Stockholm University Press recently acquired The Journal of Home Language Research (JHLR), an international, double-blind peer-reviewed Open Access journal. Previously published at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) and at Uppsala University, the content from JHLR has always been available to download for free. The journal publishes original research in all areas related to the study of home languages.
This is the ninth journal coming on board for the fully Open Access press. All journals published with the press is online-only publications using CC BY licensing, which allows authors to keep the copyright of their articles. Content can be downloaded, shared and remixed freely as long as there is a link to the original work.
I had a chat with the two Editors-in-Chief: Una Cunningham, Professor of English Language Education at Stockholm University and BethAnne Paulsrud, Senior Lecturer of English and Head of the English department at Dalarna University.
Congratulations on your launch of the Journal of Home Language Research at Stockholm University Press! Please tell us a little bit about the journal, and how you think it contributes to developments within its subject area?
Una: – When I started the journal together with Jeanette King at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand in 2016, there was a gap in the field, with no journals specifically addressing this area. This is still true. Another journal, Heritage Language Journal, overlaps somewhat but does not entirely match our aims. We offer a forum for publishing new research in the field of home languages, and we welcome research from diverse contexts, such as applied linguistics, theoretical linguistics, psychology, sociology and education.
BethAnne: – Yes, we have specifically chosen to continue with open access publishing when switching to Stockholm University Press this year, since this is important to us. We do not want to publish behind a paywall but want research to be more freely available. Open access allows practitioners, students and researchers around the globe access to our articles. We also have a great interest in representing research from under-represented contexts.
Una Cunningham was the original Editor-in-Chief, followed by Jeanette King. Currently, Una shares that role with her long-time colleague BethAnne Paulsrud. They became joint Editors-in-Chief at the beginning of 2019. Una has published extensively in the fields of language, technology and education, most recently the fourth edition of the book Growing Up With Two Languages (Routledge 2020). BethAnne mainly focuses on multilingualism in families and education in her research. She has, among other things, published two edited anthologies on translanguaging in education and is currently involved in a longitudinal research project on multiple languages in the home.
What are your plans for the future of the journal? Do you have upcoming issues already in the pipeline?
BethAnne: – Yes, we have at least two special issues underway, one on formal instruction of home languages and one on the proceedings of the BIALL (Bilingual Acquisition of Language and Literacy) conference in 2019, as well as possibly one more on an EU project on childhood bilingualism.
Una: – One of the reasons why we chose to publish with Stockholm University Press was that we liked the professional-looking webpage and interface. Stockholm University Press also offers great support, visibility and journal management and has article processing routines in place. With all this in hand, we hope to generate more interest in the journal among those in the field. We have already started marketing the journal, and we will begin with social media soon. We also want to engage our stellar editorial board more in the near future.
Read more about The Journal of Home Language Research or, if you want to submit a manuscript, read the instructions here.
Interview by Julia Milder, Communications Officer at Stockholm University Library
Stockholm University Press Blog 