37.3315, FYI: Call for Book Chapters: Qualitative Approaches to Second Language Vocabulary: Instruction, Assessment, and Development

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3315. Wed Oct 14 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.3315, FYI: Call for Book Chapters: Qualitative Approaches to Second Language Vocabulary: Instruction, Assessment, and Development

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Date: 13-Oct-2026
From: Eihab Abu-Rabiah [aehab at kaye.ac.il]
Subject: Call for Book Chapters: Qualitative Approaches to Second Language Vocabulary: Instruction, Assessment, and Development


Call for Chapters
Qualitative Approaches to Second Language Vocabulary: Instruction,
Assessment, and Development
Book Title (Working Title): Qualitative Approaches to Second Language
Vocabulary: Instruction, Assessment, and Development
Volume Editor: Dr. Eihab Abu-Rabiah, Kaye Academic College of
Education, Israel
Publication Plan: A book proposal will be submitted to an appropriate
international academic publisher following the selection of chapter
proposals. Publication will be subject to the publisher's evaluation
and approval.
Subject Areas: Applied Linguistics; Second Language Acquisition (SLA);
Vocabulary Studies; Language Pedagogy; Language Assessment
Description and Rationale
Research on second language (L2) vocabulary has generated substantial
insights through quantitative approaches to vocabulary size,
frequency, lexical coverage, depth of knowledge, and lexical
performance. Complementing this work, qualitative inquiry offers
valuable opportunities to examine how lexical knowledge is
experienced, negotiated, taught, assessed, and developed across
educational and social contexts. Yet the methodological and conceptual
contributions of qualitative research to L2 vocabulary studies merit
more sustained and systematic attention.
This edited volume aims to advance qualitative approaches to L2
vocabulary research by bringing together empirical studies that
investigate the situated, dynamic, and multidimensional nature of
lexical knowledge. Rather than treating vocabulary solely as a
measurable set of linguistic items, the volume seeks to explore how
learners and teachers understand, use, teach, assess, and develop
lexical knowledge in context.
The volume is organized around three interconnected strands:
Instruction: How vocabulary is conceptualized, mediated, and taught
across diverse educational settings, and how teachers and learners
experience lexical instruction.
Assessment: How lexical knowledge and performance are interpreted and
evaluated through qualitative approaches, including attention to
contextualized use, productive competence, lexical depth, and
assessment practices.
Development: How learners acquire, retain, reorganize, and use
vocabulary over time, including the cognitive, social, affective, and
identity-related dimensions of lexical learning as explored through
qualitative inquiry.
Across these strands, the volume seeks to demonstrate how qualitative
research can complement existing approaches and deepen our
understanding of L2 lexical knowledge. Its contributions will address
three related dimensions: the theoretical understanding of vocabulary
knowledge and use; the methodological possibilities for investigating
lexical learning and performance; and the pedagogical implications of
qualitative findings for instruction, feedback, and assessment.
The volume welcomes research across languages, learner populations,
educational settings, and learning environments, including
multilingual and technology-mediated contexts.
Methodological Scope and Frameworks
The volume focuses on studies in which qualitative inquiry is central
to the research design, data analysis, and interpretation of findings.
Submissions based primarily on quantitative analysis, as well as
mixed-methods studies in which qualitative inquiry plays only a
supplementary role, fall outside the scope of the volume. Quantitative
information may be used descriptively or contextually where it
supports a predominantly qualitative investigation.
We welcome theoretically grounded qualitative studies employing
established or innovative approaches to data collection and analysis.
The examples below are illustrative rather than exhaustive.
Possible data sources and collection methods include:
In-depth semi-structured interviews and narrative interviews with
learners, teachers, and teacher educators.
Classroom observations, video-recorded lessons, and ethnographic or
micro-ethnographic field notes.
Think-aloud protocols and stimulated recall interviews examining
lexical processing, retrieval, and decision-making.
Learner and teacher reflective journals, diaries, and learning logs.
Qualitative analysis of learner-produced texts, spoken performances,
lexical artifacts, portfolios, and classroom interactions.
Dynamic assessment sessions and other pedagogical activities examined
through qualitative analysis.
Retrospective accounts of vocabulary learning, lexical development,
and experiences of language use.
Possible research approaches and analytical frameworks include:
Thematic analysis, including inductive, deductive, and reflexive
approaches.
Narrative inquiry, biographical research, and autoethnography.
Conversation analysis and interactional approaches examining lexical
negotiation of meaning, repair, and focus on form.
Case study research, ethnography, and linguistic ethnography.
Phenomenological and sociocultural approaches to lexical learning,
agency, and participation.
Qualitative discourse and document analysis of curricula, policy
documents, assessment practices, and pedagogical materials.
Qualitative analysis of learner corpora and learner-produced
artifacts, where the analysis addresses contextualized lexical
knowledge and use.
Contributors should clearly explain the relationship between their
research questions, theoretical or conceptual framework, data sources,
and analytical procedures. Methodological choices should be justified
in relation to the phenomenon under investigation.
Thematic Strands
The three strands serve as interconnected organizing themes rather
than mutually exclusive categories. Proposals may address more than
one strand, provided that their primary contribution to qualitative L2
vocabulary research is clearly identified.
Strand 1: Instruction
This strand explores how lexical knowledge is taught, mediated,
negotiated, and experienced in instructional contexts.
Potential topics include:
Qualitative explorations of teacher cognition, pedagogical
decision-making, and beliefs about vocabulary instruction.
