, and funding status. We discuss our results in light of previous thematic reviews of narrative inquiry in applied linguistics, and we offer empirically grounded recommendations for scholars engaging with narrative inquiry. Our study responds to calls for greater methodological transparency in applied linguistics in general and methodological investment in narrative inquiry in particular.

EFL Writer Identity Construction in Academic Writings: A Systematic Review

English, as the most widely used language in academic publications, poses great challenges for novice EFL researchers not only in the language competence, but also in constructing authorial identity in academic writing because the codes for the construction of writer identity is implicit. This paper reviews the research on identity construction in academic writing among EFL writers published in key applied linguistics journals between 2000 and 2024, and summarizes the current research status of writer identity construction in academic writing and delves into the characteristics and influencing factors of identity construction. Through in-depth analysis of the theoretical framework and the characteristics of the EFL writers, we have selected representative papers, including empirical studies, theoretical discussions, and case studies, to ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of this review.The study found that the construction of writer identity in academic writing is a complex and multifaceted process. It is not only influenced by the English language proficiency of the writer but also by a combination of factors such as individual experiences, academic background, and sociocultural factors. These factors collectively shape the writer’s identity and recognition by others in the academic community, thereby affecting their status and influence in the academic field. This paper aims to provide valuable references and inspirations for future research on academic writing and writer identity construction.

A Comparison of Rhetorical Move Structure of Research Article Abstracts of Thai Scopus Journals and Top-Ranked Scopus Journals in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching

The purpose of this current study is to explore the move structure presented in abstracts of the research articles from Thai Scopus Journals (TSJ) and Top-Ranked Scopus Journals (TRSJ) in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching. Ninety abstracts were analyzed and separated equally between those two journals. The five-move framework established by Hyland (2000) was used to analyze the move pattern, showing different dominant patterns: I-P-M-Pr-C in Thai Scopus Journals and P-M-Pr-C in Top-Ranked Scopus Journals respectively. In Thai Scopus Journal, the results indicated that the introduction is optional, the conclusion, purpose, and method are considered conventional, and the product is obligatory. Similarly, in Top-Ranked Scopus Journals, the product is obligatory, while the purpose, method, and conclusion are conventional. These findings could offer practical insights into abstract structures and hold importance for educational purposes, offering guidance for the effective writing of abstracts in research articles.

Linguistic variation in two written academic sub-registers

Abstract The present study aims to compare abstracts written by graduate students and internationally-published authors using Biber’s (1988) Multi-Dimensional (MD) model. To this end, two corpora of abstracts (1800 texts each) from research articles (RA) published in top international Applied Linguistics journals, and theses completed in the same field were compiled. We compared the two corpora with regard to three of Biber’s (1988) dimensions: involved versus informational production; elaborated vs. situation-dependent reference; and abstract vs. non-abstract style. Our results revealed that RA abstracts and thesis abstracts are similar when compared to non-academic registers of English, but different when compared to each other. Relative to thesis abstracts, RA abstracts are more informational but less elaborated and less impersonal. Interestingly, we found that RA/thesis abstracts differ from Biber’s (1988) academic prose register along the three dimensions. Our findings can further our understanding of the differences between RA and thesis abstracts, thus contributing to the instruction of academic writing at the graduate level.

Multilingualism and native speakerism in academic journals’ language policies: Exploring a potential power of applied linguistics journals in promoting equitable publishing practices

Abstract Multilingualism in the context of academic publishing involves beliefs and actions manifested through publications in multiple languages. However, a systematic analysis of how academic journals practice multilingualism has been scant. Therefore, the present study analyzed how indexed journals of applied linguistics promote and practice multilingualism following their scopes and language policies (LPs). Initially, 67 journals underwent screening based on their “aims and scope,” resulting in 11 journals that actively promoted multilingualism. Employing a critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework, the main analysis focused on the assumptions embedded within the journals’ LPs. The findings indicated an incongruity between the journals’ stated commitment and their practices of multilingualism. Specifically, all the journals mandated submissions exclusively in English with implicit biases toward native speakerism. The study underscores the need for a collective effort within and beyond the applied linguistics community to address linguistic biases and for more equitable and inclusive academic publishing practices.

