James SIMPSON
PhD University of Reading, UK, 2004
Tel: 23587788
Email: hmjsimpson@ust.hk
Room No: 3386
James Simpson is a Professor in the Division of Humanities. He directs the Masters programme 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 serves on the editorial board of the journal TESOL Quarterly, and is the founder and manager of the online forum ESOL-Research. He convenes the Belonging Research Network and is the PI on the RGC-funded project Navigating Belonging: Exploring settlement for South Asians in Hong Kong through narratives and participatory photography (2022-2024).
Within HKUST, James serves on the School of Humanities and Social Science Executive Committee, the Division of Humanities 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. (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. & J. Bradley (2023) 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.