STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF INTERACTION PRACTICES IN ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION CLASSROOMS AT A VIETNAMESE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Main Article Content
Abstract
Over the last few decades, higher education institutions in non-native English-speaking nations have made attempts to internationalize their image and improve their competitiveness by offering programs and courses that use English as a medium of instruction (EMI) across multiple disciplines. However, investigations on interaction practices and students’ perceptions of these practices in EMI classrooms have revealed a fragmented and hazy picture. The current study adopted a constructivist grounded theory approach by Charmaz (2006) to investigate students’ situated perspectives on EMI classroom interaction practices at a Vietnamese technical university. Findings from classroom observations and individual intensive interviews with six EMI lecturers and thirty-five EMI students showed how EMI lecturers and students interacted in the observed EMI classes and how EMI students perceived and evaluated these practices. Finally, some recommendations, based on the findings, were made to improve EMI classroom interaction practices in a Vietnamese university context.
Article Details
Keywords
English medium instruction, perception, classroom interaction, higher education, content learning, English proficiency
References
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Horwitz, E. K., & Young, D. J. (1991). Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications. Prentice Hall.
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Liddicoat, A. J., & Scarino, A. (2009). Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
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Nassaji, H., & Wells, G. (2000). What’s the use of 'triadic dialogue'?: An investigation of teacher-student interaction. Applied Linguistics 21(2), 376-406
Nguyen, H. T., Walkinshaw, I., & Pham, H. H. (2017). EMI programs in a Vietnamese university: Language, pedagogy and policy issues. In B. Fenton-Smith, P. Humphreys, & I. Walkinshaw (Eds.), English medium of instruction in higher education in Asia-Pacific: From policy to pedagogy (pp. 37-52). Springer.
Pica, T. (1994). Research on negotiation: What does it reveal about second language learning, conditions, processes, outcomes? Language Learning, 44, 493-527.
Pun, J., & Macaro, E. (2018). The Effect of First and Second Language use on Question Types in English Medium Instruction Science Classrooms in Hong Kong. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(1), 64-77. DOI:10.1080/13670050.2018.1510368
Sanchez-Garcia, D. (2018). Codeswitching practices in the discourse of two lecturers in English-medium instruction at university. Elia-estudios de linguistica inglesa aplicada 18(3), 105-135. DOI: 10.12795/ elia.2018.i18.05
Seedhouse, P. (2011). Conversation analytic research into language teaching and learning. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 345-363). Routledge.
Soruç, A., & Griffiths, C. (2017). English as a Medium of Instruction: Students’ Strategies. ELT Journal, 72(1), 38-48. DOI:10.1093/elt/ccx017
Tarnopolsky, O. B., & Goodman, B. A. (2014). The ecology of language in classrooms at a university in eastern Ukraine. Language and Education, 28(4), 383-396.
Tsui, A. (2001). Classroom interaction. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (The Cambridge Guides, pp. 120-125). Cambridge University Press.
The Government of Vietnam. (2008). Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg on “Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system, period 2008-2020”. Hanoi.
Van Lier (1996). Interaction in the Language Curriculum. Longman.
Vygotsky, L. (1995). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, W., & Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2018). Translanguaging in a Chinese–English Bilingual Education Programme: A University-Classroom Ethnography. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(3), 322-337. DOI:10.1080/13670050.2018.1526254
Celce-Murcia, M. (1989). Interaction and Communication in the ESOL Classroom. Oxford University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Sage Publishing.
Costa, F., & Coleman, J. A. (2012). A survey of English medium instruction in Italian higher education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16(1), 3-19.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publishing.
Dafouz, E., Camacho-Minano, M. M. (2016). Exploring the impact of English medium instruction on university student academic achievement: The case of accounting. English for Specific Purposes 44(2), 5-19.
Gotti, M. (2015). Code-switching and plurilingualism in English-medium education for academic and professional purposes. Language Learning in Higher Education, 5(1), 83-103.
Hai, V. (2016). Effectiveness improvement of advanced programs. Retrieved on February 20 2017 from http://congly.vn/xahoi/giaoduc/nang-cao-hieu-qua-cua-chuong-trinh-tien-tien-191574.htm
Hahl, K., Järvinen, HM. & Juuti, K. (2016). Accommodating to English-medium instruction in teacher education in Finland. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 26(3), 291-310.
Hall, J., & Walsh, M. (2002). Teacher student Interaction and Language Learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 22(1), 186-203.
Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (1983). Ethnography: Principles in practice. Tavistock.
Horwitz, E. K., & Young, D. J. (1991). Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications. Prentice Hall.
Kaplan, R. B., & Baldauf, R. B. (1997). Language planning: From practice to theory. Multilingual Matters.
Kim, EG, Kweon, S-O & Kim, J. (2017). Korean engineering students’ perceptions of English-medium instruction (EMI) and L1 use in EMI classes. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38(2), 130-145.
