James SIMPSON PhD University of Reading, UK, 2004



Tel: 23587788

Email: hmjsimpson@ust.hk

Room No: 3386

Full CV

James Simpson is a Professor in the Division of Humanities, where he is currently Acting Head. He directs the Masters program in International Language Education. Prior to joining HKUST in 2021 he worked at the School of Education, University of Leeds, UK, where he led the Language Education Academic Group.

James’ research and teaching interests lie in language education and migration, and the sociolinguistics of mobility. His work coheres around a concern with social justice, particularly for people on the move, and of what it means to belong. His research involves the critical analysis of communicative practices relating to migrant language pedagogy, language diversity, language policy, and literacy, identity and culture. He uses qualitative methods, drawing from linguistic and visual ethnography, interactional sociolinguistics and narrative analysis.

His books include ESOL: A Critical Guide (with Melanie Cooke, OUP, 2008), and he is the editor of the Routledge Handbook of Applied Linguistics (1st ed. 2011; 2nd ed. 2023). He has served on the editorial board of the journal TESOL Quarterly, and is the founder and manager of the online forum ESOL-Research. His current research activities are collated on the Belonging Research Network site, and he is the PI on the RGC-funded project Navigating Belonging: Exploring settlement for South Asians in Hong Kong through narratives and participatory photography (GRF, 2022-2024). 

James is a member of Hong Kong's University Grants Council Education Panel for the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2026, and of the Linguistics and Psychology Panel of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council. Within HKUST, he serves on committees including the School of Humanities and Social Science Executive Committee and the University's Human and Artefacts Research Ethics Committee. 

Research Interests

Language and migration, language education, multilingualism, language policy, creative inquiry in applied linguistics.

Representative Publications

Books

Simpson, J. & S. Pöyhönen (eds.) (2024) Language Learning for Adult Migrants in Europe. London: Routledge.  

Simpson, J. (ed.) (2011, 2nd edition 2023, with Li Wei & Zhu Hua) Routledge Handbook of Applied Linguistics. London: Routledge.

Moore, E., J. Bradley & J. Simpson (eds.) (2020) Translanguaging as Transformation: The Collaborative Construction of New Linguistic Realities. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Wright, C., L. Harvey and J. Simpson (eds.) (2019) Voices and Practices in Applied Linguistics: Diversifying a Discipline. York: White Rose University Press.

Simpson, J. & A. Whiteside (eds.) (2015) Adult Language Education and Migration: Challenging Agendas in Policy and Practice. London: Routledge.

Cooke, M. & J. Simpson (2008) ESOL: A Critical Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Recent Articles and Chapters

Simpson, J. & M. Chick (2024) Research with adult migrant language learners: Challenges and responses. In P. De Costa, C. Cinaglia and A. Rabie-Ahmed (eds.) Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship. John Benjamins (Research Methods in Applied Linguistics series). https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.7.09sim   

Simpson, J. & J. Bradley (2024) Belonging-in-Interaction: Expressing and performing translocal belongings through language and arts practice. Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amad041 

Simpson, J. & A.-M. Hunter (2023) Policy formation for adult migrant language education in England: National neglect and its implications. Language Policy 22, 155-178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-023-09655-6

Pöyhönen, S. & J. Simpson (2021) Contesting language policy for asylum seekers in the Northern periphery: The story of Tailor F. Language Policy 20, 261-285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-020-09554-0

Simpson, J. (2020) Navigating immigration law in a “hostile environment”: Implications for adult migrant language education. TESOL Quarterly 54/2, 488-511. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.558

Bradley, J. & J. Simpson (2020) Translanguaging across space and place: Concept and context. In C. Mar-Molinero (ed.) Researching Language in Urban Contexts: Exploring Methodological and Theoretical Concepts. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.