First publications in refereed English journals: Difficulties, coping strategies, and recommendations for student training

This research studies the first attempts by applied linguistics doctoral students in Hong Kong to publish their work in a refereed journal in English. Interviews were conducted with students to learn about their experience in the publication process. The interview data indicate that the applied linguistics doctoral students adopted specific strategies in tackling difficulties that arose in their publication efforts. The strategies included selecting areas of study which they were familiar with for their research, reading articles in past issues of targeted journals, and seeking assistance from their dissertation supervisors. All the interviewees received comprehensive comments and criticism from the reviewers and editors of English language journals, while an absence of comments was a characteristic of Chinese language journals. The doctoral students in this study felt that reviewers and editors of English language journals were sympathetic toward non-native English speaking writers with regard to their problems in grammar, language usage, and writing style. Some suggestions are made for informed teaching in EFL contexts and to better prepare applied linguistics doctoral students for effective writing for publication.