Jean-Marc Dewaele will be standing down as Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism at the end of December 2018 to take over the editorship of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development from John Edwards. Li Wei will be the new Editor from January 2019. In this joint editorial the founding editor, Colin Baker, the current editor Jean-Marc Dewaele and the incoming editor, Li Wei, reflect on the past, the present and the future of the journal.
The beginnings of IJBEB
IJBEB was the brain-child of the late Mike Grover (1946–2013). In 1980, as the founder and Managing Director of Multilingual Matters Ltd., he and his wife, Marjukka, published the highly successful Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (JMMD) under the Editorship of Derrick Sharp and then John Edwards. Seven language journals followed, including the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (IJBEB) in 1998.
Before JMMD, articles on bilingualism, multilingualism and bilingual education had been placed in a considerable variety of general journals concerned with linguistics, second language acquisition, psychology and education. By the mid 1980s, there was no specific journal on bilingual education and bilingualism. IJBEB was born.
IJBEB started with four Issues a year (except 1998 when there were two Issues). Almost immediately, the number of accepted, high quality articles made it essential to move to six Issues a year (from 2001). An Editorial in 2005 (Volume 8, no 6, p. 505) noted that, by 2005, the journal had tripled in size.
While Mike Grover was the originator, considerable credit for the journal’s early and later success goes to two groups of people. First, there have been outstanding Reviews Editors: John Maher who is currently Professor of Linguistics at the International Christian University, Tokyo (http://johncmaher.weebly.com/), Aneta Pavlenko (see an IJBEB tribute to her in Volume 13, no 6, p. 681), Jean-Marc Dewaele who later became the Editor of the journal, and Antje Wilton, the current Reviews Editor. Second, the journal was faithfully and expertly served by top-class Administrators: Berni Moorcroft and Jenny Tunstall, who were both excellent in all respects.
The intention from the beginning was that the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism should thoroughly deserve the title ‘International’. Few language-related topics had become so internationally important as bilingualism, multilingualism, bilingual education and the acquisition of new languages. Thus, the aim of the journal (as indicated in the first issue) was ‘to be thoroughly international in nature’ and ‘to provide a truly international exchange’. Rather than being an Anglo-American journal, it was hoped to attract researchers, editorial board members and readers from all around the globe.
In my final issue as Editor (November 2012, volume 15, no 6, pp. 625–626), I handed over to the multilingual and multi-talented Jean-Marc Dewaele by noting that: ‘What was also so valuable and pleasing from the beginning was the truly international origins of the articles. Seventy-six countries have so far been studied in research papers, and the current Editorial Board has members from 24 different countries.’
Initiated by Mike Grover, inspired by superb Reviews Editors and Journal Administrators, the international title had become merited. Knowing this a few months before his premature death, Mike was delighted.
Colin Baker
The present
Taking over the editorship from Colin Baker in 2013 was slightly scary. It felt like agreeing to raise his child. Like all young parents looking at their new-born baby and feeling slightly dazed, I felt daunted by the responsibility of guiding this eminent journal in the right direction. I had edited books and special issues before, had been Assistant Editor for Li Wei’s International Journal of Bilingualism, and had been the IJBEB’s Reviews Editor since 2010, but finding myself at the helm of IJBEB raised issues I had not encountered before. I realised that a good editor, like a good teacher, has to be both discreet and omnipresent. In other words, after deciding that a paper was worthy of external review, I had to hold back from acting as a third reviewer when collating the two reviews, and only consider the points raised by the reviewers. In cases of disagreement, I would seek a third reviewer or read the paper closely in order to evaluate the points raised by the reviewers. The guiding principle in that scenario is always whether or not the paper could be improved. If the main problem was one of organisation, of language, or of analysis or interpretation of data, I would give the author/s the chance to resubmit (up to two times). However, if the problems were flaws in the research design, lack of quality or quantity of the data, or the absence of a solid theoretical basis, I would reject the paper.
