There are two publications of the IH Journal each year, in Spring and Autumn. We’re always looking for high quality articles and the following guidelines should give you an idea as to what we consider before publishing.
Authors
If you are a language teaching expert, teacher trainer, or teacher from within the IH network or beyond and would like to contribute to the IH Journal, we would be delighted to hear from you. Our articles and authors reflect a diversity of backgrounds and the richness of perspectives in the field of language teaching. Past authors include Scott Thornbury, Sandy Millin, Gavin Dudeney, Diana England, Brita Haycraft and many more, so your contribution will find itself in good company. Get in touch now!
Readership
The IH Journal is read by practising language teachers, teacher trainers and managers all over the world. When submitting an article, do bear this in mind and think about what you would be interested in reading. The original editorial from the first edition states:
“It [the IH Journal] is written by teachers for teachers. Anyone and everyone can have their say. It will contain articles on action research (i.e. classroom investigation) projects, conference papers, practical ideas, news items, and work in progress from leading thinkers within the organisation. We want to encourage debate, give people a platform, create new ideas, refloat old ideas, and debunk myths..”
We still adhere to these original principles and advise that articles are focused on practical classroom application of ideas. Reading past editions of the Journal before submitting your work will give you an insight into the type of articles typically published.
Length
Articles are typically 1,000 – 1,500 words in length, which makes them between about one and a half and two and a half pages long in Microsoft Word. We will consider longer submissions, though it is rare to publish these (see readership above). Reviews can be up to 1,000 words long.
Referencing
If you quote from a published source, be that online or in-print, please reference it appropriately. We suggest you use Harvard for simplicity (see here), though any recognised referencing convention is acceptable. At the IH Journal we are most interested in articles that have a classroom focus, but if well-written and sufficiently fascinating we will also consider more academic articles.
Editing
All articles are carefully considered before publication and in many instances the editor may contact you to ask you to revise certain sections or provide other feedback to help you improve or develop your work – we will help you as you go in a supportive manner, particularly if you are a first-time writer. While we can't guarantee that every article we receive will be accepted for publication, we're keen to help the best ideas see the light of day - if not immediately, then in a future edition of the journal.
Copyright
Authors agree to having their work published online on the IH Journal Website, and extracts may be used on IHWO social media platforms to publicise the work and International House.
By submitting an article or review, authors confirm
- that the piece is their own original work, and no one else would be entitled to prevent us from publishing the contribution.
- that any material quoted which was taken from a third party has been correctly referenced and the source acknowledged
- that all facts are true and accurate.
- that nothing in the contribution is obscene, libellous or a falsehood or infringes any duty of confidentiality.
- that the work is the author's and not the output of an AI writer. Please note – all submissions will be checked using ZeroGPT or an equivalent platform, and those that are marked as AI-generated will be rejected, even if in error. If in doubt, please check your work in ZeroGPT before submitting.
Authors take full and sole responsibility for securing permission to use any copyrighted material within submissions for the IH Journal. IHWO will disclaim all responsibility for copyright violations and any other form of liability arising from the content of any articles.
Submission
Here are some suggested steps to follow when you are considering contributing to the Journal:
- Contact the Editor at [email protected] and express interest, briefly outlining your ideas.
- Write your article taking the above points into account and then have someone else proof-read it for you.
- E-mail your article as a Word document (.doc or .docx) titled ‘your name article title’, e.g. “William Shakespeare – Observations on Observations”. Please do not submit PDFs. Also, please send a 50-60 word mini bio describing who you are, where you work, experience, etc., and a photograph.
- Read through any feedback given on your work and make any necessary changes, ask follow-up questions, etc.
- Read your article in print online!
Please e-mail [email protected] with any questions you have.