System (journal)

System
DisciplineApplied linguistics, education
LanguageEnglish
Edited byMairin Hennebry-Leung, Chun Lai, Jim McKinley, Yongyan Zheng
Publication details
History1973-present
Publisher
Frequency8/year
Hybrid
8.0 (2025)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4System
Indexing
ISSN0346-251X
LCCN81643610
OCLC no.833467391
Links

System is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the applications of educational technology and applied linguistics to problems of foreign language teaching and learning. It was established in 1973 and has been published by Elsevier since 1991. Until 2013, the journal published four issues per year. In 2014, it published six issues, and since 2015 it has published eight issues per year. Since October 2019 (volume 85), articles have been published electronically only.

Abstracting, indexing, and ranking

The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal had a 2025 impact factor of 8.0, ranking it 5th out of 312 journals in the category "Linguistics" and 16th out of 762 journals in the category "Education".

Editors

As of January 2026, the editors-in-chief are Mairin Hennebry-Leung (University of Melbourne), Chun Lai (University of Hong Kong), Jim McKinley (University College London), and Yongyan Zheng (Fudan University).

Former editors

Former editors of the journal include:

Editor Affiliation Term
Norman Davies Linköping University 1973–2010
James A. Coleman Open University 2010–2013
Lluïsa Astruc Open University 2013–2017
Sarah Mercer University of Graz 2013–2017
Xuesong (Andy) Gao University of New South Wales 2014–2021
Ursula Stickler Open University 2014–2019
Lawrence Jun Zhang University of Auckland 2016–2024
Marta González-Lloret University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017–2021
Idoia Elola Texas Tech University 2020–2025

Associate editors

At different points in its history, System has appointed associate editors with responsibility for handling manuscript submissions and peer review, a role commensurate with journal editor leadership. From 2010 to 2013, James A. Coleman served as editor-in-chief with Lluïsa Astruc, Regine Hampel and, during 2013, Xuesong (Andy) Gao serving as associate editors. Following Coleman's departure, the journal adopted a co-editor structure without a separate associate-editor tier. The associate-editor role was later reintroduced as the journal's editorial structure expanded. Several associate editors, including Idoia Elola, Yongyan Zheng and Chun Lai, later became editors-in-chief.

Associate editor Term
Lluïsa Astruc 2011–2013
Regine Hampel 2011–2013
Xuesong (Andy) Gao 2013
Idoia Elola 2019–2020
Yongyan Zheng 2021
Vincent Greenier 2022–2025
Nathan Thomas 2023–present
M. Camino Bueno-Alastuey 2024–present
Xuesong (Andy) Gao 2024–present
Chun Lai 2024–2025
Phil Hiver 2025
Suhad Sonbul 2025–present
Phung Dao 2025–present
Meagan Driver 2026–present
Joseph P. Vitta 2026–present

Student Editorial Board

System established a Student Editorial Board in 2022, led by 'Student Editor', Nathan Thomas, to provide doctoral students with experience of editorial work, including manuscript reviewing and editorial decision-making under the guidance of the journal's editors. The board continues as part of the journal's editorial structure.

Book review editors

The journal has had a dedicated book review editor since 1977.

Editor Affiliation Term
Udo O. H. Jung University of Marburg; University of Bayreuth 1977–1996
David Little Trinity College Dublin 1996–2000
Robert Vanderplank University of Oxford 2001–2016
Jim McKinley University College London 2017–2019
Vincent Greenier University of Aberdeen 2019-2022
Pascal Matzler Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso 2022–2026
Kari Sahan University of Oxford 2026–present

See also

References

  1. ↑ McKinley, Jim (April 2024). "Fifty years of System research and projections for the future". System. 121. doi:10.1016/j.system.2023.103210.
  2. 1 2 3 "System". MIAR: Information Matrix for the Analysis of Journals. University of Barcelona. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  3. ↑ "Source details: System". Scopus Preview. Elsevier. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  4. ↑ "Web of Science Master Journal List". Intellectual Property & Science. Clarivate. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  5. ↑ "System". 2025 Journal Citation Reports (Social Sciences ed.). Clarivate. 2026 – via Web of Science.
  6. 1 2 "Editorial board - System". Elsevier. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Coleman, James A. (2014). "How to get published in English: Advice from the outgoing Editor-in-Chief". System. 42: 404–411. doi:10.1016/j.system.2014.01.004.
  8. ↑ "How to Get Published in a TESOL or Applied Linguistics Serial Publication" (PDF). TESOL International Association. 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Editorial board - System". Elsevier. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "Professor Andy Gao". University of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  11. ↑ McKinley, Jim; Zhang, Lawrence Jun; Elola, Idoia; Hennebry-Leung, Mairin; Zheng, Yongyan; Greenier, Vincent; Thomas, Nathan; Matzler, Pascal (2024). "Fifty years of System research and projections for the future". System. 121: 103210.
  12. ↑ "Editorial board - System". Elsevier. Retrieved 11 September 2026.