1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes
  4. Volume 6, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 6, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2590-0994
  • E-ISSN: 2590-1001
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

The dominance of English as the uncontested language of international research publication has gained particular significance as a research concern. However, the sociopolitics of publishing in English by speakers of other languages, including the related national and institutional ideologies and policies in non-Anglophone contexts, remain under-investigated. In this study, we examined policies of academic writing for publication in Iranian higher education, specifically probing how these policies are received by university faculty members. Considering the official policies in this context, which underscore English as the favored language of publishing, we conducted semi-structured individual interviews (overall, around 80 hours) with 53 academics representing 46 universities from around the country (across two disciplinary categories of Social Sciences/Humanities and Basic Sciences/Engineering). The analysis of interviews through iterative qualitative coding revealed how the participants felt the pressure of policies for publishing in English as well as how most of them embraced, while a minority avoided or resisted, these policies. We discuss the implications of these orientations as well as similar trends that foster the dominance of English and its neoliberal associations around the non-Anglophone world.

© 2025 John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jerpp.25001.mir
2025-12-04
2026-01-13

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/jerpp.25001.mir
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Asrat, D., Hammad, W., & Robinson-Pant, A.
    (2021) Academic writing for publication: Putting the ‘international’ into context. Research in Comparative and International Education, 16(2), 160–180. 10.1177/17454999211009346
     https://doi.org/10.1177/17454999211009346 [Google Scholar]
  2. Bardi, M.
    (2015) Learning the practice of scholarly publication in English — A Romanian perspective. English for Specific Purposes, 37(2), 98–111. 10.1016/j.esp.2014.08.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2014.08.002 [Google Scholar]
  3. Benesch, S.
    (2001) Critical English for academic purposes: Theory, politics, and practice. Lawrence Erlbaum. 10.4324/9781410601803
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410601803 [Google Scholar]
  4. Canagarajah, S.
    (2002) A geopolitics of academic writing. University of Pittsburg Press. 10.2307/j.ctt5hjn6c
     https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt5hjn6c [Google Scholar]
  5. (2015) “Blessed in my own way:” Pedagogical affordances for dialogical voice construction in multilingual student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 27(1), 122–139. 10.1016/j.jslw.2014.09.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.09.001 [Google Scholar]
  6. (2022) Language diversity in academic writing: Toward decolonizing scholarly publishing. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 17(2), 107–128. 10.1080/17447143.2022.2063873
     https://doi.org/10.1080/17447143.2022.2063873 [Google Scholar]
  7. (2024) Decolonizing academic writing pedagogies for multilingual students. TESOL Quarterly, 58(1), 280–306. 10.1002/tesq.3231
     https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3231 [Google Scholar]
  8. (2025) Diversifying “English” at the decolonial turn. TESOL Quarterly, 59(1), 378–389. 10.1002/tesq.3306
     https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3306 [Google Scholar]
  9. Chang, D., Nyeu, F., & Chang, H.
    (2015) Balancing quality and quantity to build research universities in Taiwan. Higher Education, 70(2), 251–263. 10.1007/s10734‑014‑9841‑y
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9841-y [Google Scholar]
  10. Collins, H., & Holliday, A.
    (2022) Ethnography: Expanding the boundaries in EAP. InA. Ding & M. Evans (Eds.), Social theory for English for academic purposes: Foundations and perspectives (pp.176–197). Bloomsbury. 10.5040/9781350229198.ch‑8
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350229198.ch-8 [Google Scholar]
  11. Curry, M., & Lillis, T.
    (2013) Introduction to the thematic issue: Participating in academic publishing–consequences of linguistic policies and practices. Language Policy, 12(3),209–213. 10.1007/s10993‑013‑9286‑7
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-013-9286-7 [Google Scholar]
  12. (2018) Global academic publishing: Policies, perspectives and pedagogies. Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Doecke, B., & Mirhosseini, S. A.
    (2023) Multiple Englishes: Multiple ways of being in the world (A conversational inquiry). English in Education, 57(2), 76–90. 10.1080/04250494.2023.2189910
     https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2023.2189910 [Google Scholar]
  14. Doostdar, H. M., & Mirhosseini, S. A.
    (2009) The core and cover of quality in higher education. International Journal of Information Science and Management, 7(2), 45–55.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Duszak, A., & Lewkowicz, J.
