English-Medium Classroom Practices in Action: Facilitating Student Learning and Engagement in a Vietnamese University

Abstract

In Vietnam, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is widely implemented in higher education institutions as a strategic approach to internationalise institutions and improve graduates’ employability in the globalised labour market. However, implementation of EMI has been beset with challenges: the incompatibility between macro-policies and institutional capacities, teachers’ and students’ insufficient English language competence, and pedagogical conflict with traditional education. There is currently little information about successful EMI pedagogies to support learning and student engagement in Vietnamese higher education, and this chapter therefore reports an exploratory study on classroom EMI practices carried out at one multidisciplinary university. Data derives from eight classroom observations, survey questionnaires with 275 students and one-to-one interviews with eight teachers and eight representative students. Data presentation highlights strategies facilitative to student learning and engagement, such as grouping techniques; providing detailed self-study guidance; judiciously using students’ first language; employing diagrams, short video clips, and drawings; integrating practical exercises within theoretical lessons; frequently reviewing previous lessons and recapping at the end of lessons. The chapter offers a detailed explanation of the teachers’ practices for moving forward educationally with EMI and a full account of students’ reflections on the usefulness of the practices to their learning.