Being an editor is a great opportunity to learn and to be reminded how little one knows of one’s own (huge) field. Hence the crucial need to find specialist reviewers willing to spend some of their precious time on reading the paper and producing a good evaluation. I very often agree to review for other journals if a paper deals with a topic I am interested in because I see it as my ‘sacred’ duty. We form a community of scholars and this entails certain privileges and many duties. The reviewers are the unsung heroes of any journal. I have received detailed reports from reviewers that were sometimes more interesting and insightful than the papers they discussed. Whenever I received such a report, I would gush in gratitude, because it is such a service to both the journal and the authors. Researchers who submit their work to a journal engage in a form of (free) continuing education, and the reviewers are fair, anonymous teachers. A rejection with a clear explanation on the reasons why the paper is judged not good enough might be initially painful for the author but is also invaluable. Good anonymous reviews allow authors to grow, to learn, to sharpen their research and writing skills, and to widen their panorama of the field. They also reinforce other crucial attributes of a good researcher: modesty and self-control. For no matter how much a person has published, there is no guarantee that every future paper will be perfect. Trying to be original and cutting-edge means that occasionally things go wrong. There is no shame in that. I imagine that famous cooks occasionally produce something inedible or charred that does not make it to the customer. It does not imply that they have suddenly turned into ‘bad’ cooks. Having a paper rejected is therefore not an indictment of the researcher (unless the paper had been plagiarised), it is simply a statement that this particular piece of work in this incarnation was judged not to be good enough. It is true that there is an element of chance with reviewers. But I would not go as far as to claim that it resembles a lottery. Some reviewers might be harsher than others. Occasionally reviews might be too superficial, incorrect, or unfair. I have always responded to authors who complained in a measured and articulate way about such reviews, and occasionally rescinded a decision to reject a paper if the authors could convince me that the reviewer had misunderstood or misrepresented their work. Authors need to be aware that when resubmitting their paper to another journal, they might end up with the same reviewers. It is therefore crucial to implement changes before resubmission; otherwise it leads to prompt rejection.
Having been Editor of IJBEB for the last six years has undoubtedly also made me a better author. An editor is always on the look-out for good papers or proposals for special issues that will be cited in the future and increase the impact factor of the journal. The crucial properties of such papers or proposals for special issues are: (1) a good fit with the journal, (2) originality, (3) a clear focus on a single issue, (4) good clear writing and argumentation. These four points may seem terribly obvious, but they are in fact fiendishly difficult to achieve. IJBEB regularly receives papers where the word ‘bilingualism’ is absent. These papers would fit better in a TESOL or SLA journal. A good fit means that IJBEB readers are likely to read and cite the paper in question. Originality is notoriously hard to define. A common misunderstanding is that replication is original research. I do not doubt the value of replication studies, but simply collecting data in a new environment without any methodological or theoretical innovation, only to conclude that variable A is indeed linked to variable B is insufficient to warrant publication. Another common misconception is that numerical values in themselves are interesting, original research findings. I automatically think of Douglas Adams’ famous joke in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) where the supercomputer, Deep Thought, after 7½ million years of computing, comes to the conclusion that the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything, is Forty-two. Similarly, thinking that a mere score on a test or a Likert scale item is a result, is an illusion. ‘Less is more’ applies equally to conference presentations, PhD dissertations and 7000-word papers. Experienced presenters and authors know that an audience is more likely to remember a presentation with a single focus and a clear coherent storyline, which is presented with passion. It is more likely to be accepted and more likely to be cited. The previous point is linked to the final one, that of good clear writing and logical argumentation. Every author needs to find their own authentic voice while respecting the academic conventions of the journal and producing an English text that reviewers and readers will understand without difficulty. A good concise text that flows logically from introduction to conclusion gives me aesthetic pleasure. Reading a good argument is like watching a dancer executing a daring move gracefully. In other words, clarity, conciseness and gracefulness are the essential qualities of scientific texts. They can be picked up in the abstract or in the reading of the first sentence of the introduction. If they are absent, the editor or reviewer might lean towards ‘reject’ after a mere two minutes reading.