    (2008) Publishing academic texts in English: A Polish perspective. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 71, 108–120. 10.1016/j.jeap.2008.03.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.03.001 [Google Scholar]
  16. Ekoc-Ozcelik, A.
    (2023) Challenges early career academics of ELT face in publishing in international journals. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes, 4(1), 56–79. 10.1075/jerpp.21022.eko
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.21022.eko [Google Scholar]
  17. Farasatkhah, M., Ghazi, M., & Bazargan, A.
    (2008) Quality challenge in Iran’s higher education: A historical review. Iranian Studies, 41(2), 115–138. 10.1080/00210860801913321
     https://doi.org/10.1080/00210860801913321 [Google Scholar]
  18. Flowerdew, J.
    (2013) Some thoughts on English for research publication purposes (ERPP) and related issues. Language Teaching, 48(2), 250–262. 10.1017/S0261444812000523
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444812000523 [Google Scholar]
  19. Flowerdew, J., & Habibie, P.
    (Eds.) (2022) Introducing English for research publication purposes. Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Habibie, P., & Starfield, S.
    (2021) Editorial: Knowledge construction and dissemination in a time of volatility and uncertainty. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes2(1), 1–4. 10.1075/jerpp.00003.edi
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.00003.edi [Google Scholar]
  21. Habibie, P., & Flowerdew, J.
    (2023) Critical language awareness and English for Research Publication Purposes. Journal of Second Language Writing, 601, 100990. 10.1016/j.jslw.2023.100990
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.100990 [Google Scholar]
  22. Ho, M.
    (2017) Navigating scholarly writing and international publishing: Individual agency of Taiwanese EAL doctoral students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 271, 1–13. 10.1016/j.jeap.2017.02.004
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.02.004 [Google Scholar]
  23. Huang, J. C.
    (2010) Publishing and learning writing for publication in English: Perspectives of NNES PhD students in science. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9(1), 33–44. 10.1016/j.jeap.2009.10.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2009.10.001 [Google Scholar]
  24. Hyland, K.
    (2023) Academic publishing and the attention economy. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 641, 101253. 10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101253
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101253 [Google Scholar]
  25. Kubota, R.
    (2020) Confronting epistemological racism, decolonizing scholarly knowledge: Race and gender in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 41(5), 712–732. 10.1093/applin/amz033
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz033 [Google Scholar]
  26. (2022) Decolonizing second language writing: Possibilities and challenges. Journal of Second Language Writing, 581, 100946. 10.1016/j.jslw.2022.100946
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2022.100946 [Google Scholar]
  27. Kuteeva, M.
    (2023) Knowledge flows and languages of publication: English as a bridge and a fence in international knowledge exchanges. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes, 4(1), 80–93. 10.1075/jerpp.22008.kut
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.22008.kut [Google Scholar]
  28. Lee, H., & Lee, K.
    (2013) Publish (in international indexed journals) or perish: Neoliberal ideology in a Korean university. Language Policy,12(3),215–230. 10.1007/s10993‑012‑9267‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-012-9267-2 [Google Scholar]
  29. Li, X., Horta, H., Jung, J.
    (2023) University ranking games in East Asia: Triggers and consequences. InW. O. Lee, P. Brown, A. L. Goodwin, & A. Green (Eds), International handbook on education development in Asia-Pacific (pp.1–18). Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑16‑2327‑1_91‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2327-1_91-2 [Google Scholar]
  30. Lin, A. M. Y.
    (2024) Can the Monkey King break through the ‘Jin-Gang-Quan’ (金剛圈)? Overcoming the multiple contradictions in EMI education. Language and Education, 38(1), 139–147. 10.1080/09500782.2023.2284802
     https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2023.2284802 [Google Scholar]
  31. Luo, N., & Hyland, K.
    (2019) “I won’t publish in Chinese now”: Publishing, translation and the non-English speaking academic. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 39(1), 37–47. 10.1016/j.jeap.2019.03.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.03.003 [Google Scholar]
  32. Malekinia, E., Malekinia, Z., & Feizi, S.
    (2019) [Imperative strategies for Iranian higher education system in globalization age] (Persian). Quarterly Journal of Macro and Strategic Policies, 6(4), 518–545. 10.32598/JMSP.6.4.518
     https://doi.org/10.32598/JMSP.6.4.518 [Google Scholar]
  33. Mansouri Nejad, A., Qaracholloo, M., & Rezaei, S.
    (2020) Iranian doctoral students’ shared experience of English-medium publication: The case of humanities and social sciences. Higher Education, 80(2), 255–271. 10.1007/s10734‑019‑00478‑1
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00478-1 [Google Scholar]
  34. Martín Rojo, L.
    (2021) Hegemonies and inequalities in academia. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 267–2681, 169–192. 10.1515/ijsl‑2020‑0077
     https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2020-0077 [Google Scholar]
  35. McNay, I.
    (2007) Research assessment; researcher autonomy. InC. Kayrooz, G. S. Akerlind, & M. Tight (Eds.), Autonomy in social science research (pp.183–216). Emerald.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Mirhosseini, S. A.
