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Hamish Chalmers

Senior Departmental Lecturer; Course Director, MSc ALLT; Co-Director, Oxford Education Deanery

hamish.chalmers@education.ox.ac.uk

About me

Hamish is the Course Director of the MSc Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching (ALLT). He lectures and supervises on the MSc Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition (ALSLA) and the MSc Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching (ALLT).

He is director of the International Database of Education Systematic Reviews (IDESR.org), a database of published systematic reviews in Education and a clearinghouse for protocol registration of ongoing and planned systematic reviews. He convenes the REAL (research in EAL) group at the Department. He is co-director of the Oxford Education Deanery.

Hamish’s research interest centres on evaluation of pedagogical approaches to teaching children who use English as an Additional Language (EAL). In particular, his research focuses on the use of the first language as a pedagogical tool for multilingual learners in English medium classrooms. His methodological interest is in randomised trials and systematic reviews. He is also an advocate for user engagement in research and public understanding of science.

Hamish welcomes expressions of interest for doctoral study in the field of EAL, bilingualism and bilingual schooling, international schooling, and instructed language learning. He is particularly keen to hear from prospective students wishing to conduct systematic reviews and experiments in these areas.

Research

Books

Chalmers, H., & Bennett, T. (2022). The ResearchED Guide to English As an Additional Language: an Evidence-Informed Guide for Teachers. John Catt Educational.

Book chapters

CHALMERS, H. (2024). Desperately Seeking Evidence. In D. McGregor, S. Frodsham, & S. ERDURAN (Eds.), Celebrating Diversity in Becoming an Educational Researcher. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-1129-9
Murphy, V., & Chalmers, H. (2022). The impact of language learning on wider academic outcomes. In K. McManus & M. Schmid (Eds.), How special are early birds?: Foreign language teaching and learning (pp. 165-188). Language Science Press.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6811470 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:dfa0e021-4df9-4a4f-a055-024cfddaf3aa
MURPHY, V. (2022). Myths and misconceptions in bilingual language development. In H. CHALMERS & T. Bennett (Eds.), The researchED guide to English as an Additional Language: An evidence-informed guide for teachers. John Catt.
Chalmers, H., & Murphy, V. (2021). Multilingual learners, linguistic pluralism and implications for education and research. In E. Macaro & R. Woore (Eds.), Debates in Second Language Education (pp. 66-88). Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003008361-6 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7cc73ea2-c80c-447e-9aad-0df02641ef21

Journal articles

Chalmers, H. (2025). A commentary on Zuniga-Montanez and Davies et al.: how did COVID-19 affect young children’s language environment and language development? A scoping review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14132 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:424b1119-9b95-4791-817a-2c50fbe030fb
Tucker, S.-K., Chalmers, H., & Murphy, V. (2024). Writing in Creole contexts: a study of Jamaican primary school students. Reading Research Quarterly, 60(1).

https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.601 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0183b584-bd16-434b-9b5c-fba6b0b296ef
Hao, Y., Rose, H., & Chalmers, H. (2024). A systematic review of international students’ experiences transitioning from non-Anglophone high schools to universities in Anglophone settings. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2024.2418477 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6857ad71-87db-4ce3-aca1-2874f2eabeaa
Hamilton, C., Schulz, J., Chalmers, H., & Murphy, V. (2024). Investigating the substantive linguistic effects of using songs for teaching second or foreign languages to preschool, primary and secondary school learners: a systematic review of intervention research. System, 124.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103350 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:76786352-3b9c-4c89-a967-a454fd9635d9
Hamilton, C., Schulz, J., Chalmers, H., & Murphy, V. (2024). Investigating the substantive linguistic effects of using songs for teaching second or foreign languages to preschool, primary and secondary school learners: a systematic review of intervention research. System.
Isaacs, T., & Chalmers, H. (2023). Reducing ‘avoidable research waste’ in applied linguistics research: insights from healthcare research. Language Teaching, 1-18.

https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444823000411 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:10f97bf4-ce2e-4a3d-8680-bdffe1cdd8d3
Chalmers, H., Faitaki, F., & Murphy, V. (2023). Setting research priorities for English as an Additional Language. Language Teaching for Young Learners, 6(1), 5-31.

https://doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.00043.set http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.00043.set
Chalmers, H., Faitaki, F., & Murphy, V. (2023). Setting research priorities for English as an additional language: what do research users want from EAL research?. Language Teaching for Young Learners, 6(1), 5-31.

https://doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.00043.set https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:e18e7581-8c66-4c20-83be-edeae2b5463c
Chalmers, H., Faitaki, F., & Murphy, V. (2023). Setting research priorities for English as an Additional Language: What do research users want from EAL research?. Language Teaching for Young Learners.
Huang, X., & Chalmers, H. (2023). Implementation and effects of pedagogical translanguaging in EFL classrooms: a systematic review. Languages, 8(3).

https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030194 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:84e23758-a81b-410c-9ddb-b9f878d68fc6
Chong, S., Bond, M., & Chalmers, H. (2023). Opening the methodological black box of research synthesis in language education: where are we now and where are we heading?. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(4), 1557-1568.

https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0193 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:958a186b-51fe-4106-85aa-519d7fb66f08
Chalmers, H., Brown, J., & Koryakina, A. (2023). Topics, publication patterns, and reporting quality in systematic reviews in language education. Lessons from the International Database of Education Systematic Reviews (IDESR). Applied Linguistics Review.

https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0190 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:752a01c7-1a55-452b-97a4-bbbb343ec6e9
Jitpaisarnwattana, N., & Chalmers, H. (2021). Can I MOOC to catch up? The effects of using an LMOOC as a remedial tool for EFL students in Thailand. English Language Teaching, 15(1), 37-52.

https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v15n1p37 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f0e213b6-ab20-4d4e-895c-13ec4ebd038f

Reports

Murphy, V., Arndt, H., Briggs Baffoe-Djan, J., Chalmers, H., Macaro, E., Rose, H., Vanderplank, R., & Woore, R. (2020). Foreign language learning and its impact on wider academic outcomes: A rapid evidence assessment. Education Endowment Foundation.

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4e6f26ba-44b3-452c-b959-18150b9d4093

Subjects Taught

MSc in Applied Linguistics
MSc in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching
PGCE

Current Doctoral Students

Funded Research Projects

Evaluating inter-instrument reliability in the assessment of methodological trustworthiness in reports of experiments and quasi-experiments in education research

John Fell Fund

March 2023 - April 2024

Foreign language learning and its impact on wider academic outcomes: A rapid evidence assessment

Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)

Oct 2019 - Dec 2019

The International Database of Education Systematic Reviews (IDESR.org)

John Fell Fund

Feb 2020 - Oct 2020

Setting Research Priorities for English as an Additional Language: What do stakeholders want from EAL research?

British Association of Applied Linguistics.

July 2020 - July 2021