All articles submitted to English Education: English Journal for Teaching and Learning (EEJ) undergo a rigorous screening and evaluation process by the Editorial Board to ensure that they are within the focus and scope of the journal and meet the required standards of academic quality, structural originality, and methodological novelty. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening stage will be sent to external experts for a Double-Blind Peer-Review Process, in which the identities of both reviewers and authors remain completely anonymous.
The review process consists of the following consecutive stages:
Initial Screening → Peer Review → First Decision → Revision Stage → Final Decision
1. Initial Screening
Newly submitted manuscripts are screened by the Editor-in-Chief and/or the Editorial Board to determine their compliance with the focus and scope of EEJ, as well as basic stylistic and bibliographic requirements according to the journal's template. Manuscripts are also checked for plagiarism using Turnitin software, with the maximum similarity index strictly required to be 20%. Manuscripts that do not meet these fundamental requirements will be rejected immediately without further review.
2. Peer Review
If the manuscript passes the initial screening stage, it will be assigned to a Section Editor who is responsible for managing the peer-review process. The assigned Section Editor selects and invites at least two independent external reviewers with proven expertise in English Language Teaching (ELT), applied linguistics, or related educational fields to evaluate the manuscript.
The Section Editor does not conduct the peer review directly, but manages the review workflow, communicates with reviewers and authors, evaluates the reviewers' comments, and provides structural recommendations for the editorial board's decisions.
3. First Decision
The editorial decision is made after receiving at least two independent review reports. If the reviewers' recommendations differ significantly, the assigned Section Editor may invite an additional third reviewer before making a recommendation.
At this stage, the manuscript may be:
• Rejected;
• Accepted without revision;
• Accepted with minor revisions;
• Requested for major revisions; or
• Recommended for a second round of review if substantial improvements are required.
The final decision to accept or reject a manuscript is made by the Editor-in-Chief based on the comprehensive reviewers' reports and recommendations from the assigned Section Editor, with considerations from the Editorial Team.
4. Revision Stage
Manuscripts requiring revision will be returned to the corresponding author. Authors are required to revise the manuscript according to the reviewers' and editors' constructive comments within the specified revision period.
The revised manuscript must be accompanied by a revision log and will be evaluated by the assigned Section Editor to determine whether the revisions adequately address all the comments. If further improvements are required, the manuscript may be returned to the author for additional revision or sent for another round of review.
5. Final Decision
At this stage, the revised manuscript will face the final acceptance or rejection phase. The final decision depends on whether the manuscript has fully achieved the rigorous quality standards required by English Education: English Journal for Teaching and Learning (EEJ).
Only manuscripts that fully meet the journal's standards of academic quality, methodological integrity, and publication ethics will be officially accepted for publication.