About the Journal | Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition

Focus and Scope

Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition is a research-oriented academic journal dedicated to the theoretical foundations of language acquisition and their practical implications in classroom settings. The journal emphasizes empirical findings related to language acquisition and instruction across diverse educational environments. It also explores the natural conditions supporting language development in bilingual and multilingual contexts.

The study of language acquisition and learning necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, integrating both linguistic and psychological perspectives. We recognize that this interdisciplinary focus requires a range of research methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches. Accordingly, we welcome submissions that demonstrate strong theoretical grounding and methodological rigor, as well as innovative and creative approaches to underexplored areas in second language acquisition and foreign language learning.

We are particularly interested in publishing both large-scale empirical studies and in-depth case studies involving bilingual and multilingual individuals, foreign language learners, and educators.

Indexing and publication points

The journal is currently indexed in the following databases: Arianta, BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine), BAZHUM, CEEOL, CEON, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), ERIH PLUS, GIGA, Index Copernicus, INFO NA, Nukat, MLA Directory of Periodicals, Most wiedzy, OAI-PMB Data Provider Registry, POLINDEX (PBN), Public Knowledge Project Index, SCOPUS, WorldCat.

TAPSLA in SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Currently, publications in TAPSLA are awarded 40 points according to the latest version of the official ministerial list of journals (as of 05-01-2024)

Open Access Policy

The journal follows an Open Access model, making all content freely available to everyone. It operates under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike) license. Articles published before 2019 are licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

TAPSLA does not charge any fees for article publication. The journal adheres to the Open Access principles as defined by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ):

“The copyright holder of a scholarly work grants usage rights to others using an open license (Creative Commons or equivalent), allowing for immediate free access to the work and permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.”
(See: https://doaj.org/apply/guide/)

Journal History

Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition (TAPSLA) was founded in response to a notable gap in the Polish academic landscape. Although Poland has long held a strong position in SLA research, with numerous monographs published every year, often by renowned international publishers such as Multilingual Matters and Springer, there were few academic journals based in Poland that focused on this field. TAPSLA was created to provide a platform for the growing Polish SLA research community and to increase its visibility in the global academic discourse on the subject.

However, following the release of the first issue, it quickly became apparent that the journal would appeal not only to Polish scholars but also to researchers from around the world. Since then, TAPSLA has published articles by prominent scholars in the discipline, including David Singleton, Tammy Gregersen, Jean-Marc Dewaele, and many others who represent cutting-edge directions in SLA research globally.

The journal has become a vibrant forum for scholarly exchange, bringing together academics from Poland and abroad, and highlighting emerging issues and underexplored areas in second language acquisition studies.