VNU Journal of Foreign Studies

https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/issue/feed VNU Journal of Foreign Studies 2026-08-28T06:40:52+00:00 Tạp chí Nghiên cứu nước ngoài tapchincnn@vnu.edu.vn Open Journal Systems <div class="description-journal"> <div class="description-journal"> The Journal of Science was established in 1985 for the publication of national and international research papers in all fields of natural sciences and technology, social sciences and humanities. Since then, the journal has grown in quality, size and scope and now comprises a dozen of serials spanning academic research. With the rapid expansion of the field of Economics, the VNU Journal of Science is delighted to announce the launch of the VNU Journal of Science: Foreign Studies (JS: FS) since 2002. This serial publication provides researchers with the opportunity to publish research covering aspects in these areas in the popular VNU Journal of Science series. As a fully open access publication, the journal will provide maximum exposure for published articles, making the research available to all to read and share. The journal will be published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October and December. Scope JS: FS is an open access journal publishing double-blinded peer-reviewed research papers, discussions and reviews dealing with Linguistics, Foreign language education, International studies, Related social sciences and humanities. Peer Review Process Any manuscript followed the journal’s scope and author guideline will be assigned to the managing editors. All manuscripts have undergone editorial screening and anonymous double-blind peer-review by the at least one independent expert in the field. The managing editor makes an editorial decision, which is subject to endorsement by the Editor – in Chief. Abstracting and Indexing </div> </div> https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5688 A CORPUS-BASED CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF SELECTED LEXICAL REALISATIONS OF LIGHT AND DARK METAPHORS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE 2026-04-08T09:53:25+00:00 Thi Khanh An Nguyen khanhan@vnu.edu.vn

Metaphor use is both universal and culturally variable. Although previous cross-cultural studies have explored metaphorical expressions, not many have focused on comparisons between English and Vietnamese using corpus data. To address this gap, the present study conducts a corpus-based contrastive analysis of selected lexical realisations of light and dark metaphors in English and Vietnamese. The data were drawn from the British Web Corpus and the Vietnamese Web Corpus. Selected lexical items associated with light and dark were analysed through concordance and collocation searches, and sampled concordance lines were manually coded for metaphorical use. The findings reveal substantial overlap in the conceptual metaphors identified in the two corpora. However, the differences were observed in lexical realisations and translation equivalence. The findings suggest shared metaphorical tendencies across the two languages while also highlighting language-specific patterns. The study has implications for contrastive metaphor research, translation, and language teaching.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5716 TRANSLINGUAL ARTS-BASED PEDAGOGY FOR YOUNG EFL LEARNERS: A VIETNAMESE TEACHER’S NARRATIVE 2026-06-08T07:27:46+00:00 Ngoc Bao Chau Tran tnbchau@ctu.edu.vn Minh Tan Nguyen nmtan@ctu.edu.vn

In early English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, young learners’ meaning-making is often hindered by language-focused pedagogies that prioritize accuracy over expression. This study examined how a Vietnamese EFL teacher implemented translingual arts-based pedagogy with young learners. Using a qualitative case study design, the study explored one Vietnamese EFL teacher’s experiences through an in-depth narrative interview. The interview was conducted in Vietnamese, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis informed by narrative analysis to capture the teacher’s pedagogical experiences, decision-making, and contextual influences. The findings show that the translingual arts-based activities, especially drawing, facilitated the children’s meaning-making through the flexible use of Vietnamese, English, and other semiotic resources. This pedagogical approach assisted the teacher in supporting children’s learning through the incorporation of greater involvement, confidence, and gradual expansion of English use. Nonetheless, the teacher encountered challenges of classroom management, curricular requirements, and parental expectations. The research findings - insights into teacher cognition rather than direct evidence of classroom interaction - highlight the potential of translingual arts-based pedagogy for early EFL education and emphasize the significance of understanding educators’ lived experiences when they innovate and develop new multilingual methods.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5701 THE DOUBLE BURDEN OF PERFORMANCE: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AMONG VIETNAMESE UNDERGRADUATES IN A RESEARCH METHODOLOGY COURSE 2026-04-28T02:50:14+00:00 Trung Hau Ho hauht@tdmu.edu.vn