Modeling quality and prestige in applied linguistics journals: A bibliometric and synthetic analysis

The importance of academic journals in second language (L2) research is evident on at least two levels. Journals are, first of all, central to the process of disseminating scientific findings. Journals are also critical on a professional level as most L2 researchers must publish articles to advance their careers. However, not all journals are perceived as equal; some may be considered more prestigious or of higher quality and may, therefore, achieve a greater impact on the field. It is therefore necessary that we understand the identity and quality of L2 research journals, yet very little research (e.g., Egbert, 2007; VanPatten & Williams, 2002) has considered these issues to date. The current study sought to explore L2 journal identity and quality, and the relationship between these constructs. In order to do so, a database was compiled based on three different types of sources: (1) a questionnaire eliciting L2 researchers’ perceptions of the quality and prestige of 27 journals that publish L2 research (N = 327); (2) manual coding of different types of articles (e.g., empirical studies, review papers), data (quantitative, qualitative, mixed), research settings, and authorship patterns (K = 2,024) using the same 27 journals; and (3) bibliometric and submission data such as impact factors, citation counts, and acceptance rates. Descriptive statistics were applied to explore overall quality and prestige ratings as well as publication trends found in each journal. The relationships between those patterns and subjective ratings were also examined. In addition, regression models were built to determine the extent to which perceptions of journal quality and prestige could be explained as a function of journal and article features. We discuss the findings of the study in terms of on-going debates concerning publication practices, study quality, impact factors, journal selection, and the “journal culture” in applied linguistics.

Contesting “growth” and “sustainability” in Indonesia’s capital city relocation: a corpus ecolinguistic study

The global environmental crisis has triggered academic discussions on how infrastructure discourse often eliminates the environment as a part of the ecosystem. One noticeable contested issue is Indonesia’s capital city relocation from Jakarta to Penajam Paser Utara, Borneo Island. Considering the island’s biodiversity hotspot, the capital city relocation has invited debates about environmental impacts. Despite the criticism and scepticism of the government’s ambitious project, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed the relocation law, followed by the president’s capital city development regulations. Some research has discussed the new capital city (NCC) discourse, but the analysis from a corpus ecolinguistic perspective is absent. It is hypothesised that the lexemes “growth” and “sustainability” in the NCC legal documents represent the government’s intention to communicate the relocation intention and legitimise the plan. Therefore, this paper investigates the employment of lexemes “growth” and “sustainability” in the NCC legal documents using Sketch Engine, an online corpus tool developed by Adam Kilgarriff. Additionally, we also observed the nominalisation and transitivity of the concordances where the lexemes were used in the documents. The analysis revealed that “growth” and “sustainability” are inextricably linked to project NCC as a tool to accelerate and catalyse regional and national economic growth. Ecologically, the NCC documents promote an eco-ambivalent discourse since the sustainability objective excludes the environment. Instead, industrial sustainability is the primary goal in the capital city relocation. The country’s welfare measured by its economic success is salient in the discourse, whereas humans’ responsibility towards the deforestation impacts of relocation is lacking. This research was funded by the Final Project Recognition Grant Universitas Gadjah Mada, Number 5075/UN1.P.II/Dit-Lit/PT.01.01/2023. We are also indebted to the editors of Research Result. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Journal and the anonymous reviewers for providing this paper valuable feedback.

“This study is not without its limitations”: Acknowledging limitations and recommending future research in applied linguistics research articles

Acknowledging limitations and making recommendations for future research are often presented in thesis handbooks and rubrics as obligatory moves that demonstrate an author's critical self-evaluation and authority. Published research articles (RAs), however, reflect nuanced variation that challenges this interpretation. Based on two specialized corpora of 100 quantitative and 100 qualitative RAs from four applied linguistics journals, this mixed methods study combines genre analysis, which highlighted the relative prominence of these moves across methodological approaches and journals, and p-frame analysis, which generated a list of linguistic frames with one or more variable slots (e.g., it is important to * (note/mention/realize)) that emphasize flexibility within formulaic language structures. The results indicate that both moves are quasi-obligatory but vary considerably across methodologies and journals. EAP instructors might use genre analysis to evaluate rhetorical moves and steps together with students and to discuss ways to incorporate variety in academic writing using the list of p-frames identified in this study.

Can linguists distinguish between ChatGPT/AI and human writing?: A study of research ethics and academic publishing

There has been considerable intrigue surrounding the use of Large Language Model powered AI chatbots such as ChatGPT in research, educational contexts, and beyond. However, most studies have explored such tools’ general capabilities and applications for language teaching purposes. The current study advances this discussion to examine issues pertaining to human judgements, accuracy, and research ethics. Specifically, we investigate: 1) the extent to which linguists/reviewers from top journals can distinguish AI- from human-generated writing, 2) what the basis of reviewers’ decisions are, and 3) the extent to which editors of top Applied Linguistics journals believe AI tools are ethical for research purposes. In the study, reviewers (N = 72) completed a judgement task involving AI- and human-generated research abstracts, and several reviewers participated in follow-up interviews to explain their rationales. Similarly, editors (N = 27) completed a survey and interviews to discuss their beliefs. Findings suggest that despite employing multiple rationales to judge texts, reviewers were largely unsuccessful in identifying AI versus human writing, with an overall positive identification rate of only 38.9%. Additionally, many editors believed there are ethical uses of AI tools for facilitating research processes, yet some disagreed. Future research directions are discussed involving AI tools and academic publishing.

Introduction to the special issue on English medium instruction: Areas of research needing urgent attention

English medium instruction (EMI), both in higher and secondary education, is now a well-established field of education research and, indeed, many applied linguistics journals are publishing regularly on a variety of EMI topics. Recently, a new journal, Journal of English-Medium Instruction, has been established that is dedicated entirely to this area of academic enquiry. Recent years have also seen several special issues emerge on topics within EMI in journals such as Applied Linguistics Review (published advanced online), System (in 2023), and TESOL Quarterly (in 2018).

Modality in the moves of the discussion section of research articles

Various studies have been conducted on the rhetorical mechanism of Research Articles (RAs). However, the use of modal verbs in the Discussion section of a Research Article (RA) has not been adequately addressed. Thus, this study analysed modal verbs within the four generic moves in the Discussion sections of RAs using the model of Kanoksilapatham (2007). A corpus of 60 RAs written in English was selected from four Applied Linguistics journals: Language Testing, TESOL Quarterly, Pragmatics, and Second Language Research. The analysis of the corpus included two phases: (1) the identification of moves in the Discussion sections and (2) identification of modal verbs and their use within the identified generic moves in the Discussion sections. Chi-square was used to determine the distribution of modal verbs within the moves in the Discussion sections in each journal. The study revealed the significant distribution of modal verbs within three moves: 2, 3, and 4. The study also showed that the way modal verbs are distributed reflects the importance of their use as they have pragmatic functions in the Discussion section of a RA. It is hoped that this genre-based analysis of modal verbs in the Discussion section can make novice writers aware of how expert writers use modal verbs effectively in the moves of the Discussion section.

A Diachronic Study of Interaction in Chinese Academic Writing Through the Lens of Metadiscourse

Metadiscourse provides a framework for understanding interaction in discourse by examining the linguistic resources that the writers employ to organize their text and involve their readers. The studies in metadiscourse use in Chinese academic writing reveal that Chinese scholars maintain an impersonal style and adopt an authoritative stance. We investigated the changes in interaction in Chinese academic writing during the past 40 years by exploring metadiscourse use in 90 Chinese research articles from the top five Chinese academic journals in Applied Linguistics in 1980, 2000, and 2020. The analysis shows significant decreases in metadiscourse use during this period in both interactive and interactional features, and changes in linguistic choices of metadiscourse demonstrate a shift to guidance and persuasion with more logical arguments, objective evidence, and relevant literature, possibly suggesting that Chinese scholars now use metadiscourse mainly to clarify and inform, presenting knowledge as codified facts, privileged rather than negotiated or constructed. We also find that metadiscourse use significantly increased in 2000 before its decrease in 2020, unveiling Chinese scholars’ earlier efforts to guide and involve.

Research gap strategies in article introductions of different rank applied linguistics journals

Research gap (RG) becomes an important rhetorical work in research article introductions in all fields, especially in a competitive research publication atmosphere. A research article (RA) submitted to a reputable journal may be rejected because the writers fail to show the ‘niche’ in reviewing previous relevant studies to justify their research project. This research aims to find how writers in Applied Linguistics (AL) published in international journals of different quality in terms of their quartile value address the novelty in their journal article introductions. Forty articles were selected from eight different reputable international journals in AL of different tiers for the corpus of this study. The content analysis method under the umbrella of the qualitative approach was applied in the data collection and analysis. Six RG strategies, as suggested by Arianto et al. (2021), were used as a model for analysis and then the linguistic features used by the writers in realizing the RGs. The results show that among the six different RG strategies, the most frequently used by international writers are Strategy 2 (inadequate research) and Strategy 4 (contradictive/conflicting evidence). Among the four groups of RAs, those published in Quartile 1 journals used the most frequent strategies. The frequent linguistic features used by international writers are adversative conjunctions and adjective-modifying nouns to signal their RG strategies. To improve the quality of an article introduction, writers, especially novice writers, should use multiple strategies with the appropriate linguistic features.

