I’ve recently hung up my virtual red pencil editing for ReSIG’s ELT Research after working on four issues as an editor and bringing two of them to fruition as the Lead Editor. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way:
There’s some really interesting classroom research going on around the world. I think many teachers — at least in my experience — think that research isn’t for them and it’s instead something done by some non-teachers in an ivory tower somewhere far, far away. Working on the broad range of manuscripts we received as submissions for publication show that nothing could be further from the truth. Just cast your eye over some of the titles of articles from last year’s issue: ‘Data driven vocabulary learning for multi-disciplinary EAP students in Iraq’ (Issue 40) or ‘ChatGPT in L2 academic writing: Navigating opportunities and challenges’ (also Issue 40). These are often not funded studies, but rather, teachers working away in their own classrooms, with their everyday learners, trying to find out what helps them learn better.
Not only is there classroom research happening all over the world, but that research is often being mentored by experienced colleagues. Some of these were gracious enough to share reflections on their experiences with the journal: ‘A journey from teacher-researcher to mentor of ELT/non-ELT teachers’ (Issue 40) or ‘Navigating the mentoring process in teacher-research: a case study of four mentors‘ (Issue 41). Many of these mentors have been involved in MenTRnet, a course, and international community of practice, who support mentors of teacher research.
Reading articles that you wouldn’t normally choose to read is fascinating in opening your eyes. From time-to-time I would be assigned (or assign myself) a submission that crossed over with my own areas of interest, but more often that not, I would be editing an article “out of my area”. Reading about these topics opened my eyes to some of the things happening in our field and spurred me to further reading of my own!
Working with an author over a few edits and for a period of time is extremely rewarding. Sometimes we received a manuscript from an experienced colleague in the field and only a few tweaks were necessary to get the text ready for acceptance. Often, we worked with novice writers who had never published before. It was truly a joy to help these teacher-researchers get their article ready, explaining our suggestions and asking them to work more on a submission that they had already worked on. However, the final moment when the draft is ready is golden!
Finally, finishing a project is its own reward. To be honest, I haven’t learned that from editing ELT Research; I already knew that. But it has been reinforced through this experience. Especially, these last two years as lead: contacting the authors, liaising with colleagues, commissioning art work, compiling the issue, and then extracting the final PDF. What a wonderful experience!
If you have been inspired by this post to submit an article for the journal, or simply want more information, get in touch with the new lead editor Ana García Stone (elt.research.resig@gmail.com) and check the guidelines for submission here. The call for papers is open until 15th September 2026.
Keep your eyes open for my next ‘What I’ve learned from…’ post, coming soon!
Chris Richards ELT 
Hi Chris, I love the way you describe what you enjoyed most in the past four years and, especially, in the last two, when you acted as Lead Editor. The authors who might find their way to ELT Research via MenTRnet, often tell me how useful the editing process is. They feel encouraged and supported all the way until a submission is finally accepted. When I wrote for ELT Research some years ago, I was very happy about the way my submission was treated. With rigour and attention to both content and detail, and suggestions that made the piece better-structured and more reader-friendly. I wish you luck in your next professional moves and thank you for being such a good-humoured, patient and empathetic (Lead) Editor!
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