Plagiarism Policy

The Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (J-FLTAL) is strictly committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. Plagiarism fundamentally undermines the scholarly record and is strictly prohibited in all submissions to the journal.

Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the unacknowledged use of another person’s ideas, words, data, or concepts, passing them off as one's own original work. This includes, but is not limited to:
● Copying text verbatim from another source without quotation marks and proper citation.
● Paraphrasing another author's work without appropriate attribution.
● Using data, tables, or figures from another source without acknowledgment and necessary permissions.
● Self-Plagiarism (Text-Recycling): Republishing one's own previously published work (in whole or in part) without proper citation or justification.

Detection and Screening Process
To ensure originality, all manuscripts submitted to J-FLTAL undergo rigorous plagiarism screening before they are sent for peer review.
● The editorial team utilizes industry-standard similarity detection software (such as Turnitin or iThenticate) to scan every submission against a comprehensive database of published scholarly literature and web content.
● Acceptable Threshold: While there is no rigid percentage that automatically determines plagiarism, a general similarity index above 20% (excluding references, bibliography, and direct, properly cited quotations) will prompt a detailed editorial investigation. High similarity in the methodology or results sections is evaluated with particular strictness.

Actions and Consequences
If plagiarism or unacknowledged content is detected at any stage of the publication process, the Editorial Board will take the following actions based on the severity of the offense:

1. During Initial Screening (Pre-Review):
● Minor similarities: The manuscript may be returned to the author with a request to rewrite the flagged sections and provide proper citations before the manuscript can proceed to peer review.
● Significant plagiarism: The manuscript will be immediately rejected without review.

2. During Peer Review or Copyediting:
If reviewers or editors detect plagiarism during the evaluation process, the review process is halted. The manuscript will be rejected, and the author will be notified of the findings.

3. Post-Publication (Retraction Policy):
If plagiarism is discovered after an article has been published, J-FLTAL will conduct a formal investigation. If the allegations are substantiated, the journal will take the following steps in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines:
● The article will be formally retracted from the journal.
● A Retraction Notice will be published and linked to the original article record, clearly stating the reasons for the retraction.
● The author's affiliated institution or funding body may be notified of the ethical breach.
● The author may be temporarily or permanently banned from submitting future manuscripts to J-FLTAL.

By submitting a manuscript to J-FLTAL, authors declare that their work is entirely original, properly cited, and complies with this Plagiarism Policy.