Undergraduate research is increasingly recognized as essential in higher education. However, conducting research in a foreign language presents significant psychological and linguistic challenges. This study uses interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine how ten Vietnamese fourth-year undergraduates experience a challenging Report Writing course requiring a 50-page thesis and a viva voce examination in English. Drawing on communities of practice and the concept of investment, the study explores the dual burden of mastering research while coping with linguistic insecurity. The findings reveal three group experiential themes, including (1) the double burden of linguistic research, where English becomes a potential barrier for students’ intellectual voice; (2) the performance of identity, marked by performativity; and (3) negotiating membership in the community, as students oscillate between resisting and embracing the researcher identity. The research process emerges as a liminal crisis that compels students to reconstruct their professional identities. The study concludes by recommending a shift from performative output to more supported research processes in English as a foreign language (EFL) curricula.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5686 MEASURING ACADEMIC RESILIENCE IN EFL CONTEXTS: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF EXISTING SCALES AND A DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK FOR RESEARCHERS 2026-04-28T02:43:27+00:00 Manh Huynh Bui huynhbm24mal@uef.edu.vn

Academic resilience has gained increasing attention in second language (L2) education as learners face growing academic pressures and increasingly complex learning environments that demand sustained coping capacity. Yet existing measurement instruments remain conceptually varied and uneven in quality. This review synthesizes current L2 academic resilience scales and proposes a decision-making framework to support scale selection in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) research. Guided by four research questions, the review first identifies five major instruments used across secondary and tertiary EFL contexts. A comparative analysis of their theoretical foundations shows three dominant conceptualizations: trait-like personal qualities, dynamic adaptive processes, and ecological interactions between learners and their environments. The evaluation of psychometric evidence further reveals disparities in reliability, validity, and transparency of scale development, with some instruments demonstrating strong model fit and theoretical grounding while others offer limited methodological details. The contextual relevance of each scale is also examined, highlighting how factors such as learner proficiency, educational culture, and instructional setting influence applicability in diverse EFL ecologies. Building on these findings, a four-level decision-making framework is introduced to guide researchers in selecting instruments that are theoretically aligned, contextually appropriate, psychometrically sound, and practically feasible. The review concludes by calling for more cross-cultural validation, longitudinal designs, and development of resilience measures for underrepresented contexts to advance L2 resilience research.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5704 POSITIONING THEORY AS A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IN ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION: INSIGHTS FROM EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 2026-04-21T07:44:30+00:00 Thanh Huong Nhac nhacthanhhuong@gmail.com

Positioning Theory has increasingly been adopted in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) research to explore how teaching and learning practices are discursively constructed and negotiated in higher education contexts, yet its empirical application remains relatively limited. This review highlights that Positioning Theory offers a robust socio‑constructivist theoretical framework for EMI research, which is capable of capturing the complex interplay of language, identity, power, and pedagogy in EMI classrooms. After providing a brief overview of Positioning Theory, the article synthesizes empirical research utilizing Positioning Theory to investigate EMI educational settings. Drawing on five studies conducted in Vietnam, New Zealand, Spain, Russia, Hong Kong, and Australia, the review identifies three major themes: (1) positioning, teacher identity and teacher agency; (2) institutional and policy positioning; and (3) positioning, multilingualism, and the negotiation of language expertise. Informed by the findings, the paper proposes a multi-level EMI positioning framework that integrates macro-level policy discourses, meso-level institutional structures, and micro-level classroom interactions with the purpose of providing a more holistic understanding of EMI rather than purely linguistic or pedagogical models.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5659 DECONSTRUCTING UNRELIABLE NARRATION IN KAZUO ISHIGURO’S A PALE VIEW OF HILLS 2025-12-31T07:46:30+00:00 Phuong Mai Pham maipp@tdmu.edu.vn