    (2018) Issues of ideology in English language education worldwide: An overview. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 26(1), 19–33. 10.1080/14681366.2017.1318415
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2017.1318415 [Google Scholar]
  37. (2020) Doing qualitative research in language education. Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑030‑56492‑6
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56492-6 [Google Scholar]
  38. Mirhosseini, S. A., & De Costa, P.
    (2025a) Critical English medium instruction: Problematizing neocolonial language dominance. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 33 (3), 1111–1127. 10.1080/14681366.2024.2382260
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2024.2382260 [Google Scholar]
  39. (Eds.) (2025b) Critical English medium instruction in higher education. Cambridge University Press, 1–23. 10.1017/9781009386456
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009386456 [Google Scholar]
  40. Mirhosseini, S. A., & Jiang, L.
    (2025) Is the dominance complete?: The (im)possibility of projecting diverse sociocultural voices in L2 English publishing. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies. 10.1080/15427587.2025.2503710
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2025.2503710 [Google Scholar]
  41. Mirhosseini, S. A., Rashed, F., & Shirazizadeh, M.
    (2024) We have become protectors of English: Revisiting policies of publishing in English in non-Anglophone academia. Current Issues in Language Planning, 25(3), 266–284. 10.1080/14664208.2023.2293524
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2023.2293524 [Google Scholar]
  42. Mirhosseini, S. A., & Shafiee, Z.
    (2019) Writing louder? Coping with the push to publish in English at an Iranian university. InJ. Corcoran, K. Englander, & L. Muresan (Eds.), Pedagogies and policies on publishing research in English: Local initiatives supporting international scholars (pp.252–265). Routledge. 10.4324/9781315151229‑15
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315151229-15 [Google Scholar]
  43. Mousavi, S. I., Kiany, G., Akbari, R., & Gafarsamar, R.
    (2016) The process of developing disciplinary genre awareness through training academic writing skills: A case study. Language Related Research, 7(3), 171–196.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Mujtaba, S. M., Gol., A. K., Parkash, R.
    (2023) The impact of writing strategy instruction: Undergraduate students’ academic writing performance and strategy use. Language Related Research, 14(1), 305–334.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Mur-Duenas, P.
    (2019) The experience of a NNES outer circle novice scholar in scholarly publication. InP. Habibie & K. Hyland (Eds.), Novice writers and scholarly publication (pp.97–115). Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑95333‑5_6
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95333-5_6 [Google Scholar]
  46. Muresan, L. M., & Pérez-Llantada, C.
    (2014) English for research publication and dissemination in bi-/multiliterate environments: The case of Romanian academics. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 13(4), 53–64. 10.1016/j.jeap.2013.10.009
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.10.009 [Google Scholar]
  47. Navarro, F., Lillis, T., Donahue, T., Curry, M. J., Ávila Reyes, N., Gustafsson, M., Zavala, V., Lauría, D., Lukin, A., McKinney, C., Feng, H., & Motta-Roth, D.
    (2022) Rethinking English as a lingua franca in scientific-academic contexts. A position statement. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes, 3(1), 143–153. 10.1075/jerpp.21012.nav
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.21012.nav [Google Scholar]
  48. O’Regan, J.
    (2021) Global English and political economy. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315749334
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315749334 [Google Scholar]
  49. Pennycook, A.
    (2007) ELT and colonialism. InJ. Cummins & C. Davison (Eds.), International handbook of English language teaching (pp.13–24). Springer. 10.1007/978‑0‑387‑46301‑8_2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-46301-8_2 [Google Scholar]
  50. (2021) Critical applied linguistics: A critical reintroduction (2nd ed.). Routledge. 10.4324/9781003090571
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003090571 [Google Scholar]
  51. Phillipson, R.
    (2012) Linguistic imperialism alive and kicking. The Guardian, 13 March. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/mar/13/linguistic-imperialism-english-language-teaching
     [Google Scholar]
  52. (2009) Linguistic imperialism continued. Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Politzer-Ahles, S., Girolamo, T., & Ghali, S.
    (2020) Preliminary evidence of linguistic bias in academic reviewing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 471, 100895. 10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100895
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100895 [Google Scholar]
  54. Politzer-Ahles, S., Holliday, J. J., Girolamo, T., Spychalska, M., & Harper Berkson, K.
    (2016) Is linguistic injustice a myth? A response to Hyland (2016). Journal of Second Language Writing, 341, 3–8. 10.1016/j.jslw.2016.09.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2016.09.003 [Google Scholar]
  55. Rajaee, A.
    (2023) Pathology of higher education policy making in Iran. Journal of Iranian Higher Education, 14(3), 20–39.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Rashed, F., Mirhosseini, S. A. & Shirazizadeh, M.
