Virginia Lam

Virginia Lam is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Roehampton. Her research focuses on bilingual development, heritage language education, and identity formation in multicultural contexts. She leads interdisciplinary projects bridging academic and practitioner communities.

• BSc Psychology (Cardiff University)
• PGCert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (University of East London)
• MSc Psychological Research Methods (University of Exeter)
• PhD in Developmental Psychology (University of London, Goldsmiths)

Her work explores how bilingualism interacts with cognitive, social, and emotional outcomes across generations. Recent projects examine mental health needs in multilingual ESOL learners and intergenerational language practices in heritage schools.

Recent publications highlight trends in bilingual identity research (2023), intergenerational adaptation (2024), and educational psychology applications (2025). She contributes to journals like Social Development and Psychology and Psychotherapy.

Virginia supervises postgraduate researchers and co-authors major textbooks, including the 2025 third edition of Developmental Psychology. She chairs academic events on language education and serves as Associate Editor for Social Development.