Cover not available
Article published In:
English-medium instruction: Different stakeholders and conflicting interests
Edited by Robert Wilkinson and René Gabriëls
[Journal of English-Medium Instruction 3:1] 2024
► pp. 68–90

The tension between English-medium instruction and Vietnamese-medium instruction in higher education

A graduate retrospect

ORCID logo | The Education University of Hong Kong
ORCID logo | International University, Vietnam National University, HCMC
ORCID logo | Vrije Universiteit Brussel
In Vietnam, English-medium instruction (EMI) has been implemented in parallel with Vietnamese-medium instruction (VMI) in higher education, partly to help remedy its shortcomings. However, only economically advantaged students can access EMI, which suggests EMI graduates may accrue discrepant advantages compared to VMI graduates. Research has, nonetheless, not explored the effects on these stakeholders. Hence, to partially address the gap, this study explores EMI in information technology (IT). Using the theoretical concepts of parity, distribution, and self-amplifying loop, this study draws on eight in-depth semi-structured interviews with EMI and VMI graduates. Thematic analysis of the data reveals disparities in advantages ensuing from EMI and VMI including English skills and Anglo-American acculturation, access to English-speaking jobs at different rates, and divergent professional opportunities. These disparities are accounted for by the disciplinary paradigm of IT and the unevenly distributed resources between EMI and VMI and are then enlarged by self-amplifying loops. In this process, EMI in IT constitutes a double accelerator and therefore enables EMI graduates to gain the foregoing advantages by a larger margin and VMI graduates to do so but at a slower rate. The study recommends addressing this widening gap through the formation and implementation of VMI- and EMI-related policies at all levels.
Keywords: English-medium instruction (EMI), Vietnamese-medium instruction (VMI), information technology (IT), uneven distribution, self-amplifying loop, disparity
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • EMI in Vietnamese HE: An overview
  • Conceptual framework
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Interviews
    • Analysis
  • Findings
    • Disparities ensuing from EMI and VMI
    • Factors behind disparities
      • Disciplinary paradigm of IT and corresponding relevance of E(MI) and V(MI)
      • Uneven distribution of access to and possession of resources
  • Discussion
    • E(MI) in IT: From double barrier to double accelerator
    • Self-amplifying loops of uneven resource distribution between EMI and VMI
    • Enlarged opportunity structures and disparities: Widening the chasm
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 19 December 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.23003.tan
References (37)
References
Bowen, W. G., Kurzweil, M. A., Tobin, E. M., & Pichler, S. C. (2005). Equity and excellence in American higher education. University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2), 77–101. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
British Council in Vietnam. (n.d.). English as the medium of instruction (EMI) in higher education in Vietnam. British Council Vietnam. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from [URL]
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE.Google Scholar
Curle, S., Jablonkai, R. R., Mittelmeier, J., Sahan, K., Veitch, A., & Galloway, N. (2020). English in higher education: English medium. Part 1: Literature review. In N. Galloway (Ed.), English in higher education: English medium (pp. 10–73). British Council. [URL]
Docquier, F. (2014). The brain drain from developing countries. IZA World of Labour, 31 1, 1–10. [URL]. DOI logo
Fraser, N. (2007). Feminist politics in the age of recognition: A two-dimensional approach to gender justice. Studies in Social Justice, 1 (1), 23–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Galloway, N., & Sahan, K. (2021). An investigation into English medium instruction in higher education in Thailand and Vietnam. British Council. [URL]
Hoang, L., Tran, L. T., & Pham, H. H. (2018). Vietnamese government policies and practices in internationalisation of higher education. In L. T. Tran & S. Marginson (Eds.), Internationalisation in Vietnamese higher education (pp. 19–42). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hoang, T. (2022, September 21). 400 chương trình liên kết đào tạo đại học với nước ngoài [400 higher education joint programmes with foreign institutions]. Tuoitre. [URL]
Keddie, A. (2012). Schooling and social justice through the lenses of Nancy Fraser. Critical Studies in Education, 53 (3), 263–279. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching, 51 (1), 36–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Milligan, L. O. (2022). Towards a social and epistemic justice approach for exploring the injustices of English as a medium of instruction in basic education. Educational Review, 74 (5), 927–941. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Education and Training. (2008). Đề án đào tạo theo chương trình tiên tiến tại một số trường đại học của Việt Nam giai đoạn 2008–2015 [Proposal for the advanced programme project in some Vietnamese universities in 2008–2015 period]. Ministry of Education and Training. [URL]