Unreliable narration is a recurring feature in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, particularly in his debut work, A Pale View of Hills. By combining rhetorical narratology (Booth - Phelan) and deconstruction (Derrida), this paper demonstrates that unreliability is not merely a device but a central narrative strategy shaping reception and narrative ethics. Close readings of key scenes (the cable-car trip, the rope motif, the drowned kittens) map three axes - perceptual (distorted memory), evaluative (misaligned judgments), and ethical (divergence from the implied author’s norms). The gap between Etsuko’s telling and the implied author’s horizon is produced by semantic slippage/deferment, inviting the authorial audience to co-construct meaning. Thus, unreliable narration can be understood as an open structure that both guides readers’ reception and exposes the inherent limits of any attempt to fix meaning in the act of reading.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5666 REFLECTIONS ON USING CHATGPT TO ADJUST THE DIFFICULTY OF EMI READING MATERIALS: A CASE STUDY 2025-12-24T10:02:44+00:00 Thi Viet Nga Nguyen nguyenthivietnga@ajc.edu.vn

As English as a medium of instruction (EMI) continues to grow in universities where English is a foreign language, many lecturers face difficulties in helping students understand complex academic concepts, particularly those who are not English majors. This case study looks at how five university teachers in a public university in Hanoi used ChatGPT to adjust the difficulty of content for an EMI course on Theories of International Relations. The study was carried out as part of the teachers’ reflective practice to make complex academic readings more accessible to undergraduate students. During one semester, ChatGPT was used to simplify authentic materials and create versions suited to different proficiency levels. The data came from classroom observations, teachers’ notes, and comparisons between the original and adapted texts. The reflections suggest that ChatGPT helped save time and provided flexible options for text adaptation. However, the tool sometimes altered key disciplinary meanings and required careful checking for accuracy. This study adds to current conversations about how generative AI can be used in EMI classrooms, offering practical lessons on how teachers can use ChatGPT into their teaching in thoughtful and responsible ways.

2025-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5627 THE ROLE OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE FLUENCY AND CONFIDENCE AMONG EFL LEARNERS 2025-12-22T08:20:47+00:00 Dat Phi Luu datphi19030@gmail.com

In the context of English as a lingua franca, successful communication increasingly depends on not only native-like accuracy but also speakers’ ability to negotiate meaning across cultural boundaries. While intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has been widely discussed in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) research, its role in shaping learners’ oral fluency and confidence remains underexplored and theoretically fragmented. This paper addresses this gap by examining how ICC functions as a mediating mechanism that links linguistic performance with psychological readiness in EFL speaking. It argues that ICC supports oral fluency by fostering interactional adaptability and pragmatic awareness and enhances speaking confidence by mitigating anxiety and promoting tolerance for ambiguity. Importantly, this paper contends that ICC should be reconceptualised not merely as a cultural dimension of language learning, but as a dynamic mediator that enables a reciprocal relationship between fluency development and confidence building. The discussion culminates in an integrative conceptual model illustrating the cyclical interplay among ICC, fluency and confidence. The paper concludes by highlighting pedagogical implications for EFL contexts such as Vietnam, where limited authentic exposure heightens the need for interculturally informed speaking instruction.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5646 A FOLK TAXONOMY OF TERMS FOR SPIRITS AND GHOSTS IN VIETNAMESE: AN ETHNOSEMANTIC ANALYSIS 2026-01-09T07:02:52+00:00 Le Minh Phuoc Ta phuocta@hcmussh.edu.vn

