Journal profile · LINGUISTICS
RELC Journal
ISSN 0033-6882 · eISSN 1745-526X · SAGE
RELC Journal: CAS Zone 1 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 6.93; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 107 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 10.9% (journal website); 68 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
RELC Journal is published by SAGE and is in Zone 1 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning, Second Language Learning and Teaching and Multilingual Education and Policy, together about 55.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Language and Linguistics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The RELC Journal, established in 1970, is a triannual peer-reviewed international publication of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Regional Language Centre (RELC), located in Singapore. It publishes original research and review articles on topics pertinent to language teaching and learning.The journal focuses on studies that advance theoretical and practical knowledge and report findings with clear pedagogical implications for language teaching and learning, especially, although not exclusively, in the Southeast Asian context.Submit your manuscript today at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/relc/.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): LINGUISTICS
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Singapore 8, Hong Kong, China 6, United States 5, Iran 4, New Zealand 4 (36 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningArts and Humanities26%
- Second Language Learning and TeachingArts and Humanities18.4%
- Multilingual Education and PolicySocial Sciences10.9%
- Second Language Acquisition and LearningPsychology8.5%
- Discourse Analysis in Language StudiesArts and Humanities5.1%
- Student Assessment and FeedbackSocial Sciences2.7%
- Language, Discourse, Communication StrategiesArts and Humanities2.5%
- Lexicography and Language StudiesArts and Humanities2.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- Impact factor
- 6.93LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 5.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 19.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.78LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 98OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 709OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.16OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 18.3%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 56LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,794 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 61 | 24 | 17 |
| 2025 | 68 | 21 | 403 |
| 2024 | 59 | 26 | 551 |
| 2023 | 54 | 27 | 2,262 |
| 2022 | 71 | 12 | 1,892 |
| 2021 | 93 | 18 | 2,307 |
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
107 dayssubmission to acceptance
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)
- 10.9%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 107 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 32 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted9, with length limits
- book reviewRELC Journal publishes a range of article types on the topic of language education: Research Articles (6000 words) Research articles present an empirical projec…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- book reviewsBook Reviews "by invitation only" (1000 words) This article type provides reviews on current books related to the journal's aims and scope.main text ≤ 1,000 words
- ict reviewsICT Reviews (1000 words) This article type provides reviews of apps, webmain text ≤ 1,000 words
- innovations in practiceInnovations in Practice (3000 words) RELC invites contributions focussing on innovations in classroom practice.main text ≤ 3,000 words
- research articleRELC Journal publishes a range of article types on the topic of language education: Research Articles (6000 words) Research articles present an empirical projec…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- research articlesResearch Articles (6000 words) Research articles present an empirical project on language education or related areas that consists of original data the author h…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- reviewRELC Journal publishes a range of article types on the topic of language education: Research Articles (6000 words) Research articles present an empirical projec…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- review articleRELC Journal publishes a range of article types on the topic of language education: Research Articles (6000 words) Research articles present an empirical projec…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- review articlesReview Articles "by invitation only" (3000 words) Review articles present a review of recent research in the Applied Linguistics and/or TESOL disciplines. These…main text ≤ 3,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools. As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review and publicati…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
COPE member Model summary
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. If you wish to have color figures in the printed version, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice p…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal does not accept submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers.
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
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0033-6882
- Electronic ISSN
- 1745-526X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about RELC Journal
What CAS zone is RELC Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, RELC Journal is in Zone 1 of Literature, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Linguistics; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of RELC Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.93; CiteScore 19.4, h-index 98.
How long does peer review take at RELC Journal?
The publisher reports about 107 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10.9%. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of RELC Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: Harvard; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of RELC Journal based?
Of the 36 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Singapore (8), Hong Kong, China (6) and United States (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index RELC Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, RELC Journal is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is RELC Journal open access, and what is the APC?
RELC Journal is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .