Protocol for a Scoping Review of the Applications of Markedness Theory in TESOL and SLA Research

Markedness Theory (MT) plays a central role in linguistic theory and second language acquisition (SLA) by explaining asymmetries in linguistic structure, crosslinguistic variation, learnability, learner difficulty, and language transfer effects. Though influential in theoretical linguistics and SLA, applications of MT in TESOL, language teaching pedagogy, and language assessment remain unsynthesized. The current scoping review will map empirical TESOL and SLA research on MT, focusing on research setting and motivation, study design, implementation, and interpretation. The review will include studies that employ MT explicitly as a theoretical framework, as well as studies that draw on clearly definable markedness-related concepts. Following the SMART framework, Boolean search operators will be utilized to explore and refine search results in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA), and synthesis of qualitative and quantitative evidence will be achieved through descriptive statistical analyses and iterative qualitative coding. The synthesis will organize the literature base and identify patterns of engagement with MT across domains and methods. By systematically mapping this literature, the review aims to clarify the scope and functions of MT in TESOL and SLA research and provide a foundation for future work in the field.