Vol. 3 No. 2: The Art of Qualitative Interview: Building Trust and Getting Data

12.02.2026

In TESOL and applied linguistics, teacher-researchers frequently turn to qualitative interviews to better understand learners’ experiences, classroom dynamics, and the complex realities of language education. Whether conducted as part of practitioner inquiry, action research, or program evaluation, interviews offer opportunities to amplify student and teacher voices while generating contextually grounded insights for practice. Yet interviewing within one’s own professional community requires more than methodological knowledge, it demands relational awareness, ethical sensitivity, and practical strategies for building trust while collecting meaningful data. 

 This issue focuses on the art and craft of qualitative interviewing as a core practice for teacher-researchers seeking to bridge reflective teaching and rigorous research. We welcome submissions that illuminate the relational, methodological, and analytical dimensions of interviewing, including, but not limited to rapport building, reflexivity, ethical dilemmas, interviewer positioning, culturally responsive interviewing, digital and AI-mediated interviews, and strategies for generating rich, trustworthy data.

 We encourage contributions from researchers, practitioners, and teacher-researchers across contexts who wish to share practical techniques, critical reflections, theoretical insights, and applications grounded in real experiences.

 

Possible Topics
  • Building trust and rapport in cross-cultural interviews
  • Designing interview protocols for diverse language learning contexts
  • Power, positionality, and reflexivity in qualitative interviewing
  • Interviewing multilingual learners and marginalized populations
  • Online, remote, and technology-mediated interviews
  • Ethical challenges and consent in qualitative data collection
  • Interview data analysis and representation
  • Creative and alternative interview formats (narrative, dialogic, arts-based, etc.)
  • Lessons learned from failed or difficult interviews
  • Bridging interviews with classroom practice and teacher development

 

Article Types

  • Research Tips: These articles should offer practical strategies and actionable techniques for designing and conducting interviews in TESOL contexts. Submissions may focus on building rapport, crafting effective interview questions, navigating ethical challenges, or enhancing data richness and credibility. Clear takeaways are highly preferred.

  • Research Reflection: These articles should present narratives and reflection accounts that explored the lived experience of conducting qualitative interviews. Articles may discuss the lesson learned, unexpected challenges, failures, and moments of growth revolving around interviewing. Personal voice is highly encouraged. 

  • Research Review: These articles should provide critical syntheses of influential research literature related to qualitative interviewing, such as foundational theories, key methodological contexts, or emerging innovations in interviewing, and highlight implications for TESOL practitioners and researchers.

  • Research Application: These articles should feature how qualitative interviews are applied in real language education settings, such as classroom research, teacher inquiry, program evaluation, or curriculum development. Presenting successes and challenges during the implementation process is highly suggested.

  • Research Discussions: These articles should demonstrate thoughtful discussions of research methodologies, theoretical perspectives,  emerging trends, or phenomena related to qualitative interviewing that influence TESOL research and practice. These may explore epistemological debates, ethical considerations, or innovations in interview-based research.

 

Submission Guidelines

  • Articles should not exceed 500 words.

  • All submissions must be original and previously unpublished.

  • Articles should be submitted as Word documents no later than March 31, 2026. 

  • Please include a brief author bio (50 words), a headshot image, and an illustrative picture relevant to your article content with your submission. 

  • Kindly adhere to the guidelines and template available here for your submission: https://newsletter.tereconet.com/index.php/news/about/submissions