Editorial / Éditorial
When students find out that we edit a journal, they often ask questions about what that entails. We realize that many people may not actually know the steps that we take in order to shepherd a manuscript through to publication. The CMLR editorial meetings take place roughly every three weeks throughout the year, and they follow a similar format each time. Several days before the appointed date, we receive a package from University of Toronto Press or download new articles and reviews from PReSTO on the CMLR Web site. Each of us reads every new submission and every review. We take turns phoning each other, and whoever receives the call takes the minutes. Every article is thoroughly discussed before we make an in-house decision as to whether it should be sent out for review. Over the course of a year we receive several manuscripts of merit that would find a better fit with another journal; in those cases, we suggest to the authors that they consider another venue [End Page 169] for their work. We also receive some submissions that, for a variety of reasons, do not come up to CMLR's standards, and in those instances we try to point out, in our rejection letter, elements the authors might consider to improve the article. The remaining articles are sent out for review. Both of us come up with a list of names of scholars and educators who have the expertise necessary to judge the manuscripts. Once reviewers have been chosen, we ask our Editorial Assistant, Dina Theleritis, to send letters of request; we write the letters to those whose work we are unable to accept, and we write to authors asking for revisions. In the intervening three weeks, we have periods when there is a great flurry of e-mails about editorial issues; Dina keeps us on our toes with journal matters as they arise. It is a pleasure for us to work with Dina, and with Emma Scratch, our former assistant, who is now the Production Coordinator; Sylvia Hunter, Editorial Services Supervisor; Audrey Greenwood, Advertising and Marketing Coordinator; and Anne Marie Corrigan, the Vice President, Journals.
The September 2006 special issue on vocabulary had an extraordinary number of excellent submissions, far too many to include in a single [End Page 170] issue. For that reason, two articles accepted by the guest editors, Marlise Horst and Tom Cobb, appear here, and two more will be published in the March 2007 issue. Michael Lessard-Clouston's article, 'Breadth and Depth: Specialized Vocabulary Learning in Theology among Native and Non-native English Speakers,' is a fascinating examination of a topic that does not usually receive much attention. Derin Atay and Gökce Kurt's Focus on the Classroom piece, 'Elementary School EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning: The Effects of Post-reading Activities,' was also originally accepted for the special issue. In another Focus on the Classroom article, 'L1 Use in the L2 Classroom: One Teacher's Self-Evaluation,' Anne Edstrom puts the spotlight on her own actions and suggests that other teachers would benefit from assessing their classroom practices through the use of recordings and reflective journals. Our other offerings this issue include Lynn Wiltse's '"Like Pulling Teeth": Oral Discourse Practices in a Culturally Diverse Language Arts Classroom,' a qualitative study that examines the use of a 'community of practice' framework in analyzing classroom social interaction. Catherine Mattar and Christiane [End Page 171] Blondin have contributed an interesting study titled 'Apprentissage coopératif et prises de parole en langue cible dans deux classes en immersion.' This manuscript highlights the successful use of cooperative learning activities in developing oral competence in immersion students.
It is traditional, at the end of the year, to look back and remember people who are no longer with us. This year many friends and...
