Language Teaching Futures
type: channel
description: Language Teaching Futures is a peer-reviewed international journal dedicated to advancing research and critical scholarship on the evolving landscapes of language education. The journal aims to explore forward-looking, innovative, and research-informed perspectives on the future of language teaching and learning across diverse contexts. We welcome original contributions that examine the trajectories, transformations, and challenges in language education, particularly as they relate to: Futures thinking in language learning and teaching Sustainability and ecological approaches in language education Psychological and cognitive dimensions of second language acquisition (SLA) and pedagogy The teaching and learning of L2 skills (e.g., vocabulary, reading, listening, grammar) The evolving roles and futures of subfields such as pragmatics, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), English for Specific Purposes (ESP), and their pedagogical implications Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technological innovation in language education, including AI-powered tools, digital games, gamification strategies, immersive technologies (e.g., AR/VR), intelligent tutoring systems, and other innovative platforms for teaching, learning, and assessment The journal encourages interdisciplinary approaches that draw from applied linguistics, education, psychology, future studies, and digital innovation. We prioritize submissions that not only contribute to current knowledge but also anticipate shifts in pedagogical paradigms, learner needs, technological integration, and policy development. Language Teaching Futures serves as a platform for researchers, educators, and policymakers seeking to critically engage with the forces shaping the future of language education globally.
language: en
publication name: Language Teaching Futures
items: Why the Futures of Language Education Must Be Examined
items: Profiling Language Teachers’ Implicit Theories of the Future: Future Mindsets as Predictors of Language Teachers’ Emotions

Why the Futures of Language Education Must Be Examined
type: item
description: Why do you teach languages? If you ask a group of language teachers, the answers will often be future-oriented. We teach foreign languages to the students so that they can access opportunities, travel to other countries, participate in various communities and build lives beyond the present moment. However, in orienting language teaching toward the future, we rarely pause to contemplate on how specific images of the future come to shape what language teaching will become. This first special issue of Language Teaching Futures provides a space to slow down and reflect on the interplay between human futures and language education. It proceeds from the recognition that futures are not neutral backdrops to pedagogical activities and educational practices, but powerful imaginaries that organize priorities, distribute values, identify desirable scenarios, and shape who language learners might become. At a moment marked by climate and geopolitical uncertainty, technological innovation, environmental crisis and linguistic inequality, futures involved in language learning and teaching matter more than any time before. Exploring those futures, critically, ethically, and imaginatively, is not speculative indulgence but a necessary and pedagogical task. This journal is founded to support that work. References Ahvenharju, S., Minkkinen, M., & Lalot, F. (2018). The five dimensions of Futures Consciousness. Futures, 104, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2018.06.010 Chen, K.H., & Hsu, L. P. (2020). Visioning the future: Evaluating learning outcomes and impacts of futures-oriented education. Journal of Futures Studies, 24, 103-116. https://doi.org/10.6531/JFS_2020_06_24(04).0011 Facer, K. (2021). Futures in education: Towards an ethical practice (Background paper for the UNESCO Futures of Education initiative). UNESCO. Gidley, J. M., & Hampson, G. P. (2005). The evolution of futures in school education. Futures, 37(4), 255–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.07.005 Lalo…
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
subject: futures literacy
  topic: keywords
subject: language education
  topic: keywords
subject: language teaching
  topic: keywords
subject: futures studies
  topic: keywords
subject: futures and foresight
  topic: keywords
creator: Nourollah Zarrinabadi
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Language Teaching Futures https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
date: 2025-12-21
publication date: 2025-12-21
starting page: 1
ending page: 5

Profiling Language Teachers’ Implicit Theories of the Future: Future Mindsets as Predictors of Language Teachers’ Emotions
type: item
description: This study explored language teachers’ beliefs about the malleability of their futures and their relationship with their teaching emotions of enjoyment, anger and anxiety. Drawing on Dweck’s mindset theory, the present study introduced the concept of future mindsets and explored whether teachers’ beliefs about the changeability of their futures could predict their emotions of enjoyment, anger, and anxiety. The data were collected from 300 Iranian language teachers using the Teachers’ Future Mindset Scale (Dweck, 2006) and the Teacher Emotions Scale (Frenzel et al., 2016). Latent profile analysis showed three distinct profiles of future mindsets: growth-oriented, mixed, and fixed-oriented. The of the study also showed that age and gender did not significantly predict profile membership, but future mindset profiles significantly predicted emotional outcomes. The results also showed that teachers with growth-oriented future mindsets reported higher enjoyment and lower levels of anger and anxiety. These findings suggest that promoting growth-oriented future mindsets can increase teachers’ emotions and emotional experiences in educational contexts. References Alirezei Alavijeh, F., & Zarrinabadi, N. (2025). If only I had selected a different job: Exploring causes, consequences, and profiles of language teacher regret. System, 130, 103624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2025.103624 Barcelos, A. M. F., & Aragão, R. C. (2018). Emotions in language teaching: A review of studies on teacher emotions in Brazil. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 41(4), 506-531. https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2018-0036 Becker, E. S., Goetz, T., Morger, V., & Ranellucci, J. (2014). Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.05.002 Benesch, S. (2017). Emotions and English language teaching: Exploring teachers’ emotion labor. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315736181 Chen, J. (2018). Exploring the impact of teacher emotions on their approaches to teac…
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: mindsets, future mindsets, teacher emotions, enjoyment, anxiety, anger
  topic: keywords
creator: Alireza Mohammadzadeh Mohammadabadi
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Language Teaching Futures https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
date: 2025-12-21
publication date: 2025-12-21
starting page: 6
ending page: 22