From Gatekeeping to Brokerage: A Collaborative Ethnography of Editorial Work in International English as a Foreign Language Journals.
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| Title: | From Gatekeeping to Brokerage: A Collaborative Ethnography of Editorial Work in International English as a Foreign Language Journals. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Le, Thanh Thao1 (AUTHOR) thaole@ctu.edu.vn, Phuong, Hoang Yen1 (AUTHOR), Pham, Trut Thuy2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Learned Publishing. Apr2026, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p1-11. 11p. |
| Subjects: | English as a foreign language, Translating & interpreting, Professional peer review, Applied linguistics, Scholarly periodicals, Identity (Psychology), Editorial writing |
| Abstract: | Editors are often cast as gatekeepers who police the boundaries of knowledge. Yet in non‐Anglophone settings, editorial practice is also translational, relational and identity‐forming. We present a collaborative ethnography by a three‐member authorship team, including two women and one man, who simultaneously served in editorial roles across international, English‐medium journals in English as a foreign language (EFL)/applied linguistics. Drawing on fieldnotes, decision letters, reviewer exchanges, platform logs and reflexive journals, we theorise editorial brokerage: the day‐to‐day mediations through which editors translate standards across epistemic traditions, mobilise networks to calibrate judgement and negotiate role/time frictions within teaching‐intensive institutions. We integrate sociocultural theory and communities of practice to propose the Editorial Brokerage Cycle: linking tensions, mediations, identity work and outcomes. Findings are organised as five ethnographic vignettes, including decision letters as pedagogical genre, epistemic translation, reviewer ecologies, temporal/role frictions and becoming an editor. Each ends with a micro‐proposition. Key Points: Editorial work in international EFL journals is not only gatekeeping, but it is also editorial brokerage: translational, relational and identity work that helps make locally grounded scholarship legible to international audiences without lowering standards.Decision letters matter as mediational tools. Letters that first name the paper's claim and required argument‐level revisions, before surface corrections, produced faster and more coherent revisions in most revise‐and‐resubmit cases.Many apparent 'language problems' were actually problems of epistemic translation. Authors benefited when editors prompted them to clarify the claim, position local constructs for wider readers and guide interpretation of results.Reviewer ecologies shape judgement quality. Pairing complementary reviewers and separating contribution clarity from methodological adequacy generated clearer reviewer convergence and shorter decision times than ad hoc reviewer selection.Editorial brokerage also emerged as an identity trajectory: through shared templates, reviewer networks and debriefing, editors developed a clearer, more confident and more care‐attuned editorial voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Learned Publishing is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 193323204 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: From Gatekeeping to Brokerage: A Collaborative Ethnography of Editorial Work in International English as a Foreign Language Journals. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Le%2C+Thanh+Thao%22">Le, Thanh Thao</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> thaole@ctu.edu.vn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Phuong%2C+Hoang+Yen%22">Phuong, Hoang Yen</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pham%2C+Trut+Thuy%22">Pham, Trut Thuy</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Learned+Publishing%22">Learned Publishing</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p1-11. 11p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+as+a+foreign+language%22">English as a foreign language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Translating+%26+interpreting%22">Translating & interpreting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+peer+review%22">Professional peer review</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Applied+linguistics%22">Applied linguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scholarly+periodicals%22">Scholarly periodicals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Identity+%28Psychology%29%22">Identity (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Editorial+writing%22">Editorial writing</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Editors are often cast as gatekeepers who police the boundaries of knowledge. Yet in non‐Anglophone settings, editorial practice is also translational, relational and identity‐forming. We present a collaborative ethnography by a three‐member authorship team, including two women and one man, who simultaneously served in editorial roles across international, English‐medium journals in English as a foreign language (EFL)/applied linguistics. Drawing on fieldnotes, decision letters, reviewer exchanges, platform logs and reflexive journals, we theorise editorial brokerage: the day‐to‐day mediations through which editors translate standards across epistemic traditions, mobilise networks to calibrate judgement and negotiate role/time frictions within teaching‐intensive institutions. We integrate sociocultural theory and communities of practice to propose the Editorial Brokerage Cycle: linking tensions, mediations, identity work and outcomes. Findings are organised as five ethnographic vignettes, including decision letters as pedagogical genre, epistemic translation, reviewer ecologies, temporal/role frictions and becoming an editor. Each ends with a micro‐proposition. Key Points: Editorial work in international EFL journals is not only gatekeeping, but it is also editorial brokerage: translational, relational and identity work that helps make locally grounded scholarship legible to international audiences without lowering standards.Decision letters matter as mediational tools. Letters that first name the paper's claim and required argument‐level revisions, before surface corrections, produced faster and more coherent revisions in most revise‐and‐resubmit cases.Many apparent 'language problems' were actually problems of epistemic translation. Authors benefited when editors prompted them to clarify the claim, position local constructs for wider readers and guide interpretation of results.Reviewer ecologies shape judgement quality. Pairing complementary reviewers and separating contribution clarity from methodological adequacy generated clearer reviewer convergence and shorter decision times than ad hoc reviewer selection.Editorial brokerage also emerged as an identity trajectory: through shared templates, reviewer networks and debriefing, editors developed a clearer, more confident and more care‐attuned editorial voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Learned Publishing is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1002/leap.2053 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 11 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: English as a foreign language Type: general – SubjectFull: Translating & interpreting Type: general – SubjectFull: Professional peer review Type: general – SubjectFull: Applied linguistics Type: general – SubjectFull: Scholarly periodicals Type: general – SubjectFull: Identity (Psychology) Type: general – SubjectFull: Editorial writing Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: From Gatekeeping to Brokerage: A Collaborative Ethnography of Editorial Work in International English as a Foreign Language Journals. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Le, Thanh Thao – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Phuong, Hoang Yen – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pham, Trut Thuy IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09531513 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 39 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Learned Publishing Type: main |
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