Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-Language and Linguistics
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies
ISSN 1542-7587 · eISSN 1542-7595 · Taylor & Francis
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies: subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; review about 68 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 10% (journal website); 17 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies is published by Taylor & Francis. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Multilingual Education and Policy, EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning and Linguistics and Education Research, together about 52.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Literature and Literary Theory and Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies: An International Journal ( CILS) is an international, peer-reviewed journal that engages fields of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, language policy and planning, literacy studies and education. CILS focuses on research and scholarship in language matters, generated from qualitative, critical pedagogical, and emergent paradigms. In these perspectives, language is considered a socially constituted cultural construct that gives shape to, and at the same time, is shaped by, the larger social, political, and historical contexts of use. The primary purpose of the journal is to provide a forum for discussion of research from these paradigms, across disciplinary boundaries. Readership: Researchers, scholars, graduate students and practitioners interested in critical language studies, particularly in the fields of applied linguistics, TESOL, language education, bi/multilingual education, rhetoric and composition, language policy and planning, modern languages and literatures, educational studies, anthropology, sociology, history, political science, psychology, and cultural studies. The journal may also be of interest to educational stakeholders and communities and those engaged in methodologies in language studies. Open Access: Submissions: CILS publishes several types of contributions, including empirical articles, conceptual or state-of-the-art papers and book reviews. The journal is published four times per year, including an annual invited or open-call special issue. To submit an article, please refer to the Instructions for Authors. To submit a book review, please review the Instructions for Book Review and contact the Book Review Editor directly. For more information about submitting a special issue proposal, please contact a member of the editorial team. Ethics Statements From 1st January 2025 Critical Inquiry in Language Studies requires all authors to include evidence of ethical approval, including the name of the committee that provided approval, within the manuscript. If no approval was granted, authors must be able to provide sufficient evidence for why their studies should be exempted from this policy. Authors are encouraged to explain the reason for the exemption within the manuscript. More information can be found here: https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/editorial-policies/research-ethics-guidelines-for-arts-humanities-and-social-sciences-journals/. This applies to content submitted after 1st Janua
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-Language and Linguistics
Editor-in-chief Sender DovchinPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Multilingual Education and PolicySocial Sciences25.1%
- EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningArts and Humanities17.9%
- Linguistics and Education ResearchArts and Humanities9.3%
- Second Language Learning and TeachingArts and Humanities9%
- Linguistic and Sociocultural StudiesSocial Sciences8.3%
- Critical and Liberation PedagogySocial Sciences3.7%
- Discourse Analysis in Language StudiesArts and Humanities3.4%
- Teacher Education and Leadership StudiesSocial Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language and Linguistics | Q1 | 40/1137 | 96th |
| Linguistics and Language | Q1 | 45/1221 | 96th |
| Education | Q1 | 211/1698 | 87th |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ERICPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Elsevier BV, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Taylor & Francis, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.98Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.2LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 47OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 183OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.83OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 55,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 442 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 37 | 16 | 820 |
| 2025 | 17 | 6 | 1,038 |
| 2024 | 22 | 8 | 910 |
| 2023 | 30 | 8 | 788 |
| 2022 | 25 | 3 | 774 |
| 2021 | 14 | 2 | 607 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
68 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 68 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted4
- book reviewsCILS publishes several types of contributions, including empirical articles, conceptual or state-of-the-art papers and book reviews.Length not stated
- conceptual or state-of-the-art papersCILS publishes several types of contributions, including empirical articles, conceptual or state-of-the-art papers and book reviews.Length not stated
- empirical articlesCILS publishes several types of contributions, including empirical articles, conceptual or state-of-the-art papers and book reviews.Length not stated
- reviewReviewLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access
- Publication ethics
Evidence of ethical approval required in manuscript from 1 Jan 2025 Model summary
From 1st January 2025 Critical Inquiry in Language Studies requires all authors to include evidence of ethical approval, including the name of the committee that provided approval, within the manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal (Open Select) Model summary
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discov…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1542-7587
- Electronic ISSN
- 1542-7595
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 23, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Critical Inquiry in Language Studies
How long does peer review take at Critical Inquiry in Language Studies?
The publisher reports about 68 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Critical Inquiry in Language Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies is indexed in Scopus. The journal's website also lists ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Critical Inquiry in Language Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .