Professor James has been active in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages since 1978. He graduated with a B.A. in TESOL from BYU-Hawaii ('79), and M.A. in TESOL from BYU in Provo, Utah ('81), and a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition from the University of Hawaii in ('96). He is interested in second language reading, vocabulary acquisition, and teacher education.

Professor James was also Editor of the TESL Reporter from 1992-2005, a semiannual journal for and by ESL teachers, with subscribers in over 100 countries. He is a member of TESOL and its Hawaii state affiliate. Other personal interests include the study of South Pacific languages and cultures.