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Aims and scope

Aims and scope

Language Testing in Asia (LTA) was founded in 2011 as a high quality peer-reviewed online academic journal. The purpose of LTA is to acknowledge and showcase scholarly findings in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region in the field of language assessment. A broad definition of Asia is used, which includes any countries east of the Suez Canal and south of the Caspian and Black seas, to Japan in the east and Indonesia in the south. More recently, it has been decided to further expand the area of study to Oceania.

Language assessment is of particular importance in the Asia-Pacific region, which has a large number of second or foreign language learners with very diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, assessments of large scales and high stakes, and an urgent need for research to improve the quality of assessment services. 

The journal compares validity, consistency and efficacy of testing approaches and methods, and by analysing a wide variety of contextual elements such as cultural aspects, attitudes, students’ perceptions and motivation, it aims at exploring the applicability of language assessment methods in local contexts, examining new proposals and ideas, and actively contributing to the discussion about transparent and effective frameworks for language education in Asia.

Offering evidence and reports in a scholarly and rigorous format, Language Testing in Asia will appeal not only to linguists, academics and researchers in the field of language assessment, but also to policy-makers, policy planners and administrators, school-leaders and trainers.

We welcome essay submissions from anywhere in Asia that fit within these aims: as language assessment becomes more extensive and important worldwide, it is desirable that many voices from many cultures be heard.

Areas of particular interest include research articles on any aspects of international proficiency tests such as IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC, PTE-Academic and high stakes national tests of English or other languages as a second or foreign language. Classroom, school and university evaluation methods are also most welcome as are reviews or research on software and internet applications for assessing language skills.

The journal encourages the submission of high-quality contributions aimed at:
-         sharing comprehensive accounts on language assessment in the Asian context

-         improving the quality, consistency and applicability of language assessment methods in different local contexts in Asia

-         reviewing practices in the curricular requirements of language skills at different educational stages

-         keeping up with current changes in the education systems.

-         informing users and policy makers of language assessment practices and measures of quality control

-         raising the awareness of the ethics involved in the profession of language assessment.

Topics addressed through contributions within the journal might include, but will not be restricted to:

-         validity arguments for language assessments

-         discussion of assessment practices

-         analysis of assessing language skills in different contexts

-         second language assessment and learning motivation

-         test-taker perceptions of assessment practices

-         second language assessment and teaching and learning styles

-         effects of national education policies on language test performance

-         application of information and communication technology for language assessment

-         challenges facing high-stakes language assessments

-         assessment literacy for language teachers.

The journal has an international multidisciplinary editorial board with leading international academics in the fields of linguistics and applied linguistics, such as language assessment, language education, educational measurement, psycholinguistics, and language policy.

Annual Journal Metrics

  • 2022 Citation Impact
    2.8 - 2-year Impact Factor
    1.858 - SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper)
    0.600 - SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

    2023 Speed
    11 days submission to first editorial decision for all manuscripts (Median)
    61 days submission to accept (Median)

    2023 Usage
    530,067 downloads
    116 Altmetric mentions

This journal is indexed by

    • SCOPUS
    • Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
    • Google Scholar
    • CNKI
    • DOAJ
    • EBSCO Discovery Service
    • EBSCO Education Source
    • ERIC 
    • MLA International Bibliography
    • OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service
    • ProQuest Central
    • ProQuest Education Database
    • ProQuest Professional Education
    • ProQuest Social Science Collection
    • ProQuest-ExLibris Summon
    • ProQuest-ExLibris Primo
    • ProQuest-ExLibris Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts (LLBA)
    • UGC-CARE List (India)
    • TD Net Discovery Service
    • SCImago
    • Navar
    • MLA International Bibliography
    • Gale
    • Dimensions

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For editors and reviewers to accurately assess the work presented in your manuscript, it is important to ensure the English language is of sufficient quality. If you need help with writing in English, learn more about additional support tools.

Waivers

Authors without funds to cover the Article Processing Charge (APC) are eligible for a discretionary waiver of the APC, and should request a waiver during submission.
Language Testing in Asia also has waivers available at the Editor's discretion. Authors can contact the Editors in Chief for more information. Read here for more information on APCs.