Promotion in Academic Discourse: Authors’ Centrality Claims in Their Research Article Introductions

Centrality claims in the introduction part of a research article are aimed at attracting readers’ attention towards the research topic to be discussed in the article. Readers will decide whether or not to continue reading the article if the appeal is effective and the claims of the importance and usefulness of the article are accepted. However, most studies investigate only the discourse patterns and linguistic features of article introductions without analyzing further how authors attract readers’ attention to the importance of their research topic. This study aimed at comparing the types of centrality claims found in the introductions of articles published in high-rank and low-rank international journals in Applied Linguistics. Forty articles chosen from four Scopus-indexed international journals in Applied Linguistics were used in this study. The results showed that on average every article used 3.65 appeals of different types. Two types of claims (appeal to salience and appeal to problematicity) are more frequently used by authors than the other two types of appeal (appeal to topicality and appeal to magnitude). The data also reveal that, although not significant, the journal ranking correlates with the frequency of appeals used in the introductions. It is suggested that authors in Applied Linguistics should use multiple types of appeals in their introduction to attract readers’ attention to their research topic so that they are willing to read the entire article.

The Interplay between Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching

The Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, CALJ, is a peer-review journal published in Bogotá, Colombia by Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas for a global audience of professionals in education interested in research and teaching issues in the field of Applied Linguistics for the Teaching of English.

Review of Research on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in ELT-related Academic Writing Classrooms

Background. The emergence of information and communication technology and the resulting technological devices have influenced the nature and process of composition and the level of students' engagement and participation in writing activities.
 Purpose. The present study reviews 50 studies published in peer-reviewed applied linguistics journals from 2000 to 2020 which have investigated the use and implications of technology for teaching and assessing writing in academic contexts.
 Methods. The PRIZMA model was applied for records screening and selection and systematic qualitative content analysis was used to explore the content of these studies and identify the most relevant themes. The most relevant sections of these studies (especially, designs and findings) were selected for further analysis and synthesis.
 Results. Results of this systematic thematic review are mainly categorized and discussed based on three main themes: (1) Technology Use in Teaching and Learning Academic Writing, (2) Some Technological Tools for Teaching and Assessing Academic Writing, and (3) Practical Implications of Using Technology in Academic Writing Classrooms. Results of this systematic review indicated that growth in the use of technological resources such as computers, applications, and web-based learning environments in teaching and assessing ELT-related writing in academic contexts can enhance the quality of instruction provided.
 Implications. Despite some practical limitations for applying these technologies in writing courses, most of the reviewed studies pointed to the fact that technology-mediated writing instruction and assessment can enhance the students' knowledge and use of new digital literacies and, in turn, can lead to improvements in their composing processes and writing competence while working on various genres.

Bibliometric analysis in English language teaching and learning

The purpose of this paper is the bibliometric analysis of the journals indexed in SciELO in the area of teaching and learning English as a second language. The journals searched were: How, Profile, and Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal. The search for information made it possible to compare different bibliometric indicators. Although it is true that the results of this research show that scientific production in the field is abundant, varied in terms of thematic lines, and collaborative, it is only reported in three journals indexed in SciELO; however, other research that reports on the scientific production on the teaching of English as a second language, all the scientific production published in journals indexed in SciELO is made invisible. Since most of the publications in the journals studied are by Latin American authors, it is evident that in other productions the region's research in the field is being ignored.

Investigating individual differences with qualitative research methods: Results of a meta-analysis of leading applied linguistics journals

The aim of the present article is to provide a systematic review of qualitative studies in the leading journals of our field focusing on their distributional properties in the various journals as well as topic choice and selected quality control issues. In order to achieve this aim, we carried out a systematic review of research articles published in leading journals in our field, namely, Applied Linguistics, Language Learning, Language Teaching Research, Studies in Second Language Acquisition and Modern Language Journal between 2016 and 2020. Our sample contains 93 articles in which researchers employed qualitative research methods or mixed methods including a qualitative component. Our main results indicate that there is great variation among journals in terms of the number of qualitative studies. As for topic considerations, some traditional individual difference variables seem to have a dominant role, with cognitive processes involved in language acquisition gaining some ground as well. Concerning quality control issues, there could be room for improvement with regard to reporting the quality control measures, including the tools employed in the studies. Based on our results, we can conclude that a more systematic understanding of acceptable processes in the field of applied linguistics could increase not only the number of qualitative articles published but also their topical importance.