. (2013). Chương trình thí điểm đào tạo chuyên ngành Công nghệ thông tin giảng dạy bằng tiếng Anh [The pilot programmes of using English to teach IT: The National English Language Project 2020]. Ha Noi University. [URL]
Ngo, P. L. H. (2021). Translanguaging practices in EMI settings from the perspective of student agency: An example from Vietnamese higher education. In W. Tsou & W. Baker (Eds.), English-medium instruction translanguaging practices in Asia: Theories, frameworks and implementation in higher education (pp. 121–141). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, D. T. (2012). Decision No. 418/QĐ-TTg on the strategy for science and technology development for the 2011–2020 period. Ministry of Science and Technology. [URL]
Nguyen, D. T., & Pham, T. C. (2020). Đặc điểm của giáo dục đại học Việt Nam [The nature of higher education in Vietnam]. Conference: Môn giáo dục học đại cương, NVSP-K74, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), VNU-HCMC, Vietnam. [URL]
Nguyen, H. T. (2018). English-medium-instruction management: The missing piece in the internationalisation puzzle of Vietnamese higher education. In L. T. Tran & S. Marginson (Eds.), Internationalisation in Vietnamese higher education, (pp. 119–137). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2022). English-medium instruction in Vietnamese higher education: From government policies to institutional practices. In J. McKinley & N. Galloway (Eds.), English-medium instruction practices in higher education: International perspectives (pp. 173–183). Bloomsbury. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, H. T., Walkinshaw, I., & Pham, H. H. (2017). EMI programmes in a Vietnamese university: Language, pedagogy and policy issues. In B. Fenton-Smith, P. Humphreys & I. Walkinshaw (Eds.), English medium instruction in higher education in Asia-Pacific: From policy to pedagogy (pp. 37–52). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Phan, H. L. T., Nguyen, D. T. B., & Phung, D. T. (2023). English-medium-instruction in Vietnamese universities: Pitfalls, accomplishments, and impact on graduate employability. In N. H. L. Tran, L. T. Tran & M. T. Ngo (Eds.), English language education for graduate employability in Vietnam (pp. 283–303). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Phuong, Y. H., & Nguyen, T. T. (2019). Students’ perceptions towards the benefits and drawbacks of EMI classes. English Language Teaching, 12 (5), 88–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rigney, D. (2010). The Matthew effect: How advantage begets further advantage. Columbia University Press. [URL]
Sah, P. K. (2022). A research agenda for English-medium instruction: Conversations with scholars at the research fronts. Journal of English-Medium Instruction, 1 (1), 124–136. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sahan, K., Galloway, N., & McKinley, J. (2022). “English-only” English medium instruction: Mixed views in Thai and Vietnamese higher education. Language Teaching Research. Advance online publication. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tran, L. Q. (2022, September 13). Quyết định ban hành Chương trình đào tạo Chương trình tiên tiến ngành Khoa học máy tính – Khóa 2022 [Decision No. 1502/QĐ-KHTN on the implementation of the Advanced programme of Computer Science – Class of 2022]. CTDA. [URL]
Tran, L. T., & Marginson, S. (2018). Internationalisation of Vietnamese higher education: An overview. In L. T. Tran & S. Marginson (Eds.), Internationalisation in Vietnamese higher education (pp. 1–16). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tri, D. H., & Moskovsky, C. (2019). English-medium instruction in Vietnamese higher education: A ROAD-MAPPING perspective. Issues in Educational Research, 29 (4), 1330–1347.Google Scholar
(2023). Language use in English-medium instruction programs in Vietnamese higher education: From policy to practice. Asian Englishes, 25 (3), 326–342. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
United Nations General Assembly (2015). Resolution 70/1, Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations. [URL]
University of Science (2018). Giới thiệu Chương trình tiên tiến ngành Khoa học máy tính [Introduction of the Advanced programme in Computer Science]. CTDA. [URL]
Van Parijs, P. (2002). Linguistic justice. Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 1 (1), 59–74. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). Linguistic justice for Europe and for the world. Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2021). Englishization as trap and lifeline. In R. Wilkinson & R. Gabriëls (Eds.), The Englishization of higher education in Europe (pp. 355–367). Amsterdam University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vietnamese Government (2005). Decree 14/2005/NQ-CP on the Government resolution on substantial and comprehensive renewal of Vietnam’s tertiary education in the 2006–2020 period. Government. [URL]
Yao, C. W., Collins, C., Bush, T., Briscoe, K. L., & Dang, N. L. T. (2022). English as a “double barrier”: English medium instruction and student learning at Vietnamese transnational universities. Higher Education Research and Development, 41 (4), 1372–1386. DOI logoGoogle Scholar