Classroom-based action research investigating vocabulary teaching
practices and pedagogical interventions.
The teaching and learning of multiword units, collocations, formulaic
language, and context-sensitive lexical meanings.
Qualitative analyses of task-supported and task-based vocabulary
instruction.
Teacher–learner interaction and the negotiation of lexical meaning in
multilingual classrooms.
Learner and teacher experiences of digital lexical resources, online
vocabulary learning, and AI-supported vocabulary instruction.
Qualitative investigations of vocabulary learning materials,
curriculum design, and the pedagogical mediation of lexical knowledge.
Strand 2: Assessment
This strand examines how lexical knowledge and performance are
interpreted, evaluated, and supported through qualitative approaches.
Potential topics include:
Qualitative investigations of how lexical knowledge and use are
interpreted in spoken and written performance.
Studies of lexical depth, contextual appropriateness, collocational
knowledge, formulaic language, and productive lexical competence
through qualitative analysis.
Research into teacher and learner interpretations of lexical feedback,
assessment criteria, and qualitative rubrics.
Qualitative examinations of assessment practices informed by CEFR
descriptors and other proficiency frameworks.
Studies of how assessors notice, interpret, and respond to lexical
strengths, limitations, and patterns of development.
Qualitative analyses of formative assessment, dynamic assessment, and
portfolio-based approaches to vocabulary learning.
Investigations of how assessment practices shape learners' engagement
with vocabulary learning and use.
Contributions should make clear how qualitative inquiry informs the
interpretation of lexical knowledge or assessment practices, rather
than relying solely on numerical scores or the application of rating
scales.
Strand 3: Development
This strand investigates how learners acquire, retain, reorganize, and
use lexical knowledge, with particular attention to the processes and
experiences that qualitative inquiry can illuminate.
Potential topics include:
Longitudinal qualitative case studies tracing individual or
group-level lexical development, attrition, or restructuring.
Learner experiences of lexical acquisition, retrieval, retention, and
productive use.
Metalinguistic awareness, learner agency, and self-regulation in
vocabulary learning.
Sociocultural, affective, and identity-related dimensions of
vocabulary learning and use.
Learners' experiences of lexical difficulty, uncertainty, and
strategic decision-making.
Qualitative investigations of vocabulary learning across formal
instruction, informal learning, and naturalistic language use.
Learners' experiences of vocabulary learning, retrieval, and lexical
decision-making in technology-mediated environments.
The development of lexical knowledge through interaction,
participation, and engagement with multilingual communities.
Submission Guidelines
We invite extended abstracts of 400–600 words, excluding references
and author biographies. Submitted abstracts and chapters must be
original work that has not been previously published, and is not under
consideration elsewhere. Proposals may report completed empirical
studies or well-advanced projects for which data collection has
already been completed. In either case, the research design and
methodological approach must be clearly specified.
Abstracts should be written in English and include the following:
Working chapter title and author affiliation(s).
Thematic strand: Instruction, Assessment, Development, or a
combination of strands.
Research questions and theoretical or conceptual framework: The main
questions and the framework informing the study.
Methodology: Research design, participant context, data sources and
collection procedures, ethical approval or other applicable ethics
arrangements and informed consent, and the proposed or completed
analytical approach.
Findings and contribution: Preliminary findings or, where analysis is
ongoing, the main analytical insights being pursued and the potential
theoretical, methodological, or pedagogical contribution.
References: Key sources informing the study.
Author biography: A brief biography of no more than 100 words per
contributor, submitted separately from the abstract word count.
Chapter Length and Editorial Process
Selected chapters will typically be 6,000–8,000 words, including
references. Further instructions concerning formatting, referencing,
submission dates, and manuscript preparation will be provided to
invited contributors.
Abstracts will be evaluated by the volume editor on the basis of:
Relevance to the volume's aims and thematic strands.
Clarity and significance of the research questions.
Theoretical and methodological rigor.
Appropriateness of the qualitative research design and analysis.
Originality and potential contribution to L2 vocabulary research.
Potential to contribute to a coherent and balanced edited volume.
Selection of an abstract constitutes an invitation to develop a full
chapter and does not guarantee inclusion in the final volume. Full
chapters will be subject to editorial evaluation and the review
procedures established for the project. The book proposal will be
submitted to an appropriate international academic publisher after the
chapter-selection stage; publication will depend on the publisher's
approval.
Important Dates
Abstract submission deadline: December 31, 2026
Notification of abstract decisions: February 1, 2027
Planned submission of book proposal to publisher: March 1, 2027
Full chapter submission: To be announced following the publisher's
evaluation of the book proposal.
The anticipated schedule for full chapters and subsequent revisions
will be communicated to selected contributors as the project
progresses.
Submission and Inquiries
Please submit your extended abstract as a Word document (.docx) or PDF
to:
Dr. Eihab Abu-Rabiah
Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel
Email: aehab at kaye.ac.il
Email subject line: Submission: Qualitative L2 Vocabulary – [Author
Last Name]
Informal inquiries regarding the suitability of a topic,
methodological approach, or proposed chapter are welcome.
We look forward to receiving contributions that advance a deeper,
context-sensitive understanding of second language vocabulary and
demonstrate the value of qualitative inquiry for vocabulary research,
teaching, and assessment.

Call Deadline: 31-Dec-2026

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics




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