About the Journal

The Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics  (AJAL- ISSN: 2490-4198) is a biannual, peer-reviewed, and open-access journal devoted to the study of languages and language education in the Arab world from different disciplinary perspectives, including education, language pedagogy, language planning and policies, sociology, psychology, information technology, translation, and speech and hearing.

The Arab world refers to those countries that recognize Arabic as their official language. They cover a large geographical zone, extending from Mauritania in North Africa to Bahrain in the Middle East, with a population exceeding 400 million inhabitants. Though they share historical, religious, and linguistic traits, the Arab countries manifest degrees of linguistic, cultural, and ethnographic variation. Their language policies are by no means uniform, especially when it comes to the teaching and learning of foreign languages.

The journal does not overlook groupings and individuals outside the Arab world who have acquired Arabic as second or other language. Nor does it confine itself to the contributions of scholars of Arab origin or scholars whose work contributes to the study of Arabic or languages spoken in the Arab world.          

The topics that  AJAL covers include, but are not restricted to, the following: 

  • First language learning, teaching, and assessment
  • First language literacy learning, instruction, and assessment
  • Second or additional language learning, teaching, and assessment
  • The interaction between languages in multilingual contexts
  • Language policies and literacy
  • Language and literacy disorders

 The aim of the journal is to provide a unified forum for researchers and practitioners interested in applied linguistic issues, with special reference to the Arab context. The journal is in English, and it accepts contributions in the form of empirical research papers, theoretical papers, critical reviews, and book reviews.  

Announcements

Call for Papers 2025/2026

04/29/2025

The Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics invites submissions for a special issue focusing on First and Second Language Limited Print Literacy among children, adolescents, and adults. We welcome contributions that explore limited print literacy among (i) displaced children and adolescents in conflict zones and (ii) refugees and immigrant adults in the Western world and expatriates in the Middle East.

Limited print literacy is defined here as the difficulty individuals experience in decoding or encoding on paper or on screen language that is necessary for their daily or occupational activities. Print literacy in one’s native language or second language has different levels and manifestations in different geographical and cultural contexts. It is evaluated in accordance with various factors such as age, educational background, ethnic background, gender, and communication needs. Limited print literacy may be primarily a consequence of inadequate language teaching, in the case of children, and interrupted formal schooling, in the case of adults.

The Special Issue’s theme could be considered within Critical Applied Linguistics, but we suggest the term Committed Applied Linguistics, which we consider more adequate. Committed Applied Linguistics is devoted to defending and preserving the fundamental human right to literacy, i.e. the essential cornerstone of Education. Research on limited print literacy seeks to expose linguistic injustices and their multifaceted causes and consequences. It  aims at warding off the far reaching consequences these injustices have on individuals, communities, nations, and world peace. The mission of Committed Applied Linguistics, we suggest, is to contribute to defending and preserving Human Rights against language-related Human Wrongs.

Read more about Call for Papers 2025/2026

Current Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2025): Regular Issue
Published: 04/20/2025
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