For Authors

The authors of the articles should meet these authorship criteria to be listed as authors in the manuscript as they must be able to take public responsibility for the content: (i) made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis/interpretation of the study; and (ii) drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content; and (iii) have seen and approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication.

All persons who made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (such as technical help, writing and editing assistance, general support) but who do not meet the criteria for authorship must not be listed as an author, but should be listed as co-authors and should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgments" section. The corresponding author should ensure that all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons are included in the author list and also verify that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.

Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Authors should submit only entirely original works, and will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should also be cited. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Information obtained privately (from conversation, correspondence or discussion with third parties) or  in the course of providing confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.

The articles should be submitted in English.

Papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal.  Manuscripts which have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. Submission of a manuscript concurrently to more than one journal is unethical publishing behavior and unacceptable.

Authors should at the earliest stage possible disclose any conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include financial ones such as honoraria, educational grants or other funding, membership, employment, consultancies etc. as well as non-financial ones such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the work should be disclosed.

Authors are obliged to cooperate fully by responding promptly to editors’ requests for clarifications and proof of ethics approval, copyright permissions. In the case of a first decision of "revisions necessary", authors should respond to the reviewers’ comments systematically, point by point, and in a timely manner, revising and re-submitting their manuscript to the journal by the deadline given.

When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal’s editors or publisher and cooperate with them to retract or correct the paper in form of an erratum. 

Instructions for Authors

Types of paper

Full length articles should not normally exceed 10,000 words excluding tables. Brief reports should be no more than 5000 words.

Contact details for submission

Submission

Submission to this journal proceeds online, and you will be guided stepwise through creating and uploading your files.

To upload articles, you must visit the journal’s website and register at the following link: https://multilingualeducation.openjournals.ge/index.php/ijml/user/register

After the registration, you select the AUTHOR column, and you can start uploading the article according to the steps. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and/or via the submission system.

Peer Review

The International Journal of Multilingual Education employs double blind reviewing, where both the referee and the author remain anonymous throughout the process. Authors should remove any personal reference to their previous work to ensure that the review process is double blind. All submissions to the journal, including regular issues and conference proceedings, undergo a journal-level double-blind peer review process.

  • Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent experts.

  • Authors and reviewers remain anonymous to ensure impartiality.

  • The editorial board oversees the process to maintain consistency and academic standards.

  • Only submissions meeting the journal’s scholarly and ethical criteria are accepted for publication.

Proofs

One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author or a link will be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download the files themselves.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should reflect significant intellectual contributions to the work. Authors must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for intellectual content
  • Final approval of the version to be published
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

We follow the ICMJE authorship guidelines. Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Changes to authorship (including order, additions, or removals) must be approved by all co-authors and the editor before publication.

Research Involving Human Participants

For studies involving human participants, authors must confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with international ethical standards. Informed consent from participants (or their legal guardians) must be documented.

Conflicts of Interest

All participants in the publication process—editors, authors, reviewers, and journal staff—must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could influence their objectivity.

  • Authors must declare all relevant conflicts of interest upon submission.
  • Reviewers must decline to review if they feel unable to provide an unbiased assessment.
  • Editors must recuse themselves from decisions on manuscripts where a conflict exists (e.g., authorship, institutional affiliation, or personal relationships).
  • Guest Editors must follow the same ethical standards and are monitored by the Editor-in-Chief.
  • The publisher and editorial staff are expected to avoid influence over editorial decisions and maintain transparency in all operations.

All conflict of interest statements will be published alongside the article where relevant.

Research and Publication Ethics

Authors are expected to follow the journal’s publication ethics as outlined in our ethics section. This includes standards for plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, and authorship integrity. Cases of ethical misconduct will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines, including the possibility of retraction or correction where necessary.

Handling Appeals

Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the editorial office, clearly stating the grounds for reconsideration. Appeals will be reviewed by a member of the editorial board not involved in the original decision. If needed, an external expert may be consulted. All appeals will be addressed transparently, fairly, and promptly, with final decisions made within 4–6 weeks.

Article structure

It is recommended to follow the following structure while preparing a manuscript for submission.

Title page;

Abstract;

Keywords;

Introduction

Literature Review

Methodology

Research Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgments;

Declaration of interest statement;

References;

Appendices (as appropriate);

 Text Formatting

Font

Use Times New Roman font in size 12 with 1,5 lines.

Margins

Margins should be at least 2.5cm (1 inch).

Title

Use bold for your article title, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.

Abstract

Indicate the abstract paragraph with a heading or by reducing the font size.

Keywords

Keywords help readers find your article, so are vital for discoverability. If the journal instructions for authors don’t give a set number of keywords to provide, aim for 3 to six.

Headings

This will show you the different levels of the heading section in the article:

  1. First-level headings (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion) should be in bold, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  2. Second-level headings should be in bold italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  3. Third-level headings should be in italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  4. Fourth-level headings should be in bold italics, at the beginning of a paragraph. The text follows immediately after a full stop (full point) or other punctuation mark.
  5. Fifth-level headings should be in italics, at the beginning of a paragraph. The text follows immediately after a full stop (full point) or other punctuation mark.

Citations and References

APA style 7th edition

Ensure that the following items are present:

One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:

  • E-mail address
  • Full postal address
  • Phone numbers

All necessary files have been uploaded, and contain:

  • Keywords
  • All figure captions
  • All tables (including title, description, footnotes)

Further considerations

  • Manuscript has been 'spell-checked' and 'grammar-checked'
  • References are in the correct format for this journal
  • All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa
  • Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web)