CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Special Issue of RLJ, Volume 76, Issue 1 (June 2025):

Russian Language Journal (RLJ) editorial team and Dr. Maria Bondarenko (Université de Montréal), the guest editor, invite to submit a contribution proposal for the Special issue of RLJ on Russian verbs of motion (VoMs).

Verbs of motion have long been acknowledged as a challenging topic in the realm of Russian linguistics and Russian second language (L2) instruction. The most popular way of conceptualizing and teaching unprefixed VoMs is based on the category "directionality," introduced within the conceptual frameworks of European structuralist linguistics. As for prefixed VoMs, they have been conceptualized and taught in the L2 classroom through their derivational relationship with unprefixed stems. The traditional way to conceptualize and teach Russian VoMs has been recently questioned by some linguists and L2 educators from the perspective of its terminological consistency, pedagogical efficiency and epistemological compatibility with the principles of L2 teaching and processing. Structural linguistics, which gave birth to the traditional approach, has lost its leading position with the emergence of other linguistic paradigms, opening new possibilities for studying and teaching VoMs, such as Cognitive linguistics, language acquisition studies, and corpus-based research. See full description (in English and Russian): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_BjydROLeRqsLu18j46M16bZnRkIVSEksItZmD4iOLg/edit

The RLJ special issue aims to reflect on the current stage in the way towards alternative approaches to VoMs and solidify the bridge between Russian L2 instruction and contemporary linguistic theories and data.

The topics may include, but not limited to:

- Linguistic foundations that shape the various conceptualizations of Russian VoMs, and their impact on L2 pedagogy.
- Critical reflection on the concept ‘directionality’ and other terminological tools used to conceptualize and teach Russian VoMs.
- Russian VoMs from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics (Usage-based grammar, Construction grammar, etc.), Functional Systemic Linguistics, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics, etc.
- Acquisition of VoMs by native and non-native speakers of Russian
- Russian VoMs in L2 classrooms: a reflection of teaching experience
- Teaching Russian VoMs within the framework of different teaching methods, including gamification, Task-, Project-, Content-, Action-based and TPR approaches.
- VoMs in available teaching materials and textbooks.
- Insights from corpus-based research of Russian VoMs and its application to L2 classroom.
- Contrastive studies of VoMs and its application to the Russian L2 classroom.

Languages: English or Russian

Those interested in contributing should submit the following to [email protected] and to [email protected] in CC as a single Word (.doc, .docx) or .PDF file attachment by August 1, 2024:
- information about author(s): name, affiliation, 50-word biography
- Proposed article title and 350-word abstract
- Type of publication: (A) a conceptual/theoretical think piece, (B) teaching practice reports, (C) empirical/research-based papers

The tentative schedule as follows:

- August 1, 2024 - Proposal submission deadline
- September 5, 2024 - Notification of Acceptance
- November 30, 2024 - Submission for full-length manuscripts (up to 7,000 words, including References and Appendices).
- April 1, 2025 - Submission of revised manuscript.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email at [email protected]

Please feel free to share this call with colleagues.

Best,
RLJ editorial team

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
Language Acquisition
Linguistic Theories
Morphology
Semantics

Subject Language(s): Russian (rus)

Language Family(ies): East Slavic