    (2023) Write in their tongue: Iranian higher education policies of publishing in English. Language Related Research, 14(1), 63–87. https://lrr.modares.ac.ir/article-14-59495-en.html
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Rezaei, S., & Seyri, H.
    (2019) Iranian doctoral students’ perceptions of publication in English: Motives, hurdles, and strategies. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 11(4), 941–954. 10.1108/JARHE‑02‑2019‑0040
     https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-02-2019-0040 [Google Scholar]
  58. Riazi, M., Ghanbar, H., & Fazel, I.
    (2020) The contexts, theoretical and methodological orientation of EAP research: Evidence from empirical articles published in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 481, 100925. 10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100925
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100925 [Google Scholar]
  59. Sah, P., & Fang, F.
    (Eds.) (2023) Policies, politics, and ideologies of English-medium instruction in Asian universities: Unsettling critical edges. Routledge. 10.4324/9781003173120
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003173120 [Google Scholar]
  60. (2024) Decolonizing English-medium instruction in the Global South. TESOL Quarterly, 59(1), 565–579. 10.1002/tesq.3307
     https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3307 [Google Scholar]
  61. Salager-Meyer, F.
    (2008) Scientific publishing in developing countries: Challenges for the future. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(2), 121–132. 10.1016/j.jeap.2008.03.009
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.03.009 [Google Scholar]
  62. (2014) Writing and publishing in peripheral scholarly journals: How to enhance the global influence of multilingual scholars?Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 13(1), 78–82. 10.1016/j.jeap.2013.11.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.11.003 [Google Scholar]
  63. Salö, L.
    (2017) The sociolinguistics of academic publishing: Language and the practices of homo academicus. Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑58940‑4
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58940-4 [Google Scholar]
  64. Sandy, W., & Shen, H.
    (2019) Publish to earn incentives: How do Indonesian professors respond to the new policy?Higher Education, 77(2), 247–263. 10.1007/s10734‑018‑0271‑0
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0271-0 [Google Scholar]
  65. Smirnova, N. V., Lillis, T., & Hultgren, A. K.
    (2021) English and/or Russian medium publications? A case study exploring academic research writing in contemporary Russian academia. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 531, 101015. 10.1016/j.jeap.2021.101015
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2021.101015 [Google Scholar]
  66. Soler, J.
    (2019) Academic publishing in English: Exploring linguistic privilege and scholars’ trajectories. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 18(6), 389–399. 10.1080/15348458.2019.1671193
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2019.1671193 [Google Scholar]
  67. Strauss, P., & Manalo, E.
    (2023) “Most good papers are published in English”: Japanese academics’ perspectives on the benefits and drawbacks of writing and publishing in English. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes, 4(1), 5–28. 10.1075/jerpp.22009.str
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.22009.str [Google Scholar]
  68. Sun, Y.
    (2023) Increasing critical language awareness through translingual practices in academic writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 621, 101229. 10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101229
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101229 [Google Scholar]
  69. Tracy, S. J.
    (2020) Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact (2nd ed.). Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. Vila, F. X.
    (2021) The hegemonic position of English in the academic field: Between scientific diglossia and academic lingua franca. European Journal of Language Policy, 13(1), 47–73. 10.3828/ejlp.2021.5
     https://doi.org/10.3828/ejlp.2021.5 [Google Scholar]
  71. Wright, S.
    (2016) Language policy and language planning. Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑1‑137‑57647‑7
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-57647-7 [Google Scholar]
  72. Yokoyama, K.
    (2006) The effect of the research assessment exercise on organisational culture in English universities: Collegiality versus managerialism. Tertiary Education and Management, 12(4), 311–322. 10.1080/13583883.2006.9967176
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2006.9967176 [Google Scholar]
  73. Zheng, Y., & Guo, X.
    (2019) Publishing in and about English: Challenges and opportunities of Chinese multilingual scholars’ language practices in academic publishing. Language Policy, 18(1), 107–130. 10.1007/s10993‑018‑9464‑8
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-018-9464-8 [Google Scholar]
  74. Zotzmann, K., & Sheldrake, R.
    (2021) Postgraduate students’ beliefs about and confidence for academic writing in the field of applied linguistics. Journal of Second Language Writing, 52(3), 1–15. 10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100810
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100810 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jerpp.25001.mir
Loading
English for publication or publication for English?
Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes 6, 93 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.25001.mir
/content/journals/10.1075/jerpp.25001.mir
/content/journals/10.1075/jerpp.25001.mir
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): academic publication policy; English for publication purposes; higher education policy; Iranian higher education; writing for publication

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error