本文以2009年以来国际SSCI和国内CSSCI期刊中的外语教育实证研究为分析对象,利用CiteSpace文献计量学软件,从年度发文数量对该研究领域的总体情况进行梳理,并从研究对象与环境、研究主题与方法、理论视角等方面进行评述,对比国内外研究的异同,最后阐释近五年外语教育研究热点演变及未来发展趋势。分析发现:(1)国内外外语教育实证研究均已取得比较丰硕的成果,但国内目前处于相对滞后阶段;(2)国内外相关研究对小学阶段以及非通用语外语教育的重视度不够;(3)国内外学者的聚焦以微观具体的议题为主,采用的研究方法和数据收集工具日渐丰富多样,理论视角也有相似之处;(4)在信息化技术的不断发展下,国内外学者都越来越关注技术赋能外语教育研究。基于上述发现,文章进一步为未来研究发展指明了方向。

The present paper reviews the empirical studies on foreign language education published in SSCI and CSSCI journals from 2009 to 2022 using the bibliometric analysis tool CiteSpace. After giving an overview of this research area based on the annual publication status, the paper first examines the research subjects, contexts, topics, methods, and theoretical perspectives of the field in China and abroad, and then reveals the research hotspots and deduces the future trends for the field based on the data in the past five years. The findings are as follows: (1) Fruitful results have been achieved both at home and abroad in terms of the empirical investigations into foreign language education, but the research in China is currently lagging behind; (2) Insufficient attention has been paid to primary school students and foreign languages other than English (LOTEs) by both domestic and international researchers; (3) Empirical studies in SSCI and CSSCI journals have focused on various microscopical issues, their research methods and data collection tools are diversified, and they tend to employ similar theoretical frameworks; (4) With the continuous development of information technology, both domestic and foreign scholars are paying increasing attention to technology-empowered foreign language education. Based on the above findings, suggestions on future research are put forward.