He began his teaching career as an English instructor at C.S. Mott Community College in Flint, Mich., before moving to Hong Kong, in 1978, where he taught at Shue Yan College and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). In addition, Hirvela spent 10 years in editorial positions with English for Specific Purposes and currently serves as co-editor of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Quarterly. His research focuses on second language literacy.