About

The online journal Reading in a Foreign Language (RFL) is a scholarly international refereed journal originally founded as a print journal in 1983 at the University of Aston, Birmingham, England. The journal moved to the University of Hawai‘i in 2002 under the co-editorship of Richard R. Day and Thom Hudson. It is supported by the National Foreign Language Resource Center, and the Center for Language & Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Reading in a Foreign Language has established itself as an excellent source for the latest developments in the field, both theoretical and pedagogic, including improving standards for foreign language reading.

This fully-refereed journal publishes articles, columns, and reviews on a rolling basis (they are published as they become available). The editors seek manuscripts concerning both the practice and theory of learning to read and the teaching of reading in any foreign or second language. Reviews of scholarly books and teaching materials, conference reports, and discussions are also solicited. The language of RFL is English, but lexical citations of languages other than English are acceptable. Additionally, the journal encourages research submissions about reading in languages other than English. From time to time, special issues are published on themes of relevance to our readers. Please see our submission guidelines for more information.

Although RFL is a free online journal, we would appreciate your support as a subscriber. This will assist us in continuing to obtain institutional support for the journal, keeping it free of charge. Please take a few minutes to visit our subscription page.

RFL is currently indexed in Web of Science and in Scopus.

 

Reading in a Foreign Language is published by the National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and is currently indexed in Web of Science and in Scopus.

Updated June 26, 2024
 

Forthcoming Reviews

Bravo Granström, M. (2019) Teachers’ Beliefs and Strategies when Teaching Reading in Multilingual Settings. Case Studies in German, Swedish and Chilean Grade 4 Classrooms. Berlin: Logos Verlag.
 
Krüger, M. (2023). Media-Related Out-of-School Contact with English in Germany and Switzerland. Frequency, Forms and the Effect on Language Learning. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
 
Oppolzer, M. (2020). Reading Autobiographical Comics: A Framework for Educational Settings. Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Oxford · Warszawa · Wien: Peter Lang.
 
Pae, H.K. (2020). Script effects as the hidden drive of the mind, cognition, and culture. With a Foreword by Charles A. Perfetti. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
 
Shiotsu, T. (2010). Components of L2 reading: Linguistic and processing factors in the reading test performances of Japanese EFL learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
 

Seeking Reviews

Bavendiek, U., Mentchen, S., Mossmann, C. & Paulus, D. (Eds.)(2022), Ab Initio Language Teaching in British Higher Education: The case of German. London: UCL Press.
 
Kusiak, M. (2013). Reading comprehension in Polish and English: Evidence from an introspective study. Cracow: Jagiellonian University Press.
 
Nunn, N., Sedláčková, J., Tóthová, L., & Yang, J. (2022). Deafinitely English: Online materials for teachers of English as a Foreign Language for Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing students. Brno: Masaryk University Press. 
 
In French: 
Sokołowicz, M., Zatorska, I. (Eds.) (2019). Quand regarder fait lire. Nouveaux défis dans l’enseignement des littératures de langue française. Warsaw: Warsaw University Press. 
 
In German:
Schrott, A., Wolf, J., Pflüger, Ch. (2023). Textkomplexität und Textverstehen. Studien zur Verständlichkeit von Texten. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. 
 
Maik Philipp, Simone Jambor-Fahlen (eds.) (2022). Lesen: Prozess- und Produktperspektiven von der Wortebene bis zu multiplen Texten. Basel: Belz Juventa. 
 
In Spanish:
Ruiz de Zarobe, Y., Ruiz de Zarobe, L. (Eds.) (2019). La lectura en lengua extranjera. Barcelona: Ediciones Octaedro. 
 
A free E-book copy will be made available to the reviewer of the books listed above. The call is primarily open to academics, researchers in areas related to foreign language reading (applied linguistics, pedagogy, psychology, etc.), teachers and students (both doctoral and graduate students), however, the list is not exhaustive.
 

About Reviews

You are invited to review books not listed here as well, as long as they are related to reading in a foreign language. Should you choose to review a book on L1 reading you ought to emphasize how the research presented therein is relevant to foreign language reading. You can also review books published in your own countries, and not necessarily in English, as long as your review is written in English. A précis in the language in which the book is written may accompany the full English-language review. In fact, we are open to reviews of books from all over the world in order to follow and popularize current research on foreign language reading. 
 
The reviews section of Reading in a Foreign Language generally accepts three types of books: 
 
• academic publications, research reports, etc. for example, on the psychological processes involved in reading, vocabulary retention, cross-linguistic interaction in reading, etc. 
 
• resources for teachers: books written from a more practical angle, for example, on how to design reading activities, how to choose reading materials, how to motivate learners to read, etc.
 
• resources for learners, especially textbooks developing reading skills, for example, preparing learners for the reading component of language exams, such as the CPE exam in English.  
 
The guidelines for writing a review are available here: 
 
 
As Reading in a Foreign Language has switched to a continuous publishing mode, there are no specific deadlines.
 
Contact  Teresa Maria Wlosowicz melomane.plurilingue@gmail.com  if you are interested in having material reviewed as a publisher or as an author, or if you wish to serve as a reviewer.
 
Please visit https://opensubmissions.org/index.php/rfl to submit your manuscripts.

Call for Contributors “Readings on L2 Reading” Annual Column

Reading in a Foreign Language is seeking contributors for the “Readings on L2 Reading” annual column. This annual feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of Reading in a Foreign Language. This is an excellent opportunity to provide service to the profession while reviewing the latest research in the field of second and foreign language reading. All interested researchers are encouraged to apply, especially graduate students and early career researchers.  

Shenika Harris, sharris@lindenwood.edu