This publication in the Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics (AJAL) addresses five major concerns in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: (i) reducing the gap between domestic peripheral journals and mainstream international journals, (ii) improving novice researchers' academic writing skills, (iii) developing learners' pragmatic competence, (iv) relating teaching, learning, and testing, and (v) keeping up with the latest developments in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research and English Language Teaching (ELT) practices.
The articles in this issue reveal a tendency among MENA region researchers to conduct approximate replications of studies by leading experts in the field, such as John Swales, Ken Hyland, and Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig. The authors of the three approximate replications published here are from diverse countries including Algeria, Britain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the US, reflecting the global nature of the research community that informs their work.
By analyzing data from their local contexts, comparing findings with other contexts, and proposing theoretical and practical adjustments, these MENA researchers are making tangible contributions to the global knowledge base. AJAL is committed to reducing the center-periphery divide in academia and advocating for a more sophisticated discourse community membership, where the value of a researcher's work and contribution is emphasized over their nationality or native speaker status.
The editorial provides a detailed account of the publication process for the papers in this issue, highlighting the significant editorial work and mentoring provided by the AJAL team to support novice researchers in the region. This reveals that much high-quality research from the MENA context often remains unpublished due to the need for further training and support in producing publishable articles. AJAL aims to rescue and publish such valuable research to increase the global visibility and influence of scholars from the region, despite the challenges they face, especially in conflict zones.