Language use in English-medium instruction programs in Vietnamese higher education: From policy to practice

ABSTRACT

Premised on the theoretical approaches of language planning and policy (Spolsky, 2004, 2009; Ricento & Hornberger, 1996), this study provides a holistic examination of language use from policy to practice in Vietnamese higher education English-medium instruction (EMI) programs from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives. Specifically, this study examines how the use of languages is enacted (language management), perceived (language beliefs), and implemented (language practices) at three layers/levels involving 30 university administrators, 96 content lecturers, and 286 students (N=412). Research data were drawn from multiple sources, including policy documents, questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations. An overarching ideology of English only as the medium of instruction was manifest in the data at all levels. However, the findings revealed a stark misalignment between the language management policies explicitly articulated at the national and institutional levels and actual language practices taking place at the interpersonal/classroom level. These findings suggest that ideology/beliefs are not the sole determinant of language practices and that the latter can sometimes be driven by contextual factors. The paper discusses the findings’ implications for EMI policies and practices and offers suggestions for future EMI-related research.

Keywords:

• language use
• English-medium instruction
• language policy
• higher education
• language practices