Inbar-Lourie, O., & S. Donitsa-Schmidt. (2013). Englishization in an Israeli Teacher Education College: Taking the First Steps. In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster, & J. M. Sierra (Eds.), English-medium Instruction at Universities: Global Challenges (pp.151–173). Multilingual Matters.
Ismailov, M., Chiu, T. K. F., Dearden, J., Yamamoto, Y., & Djalilova, N. (2021). Challenges to Internationalisation of University Programmes: A Systematic Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research on Learner-Centred English Medium Instruction (EMI) Pedagogy. Sustainability, 13(22), 12-42.
Jawhar, S. (2012). Conceptualizing CLIL in a Saudi context: A corpus linguistic and conversation analytic perspective. Doctoral dissertation, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/1849/1/Jawhar12.pdf
Johnson, D. (1995). Approaches to Research in second Language Learning. Longman.
Lantolf, J. P. (2006). Sociocultural theory and second language learning: State of the art. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28(1), 67-109.
Le, D. M. (2012). English as a medium of instruction at tertiary education system in Vietnam. The Journal of ASIA TEFL, 9(2), 97-122.
Lei, J., & Hu, G. (2014). Is English-medium instruction effective in improving Chinese undergraduate students’ English competence? International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 52(2), 99-126.
Liddicoat, A. J., & Scarino, A. (2009). Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Li, J., Zhang, L. J., & May, S. (2016). Implementing English Medium instruction (EMI) in China: Teachers’ practices and perceptions and students learning motivation and needs. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2016.1231166
Loewen, S. (2011). Handbook of research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Sage Publishing.
Long, M. H. (1983). Native/Non-Native Speaker Conversation and the Negotiation of Comprehensible Input. Applied Linguistics, 4, 126-141. Https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/4.2.126
Macaro et al. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Lang. Teach, 51(1), 36-76. DOI: 10.1017/S0261444817000350
Malamah-Thomas, A. (1987). Classroom interaction. Oxford University Press.
Minh. H. (2017). Đào tạo nhân lực đại học chất lượng cao còn nhiều trở ngại. (Challenges facing training human resources of high-quality university programs). Http://vov.vn/xahoi/dao-tao-nhan-luc-dai-hoc-chat-luong-cao-con-nhieu-tro-ngai-583870
MOET. (2008). Đề án đào tạo theo chương trình tiên tiến tại một số trường đại học ở Việt Nam giai đoạn 2008-2015 (Project document for implementing Advanced Programs in some Vietnamese universities the period of 2008-2015). Http://vanban.moet.gov.vn/resources/eduportal/uploads/2009/tt910_1505-QD-TTg.pdf
Moore, E. (2014). Constructing content and language knowledge in plurilingual student teamwork: situated and longitudinal perspectives. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 17(5), 586-609. DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2013.860947
Nassaji, H., & Wells, G. (2000). What’s the use of 'triadic dialogue'?: An investigation of teacher-student interaction. Applied Linguistics 21(2), 376-406
Nguyen, H. T., Walkinshaw, I., & Pham, H. H. (2017). EMI programs in a Vietnamese university: Language, pedagogy and policy issues. In B. Fenton-Smith, P. Humphreys, & I. Walkinshaw (Eds.), English medium of instruction in higher education in Asia-Pacific: From policy to pedagogy (pp. 37-52). Springer.
Pica, T. (1994). Research on negotiation: What does it reveal about second language learning, conditions, processes, outcomes? Language Learning, 44, 493-527.
Pun, J., & Macaro, E. (2018). The Effect of First and Second Language use on Question Types in English Medium Instruction Science Classrooms in Hong Kong. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(1), 64-77. DOI:10.1080/13670050.2018.1510368
Sanchez-Garcia, D. (2018). Codeswitching practices in the discourse of two lecturers in English-medium instruction at university. Elia-estudios de linguistica inglesa aplicada 18(3), 105-135. DOI: 10.12795/ elia.2018.i18.05
Seedhouse, P. (2011). Conversation analytic research into language teaching and learning. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 345-363). Routledge.
Soruç, A., & Griffiths, C. (2017). English as a Medium of Instruction: Students’ Strategies. ELT Journal, 72(1), 38-48. DOI:10.1093/elt/ccx017
Tarnopolsky, O. B., & Goodman, B. A. (2014). The ecology of language in classrooms at a university in eastern Ukraine. Language and Education, 28(4), 383-396.
Tsui, A. (2001). Classroom interaction. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (The Cambridge Guides, pp. 120-125). Cambridge University Press.
The Government of Vietnam. (2008). Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg on “Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system, period 2008-2020”. Hanoi.
Van Lier (1996). Interaction in the Language Curriculum. Longman.
Vygotsky, L. (1995). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, W., & Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2018). Translanguaging in a Chinese–English Bilingual Education Programme: A University-Classroom Ethnography. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(3), 322-337. DOI:10.1080/13670050.2018.1526254