Rate My Professor James Simpson

James Simpson is a Professor in the Division of Humanities at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), currently serving as Acting Head of the Division since 2025 and Academic Director of the MA in International Language Education. He joined HKUST in 2021 as Associate Professor and was promoted to Full Professor in 2023. Previously, from 2003 to 2021, he worked at the University of Leeds School of Education in various capacities, including Senior Lecturer (2010-2021), Academic Group Leader for Language Education (2014-2017), and Research Fellow. Earlier, he was a Teaching Fellow at the University of Reading (2001-2003) and taught ESOL/EFL in the UK and abroad (1989-2000). Simpson holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Reading (2004, ESRC-funded), MA in English Language Teaching (Distinction, University of Essex, 1996), PGCE (University of Greenwich, 1999), CTEFLA (1989), and BA in Modern European Studies (1988).

His research specializations include language and migration, language education, multilingualism, language policy, and creative inquiry in applied linguistics, often addressing social justice, belonging, and migrant experiences through qualitative methods like ethnography and narrative analysis. Key publications encompass edited volumes such as Minority Language Learning for Adult Migrants in Europe (Routledge, 2024), Routledge Handbook of Applied Linguistics (2nd edition, Routledge, 2023), Translanguaging as Transformation (Multilingual Matters, 2020), and ESOL: A Critical Guide (OUP, 2008). Recent articles feature "Belonging-in-Interaction: Expressing and performing translocal belongings through language and arts practice" (Applied Linguistics, 2024) and "Policy formation for adult migrant language education in England" (Language Policy, 2023). As Principal Investigator, he has led funded projects including Navigating Belonging (GRF, 2022-2024) and Belonging Here and There (VPRDO, 2023-2025). Simpson founded the ESOL-Research online forum (2006) and Migrant English Support Hub (2014), and has held visiting professorships at the University of Jyväskylä (multiple). He was appointed Associate Editor of TESOL Quarterly in 2026, served three terms on the BAAL Executive Committee, and contributes to Hong Kong's UGC Education Panel for RAE 2026 and RGC Linguistics Panel.