Submissions

Author Guidelines

Instructions for Authors

After the manuscript is submitted to Sustainable Multilingualism, each manuscript receives an individual identification code that is used in all correspondence concerning the publication process.  

The journal editor screens and makes preliminary assessment to determine its suitability for the focus, target audience, and style of the journal, i.e., if the manuscript complies with the journal’s Author Guidelines. 

The journal is registered in the CrossRef system. It uses the CrossCheck plagiarism-detection system, powered by iThenticate, to screen newly submitted manuscripts for plagiarism and text overlap before they are sent to reviewers. 

Submission Checklist 

All submissions must meet the following requirements: 

·         This submission meets the requirements outlined in Author Guidelines. 

·         This submission is original and has not been previously published, nor is it under consideration elsewhere. 

·         Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets, and other material provided within this submission. 

A submission may be declined by the Editor without review if the studies reported are not sufficiently novel or important to merit publication in the journal. Manuscripts deemed unsuitable (fail to meet the criteria listed above) are rejected without review. 

AUTHOR ANONYMITY 

To ensure the integrity of the blind peer-review for submission to this journal, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other. This involves the authors, editors, and reviewers (who upload documents as part of their review) checking to see if the following steps have been taken concerning the text and file properties: 

1.    To ensure anonymity, the authors replace their names and source details with 'Author' and the publication year in all footnotes and references 

2.    For Microsoft Office documents, the author identification should also be removed from the file properties. In Windows, this is done via File > Info >Check for Issues > Inspect Document. On a Mac, navigate to the Review tab and select Protect document to check the setting that removes personal information when you save 

3.    For PDF files, the authors' names should also be removed from the Document Properties, which can be found under the 'File' menu in Adobe Acrobat. 

4.    The authors will be asked to add their names and affiliation to the manuscript only after copyediting. 

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS 

· The text should include all standard structural elements Introduction (with research questions at the end); Literature Review; Methodology; Results; Discussion (including limitations and implications at the end); Conclusions; References. 

· The text should be between 4000–7000 words, including Abstract in the main language (250-300 words; containing rationale, methods, and results) and References. 

· 4-6 keywords in the main language of the article should be provided after the Abstract (in alphabetical order, in the same line, separated by semicolons). 

Formatting Requirements 

· Articles should follow the requirements of the APA style (see Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed.). (2020). 

·  Spelling can be English (U.S.) or English (U.K.) as long as usage is consistent. 

Page size: 17.6x25.01 cm

Margins: Normal (2.54x2.54x2.54x2.54 cm)

Header position from top: 1.25 cm

Footer position from top: 1.25 cm

Font type: Verdana

Title in the main language of the article: 14pt bold, capital letters, align left. 

·  Abstract in the main language of the article: 9pt bold; text 8pt  

·  Keywords in the main language of the article: 9pt bold; actual words 8pt, 4–6 words 

·  Text of the article: 9pt 

After copyediting, to celebrate the linguistic diversity of our contributors, the authors will be invited to provide translations of the title, affiliation, abstract, and keywords in their home language, where possible.  

Line spacing: Single for Abstract and tables, 1.5 for the main text with one space left after the title and before and after the section headings. 

Headings in the article:

All headings are written in Title Case (important words capitalized) and boldface.

Level 1: 10pt bold, centered, Title Case Heading, text starts as a new paragraph;

Level 2: 10pt bold, left-justified, Title Case Heading, text starts as a new paragraph;

Level 3: 10pt bold italic, left-justified, Title Case Heading, text starts as a new paragraph;

Level 4: 10pt bold, indented, Title Case Heading, ending with a period, text starts on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

Level 5: 10pt bold, indented, Italic, Title Case Heading Ending with a Period. Paragraph text continues on the same line as a regular paragraph. 

References: 10pt bold; entries 9pt; 15–30 entries; entries are not numbered, follow alphabetical order. For several entries of the same author, a chronological order is applied. Titles of books and journals are written in italics. If electronic sources are assigned a DOI, it is to be indicated; hanging by 1.27 cm.

Footnotes: Verdana, 8pt, single spacing, justified.

Tables, Illustrations, and Figures

Given that the journal is published as a colorful online issue, the figures and graphs should be prepared so that the colorful figures are clear and visible in white and black text.

Table or Figure number (in bold, left-justified) and the heading (in italics, left-justified, all major words start with a capital letter) are written above the table or the figure, 9pt; text within figures and tables 8pt, single spacing (in the place where they have to appear in the text). 

In-Text Citations

Author-date method of citation: the author’s last name and the date of publication in the appropriate place of the text in parentheses, e.g., (Brown, 2014, p. 1). Use the word “and’ between the authors’ names within the text and use the ampersand in the parentheses and References. 40-word and longer quotations are placed in a free-standing block, single-spaced and indented in entirety by 1.27 cm from the left and right margins with quotation marks omitted.

REFERENCES: Example Entries

Books

Aronin, L. (2022). An advanced guide to multilingualism. Edinburgh University Press.

Edwards, J. (2023). Multilingualism: Understanding linguistic diversity (2^nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.

Chapters of a Book

Lüdi, G. (2022). Promoting plurilingualism and plurilingual education: A European perspective.  In E. Piccardo, A. Germain-Rutherford, & G. Lawrence (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of plurilingual language education, pp. 56-74. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.

Articles in journals

Korb, F., & Polzin-Haumann, C. (2026). Language policy implementation: The role of applied linguistics for knowledge transfer. Sustainable Multilingualism, 28, 1-21. Vytautas Magnus University. https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2026-0001

Conceição, M. C. (2025). Multilingual realities and language policy: Education, identity, and space. European Journal of Language Policy, 17(2), 161-163. Liverpool University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/55867

Abstract in the author's (s') home language is preferable.

To celebrate the linguistic diversity of our contributors, we invite authors to provide translations of the abstract, keywords, and author(s) affiliation(s) in their home language, where possible. 

Author’s (s’) name(s): 10pt bold.

Affiliation in English: 10pt; institution.

Title in English: 10pt bold, left justified.

Abstract in home language: 9pt bold; text 8pt, 250–300 words (contains rationale, material, methods, and results).

Keywords in home language: 9pt bold; actual words 8pt, 4–6 words (in the same line) in alphabetical order.