Guidelines

The My Share column is a unique feature of The Language Teacher (TLT) in that it comprises a collection of published procedures for classroom activities and lesson plans. Contributions come directly from members of our readership, classroom practitioners. Most every teacher has an original lesson idea or teaching technique that works like magic in the classroom. The editors welcome you to share your lesson ideas and classroom procedures with your colleagues in the field through a submission to this column. My Share submissions are to be step-by-step procedural instructions that can be used "right out of the box."

Thinking of writing up a submission? We encourage you to try this: Imagine you have just come out of a lesson exhilarated with how well the class went. You meet a fellow teacher in the corridor who notices the spring in your step and is eager to try the activity too. You tell them, in simple, clear language how to go about executing the activity, step-by-step. When writing your article, you might add caveats at each step or perhaps group them together in your conclusion. You will be amazed at how quickly your activity idea writes itself up! The most important point is not trying to turn your submission into an academic paper. You might choose to reference current research, where necessary, if an understanding of it is indispensable to communicating your idea. That said, My Share is a how-to column, and your writing style must reflect this. Previously published My Share articles have included such diverse write-ups as a whole term's syllabus on how to get students to raise their hands and participate actively in class and how to turn the contemporary obsession with mobile phones to an English teacher's advantage. Any idea you have dreamt up yourself--or else significantly adapted from someone else, whom you credit--that worked well is suitable.

Articles are selected for publication based upon their utility in the classroom, as well as their originality. Run-of-the-mill teaching practices commonly found in textbooks are not suitable unless they have been significantly modified. Please keep in mind that the My Share column is a practical resource for both native and non-native speakers. Procedures should be written in clear, concise English. Theory and academic citations should be kept to an absolute minimum. Papers previously published in any other publication or currently under consideration for publication, either by yourself or another author, cannot be accepted.

My Share Submission Guidelines

Articles submitted for consideration must:

1. be submitted as an email attachment to: jaltpubs.tlt.my.share@jalt.org only;

2. have a word limit of 600 words, including the masthead and any references;

3. feature the My Share masthead material, including the article title and the contributor's full name, affiliation, and email address;

4. include the word count, clearly labeled (i.e., WORD COUNT: 000) at top;

5. consist of an introduction (i.e., activity overview) followed by subsections labeled Preparation and Procedure, written in the imperative mood (i.e., recipe style) and a Conclusion;

6. be in Microsoft Word format, either .doc or .docx, including any appendices;

7. include any copyright warnings or author credits, where applicable;

8. be single-spaced with a double-space (i.e., two returns) between sections only (not paragraphs);

9. include the contributor's surname in the filename (e.g., "SmithMS.docx");

10. include applicable appendices compiled into ONE single, separate file with an appropriate personalized filename (e.g., "SmithMSAppendices.doc").

11. observe The Language Teacher style conventions, based on American Psychological Association (APA) style;

12. follow the My Share style template (See PDF or refer to a current issue of The Language Teacher).

Best of luck in writing your submission. Please refer to our My Share Submissions PDF file for more specifics and a mock-up of the formatting we look for. The column editors look forward to working with you. 

* The My Share column editors kindly request that articles be submitted via email (jaltpubs.tlt.my.share@jalt.org) only. 

** Due to a large number of submissions to MyShare not all submissions will be published in the TLT print version. Some will be published in the TLT online only with links to the articles appearing in the TLT print version.