This study delves into an exploration of terms referring to spirits and ghosts in Vietnamese. Specifically, the research organizes those terms according to a folk taxonomy within the scope of ethnosemantics – an extension of linguistic anthropology, following five levels proposed by Berlin. This classification is based on semi-structured interviews with nine Vietnamese informants from three different age groups, as well as perusal of various documentary sources. Concurrently, the study incorporates Nida’s componential analysis approach to understand the relations between those terms. The research findings reveal insights into Vietnamese cognition and culture, notably highlighting the emphasis on familial solidarity, ritual formality and moral education of people embedded within the terminology. Besides, the lexicon also reflects the belief in linh (sacred) in Vietnamese cosmology - meaning the spiritual world is dynamic and interacts with the human world. Terms containing the lexeme linh demonstrate respect and awe.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5648 COMPARISON BETWEEN THE KHMER DIALECT OF AN GIANG AND STANDARD KHMER - THE VOWEL SYSTEM 2026-03-17T08:21:56+00:00 Chhay Tan Chau chhaytan09@gmail.com

This study examines vowel variation in the Khmer dialect spoken in An Giang Province, Vietnam, in comparison with Standard Khmer. Adopting a comparative phonological approach, the research systematically classifies structurally equivalent lexical items and analyzes recurrent pronunciation patterns across speakers. The findings reveal that vowel variation in the An Giang Khmer dialect follows stable and systematic patterns rather than random deviation. Major phenomena include diphthong simplification, shifts in vowel quality, and vowel elision in polysyllabic words. These processes result in noticeable changes to syllable structure, frequently increasing consonant clustering and reducing syllable complexity in spoken forms. Such phonological patterns create clear divergence between local speech and the standard forms represented in written language and educational materials. The study interprets these variations as established dialectal features reflecting the phonological identity of An Giang Khmer, shaped through long-term language use within the local community. By providing a structured description of vowel variation, this research contributes empirical evidence to Khmer dialectology and offers phonological insights relevant to the teaching and learning of Khmer in contexts where regional and standard varieties coexist.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5679 BLENDED LEARNING IN EXTENSIVE READING PROGRAMS: TEACHERS' AND STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS 2025-12-22T08:20:22+00:00 Thanh Thuy Nguyen ntthuy.vnq@gmail.com

The study examined teachers' and students' perceptions of blended learning in extensive reading programs at a military university in Vietnam. A mixed methodology was employed, collecting quantitative data from 74 non-English major students and qualitative data from six English lecturers. The quantitative statistics indicated strong support for engaging in online and offline group activities (M=4.42, SD=0.497) and reported experiencing higher motivation for reading extensively (M=4.18, SD=0.383). However, several obstacles were listed, such as technical difficulties (M=4.47, SD=0.503), digital reading fatigue (M=4.32, SD=0.471), and constraints associated with the military educational structure (M=4.34, SD=0.407). Even with these challenges, the students generally liked the program and suggested a blended learning experience in the future (M=4.51, SD=0.503). The qualitative findings from the teacher interviews revealed how using the digital platform made reading materials available to more students and motivated them to learn anonymously. The research additionally proposes several recommendations for teachers to adapt their teaching and to invest in professional development to succeed in using blended extensive reading.

2026-08-27T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 VNU Journal of Foreign Studies https://jfs.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/index.php/fs/article/view/5776 THE INTERPLAY OF “I” AND “WE”: POWER OR SOLIDARITY? 2026-04-06T04:24:31+00:00 Hong Trang Pham trangph@tlu.edu.vn

This study aims to examine the interplay between “I” and “we” in two inaugural speeches of the U.S. Presidents Joe Biden (2021) and Donald Trump (2025) to determine whether this combination conveys specific communicative intentions of speakers. While many previous studies have analyzed personal pronouns in isolation, the research gap remains concerning their interaction. Drawing on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, the study adopted a qualitative approach supported by quantitative methods. The findings indicate that although both presidents presented similar sequences of these two pronouns, their intended meanings were distinct. Biden employed the interplay to construct an intimate presidential figure, whereas Trump used it to assert his authority. The findings also demonstrate that such linguistic elements, which seemed to be purely grammatical, performed subtle and powerful communicative functions.