I am proud that in my time as Editor of IJBEB its impact factor has gone up to 1.765, with a ranking in 2017 of 27/181 (Linguistics) and 77/238 (Education), making it one of the leading bilingualism journals with a unique edge on bilingual education around the world. To deal with the increasing flow of high quality submissions, the number of issues has gone up to 8 per year. The international character of the journal has been strengthened, with frequent and excellent contributions from Asia, South and North America, Europe and Australia. I wish the journal could attract more contributions from Africa and the Arab world.
To conclude, I have complete faith in my friend Li Wei’s ability to take IJBEB to new heights, and will keenly follow the progress of the journal in the future.
Jean-Marc Dewaele
The future
When the opportunity of becoming the next Editor of IJBEB was presented to me, the quote from Isaac Newton’s letter to Robert Hooke in 1676 came immediately to my mind:
What Descartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways, and especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.
I remember vividly the moment I received the kind invitation from Colin to join the first editorial board of IJBEB and I have remained on the board ever since. I also remember Colin coming to talk to Jean-Marc about the handover of the editorship. I knew, as everybody else did, that the journal was in good hands. I of course was editing a different journal with a different focus. But from day one there was mutual understanding, appreciation and support between the two journals and with other journals that were coming onto the scene. IJBEB has grown into THE leading journal in the world of bilingual education, and it is in no small part due to having two leading figures in the field as its editor. To have the opportunity to build on what Colin and Jean-Marc have achieved is a real honour and privilege.
What I like most of IJBEB is its dual emphasis on applied research that has significant impact on policy and practice and basic science that aims to further our understanding of the bilingual individual and the bilingual world. I will endeavour to maintain that balance. We live in a time where bilingualism and multilingualism, though having been recognised as a socio-historical reality, are still under attack from conservative and neoliberal forces. The ‘one-national-one-language’ and other forms of monolingual ideologies are very much alive and kicking. Bilingual education is at the forefront of socio-political and policy debates over equality, opportunity, social justice, sustainable development, security. etc., as it concerns not only the minoritised communities, the migrants and refugees, and the socio-economically disadvantaged, but also those who think of themselves as monolingual, the majority, or native to a particular place because encounters with others who are perceived to be different are inevitable in today’s world and education provides answers to many of the questions such encounters raise. In the meantime, we need to enhance the rigour and expand the scope of basic research on bilingualism. There are still many gaps in our knowledge of bilingualism to fill. For instance, we know relatively little of how the bilingual mind works: do bilinguals make different moral judgments in different languages? Do they have the same emotional control when using different languages? How do they resolve the apparent differences and contradictions in their perceptions of colour, time, and space in different languages when they are switching between languages in the same conversation? Questions such as these have important implications for policy and practice, but also require rigorously designed research to give us answers that can stand the test of time. I will, as Editor of IJBEB, be looking for research output that has the originality, rigour and significance to deserve publication in the journal and to advance of field.
As the field of bilingual education and bilingualism has become even more interdisciplinary and international that 20 years ago when IJBEB was founded, I am mindful of the need for the journal to disseminate the best research in a truly global sense. The emergence of Southern Theory and Asia as Method is by no means accidental. It is part and parcel of the fundamental shifts of power and influence in global geopolitics and economics as well as in academia. I want to promote alternative theories and models from scholars of cultures and languages that have hitherto been under-represented. Technological advancement has contributed to the emergence of new forms of bilingualism and multilingualism through the digital media. It also offers opportunities for innovative ways of disseminating research and sharing good practice. I will aim to make more use of such opportunities and find new ways of engaging our authors and readers.
The impact of a journal is only achievable through its community – the community of authors, reviewers, the editorial board, readers, and the publisher. The Editor is only a member of the community and a node in a vast network, a key member/node of course. But without the contributions of all the other members of the community, the Editor’s job cannot be done and the journal will not survive. I have no doubt that the journal will not only survive but thrive with the support of the IJBEB community. I am looking forward to working with you all.
Li Wei
December, 2018, Bangor and London