SUMMARY
With the exponential rise in scientific research as a result of the spread of information technology, there is an emerging need to process and systemize the information contained in such publications in both national and international settings. The academic journals, in paper as well as electronic forms, are the most used channels of academic communication among researchers, due to the confidence that this information resource enjoys and the standards it applies. In addition, new ideas and developments appear in academic journals long before the books refer to them. Articles, topics, and issues of concern are published in them that do not appear in book form. In this background, this study investigates the research trends in 179 ESL/ EFL in ELT Journal and TESOL Quarterly, journals that are acclaimed universally as the setters of research benchmarks. Results show that the focus subjects in these classify into sub-categories (trends) which include Global English and Lingua Franca, learner’s issues, teacher’s issues, cultural perspectives, assessment issues, and ESL research methodology and Multimedia & ICT in Language Education. Noticeably, researchers preferred to qualitatively study the Teaching Practices and Methods (f=43) and Global English and Lingua Franca (f=39). However, gaps are perceptible in the ongoing trends to fill which the study makes certain recommendations in its conclusion.