VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIESNGUYEN THI THU HA LECTURERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION CLASSROOM INTERAC
INTRODUCTION Sàn 0121211 re, 1 1.1 Rationale of the Study 00.0.0 ốố ố.ố
Research context of the Study - 5à tt re 3 1.3 Aims Of the Study 0 ccc
Vietnamese education has historically been impacted by other education systems, primarily those from China, France, America, and the Soviet Union due to the country’s political and historical contexts over the centuries Since Doi Moi (The Innovation, 1986), Vietnam switched to a market economy and has continued to collaborate with numerous foreign institutions and organizations, mainly those fro developed western nations Through a variety of policies, objectives, and programs, the Vietnamese government has been working to modernize its education in an effort to emulate advanced educational systems around the world.
Developing foreign language proficiency, especially English has long been essential for Vietnamese human resource development (Pham, 2014) since English is now the primary foreign language in Vietnam for communication, education,commerce, science and technology (Goh & Nguyen, 2004) To further enhance
English competence, the Vietnamese government promulgates the National Foreign Language 2020 (NFL2020) project, which has been extended for period 2017- 2025 at Decision 2658 QD-BGDDT on 23 July 2018 by the Ministry of Education and Training, mandating five core objectives: (1) establishing a proficiency framework compatible with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR); (2) implementing compulsory English language education from grade 3; (3) instituting English as medium of instruction for maths and science for upper secondary schools; (4) improving English teachers’ English language proficiency and understanding language pedagogy and language acquisition; and (5) delivering programs in English at selected universities (Government of Vietnam, 2008a).
The last objective is concerned with EMI implementation at higher education institutions, which aims to improve the quality of such programs NFL2020 consists of the following phases (2008-2010, 2011-2015, now extended to 2017-2025) with phase
2 focusing on teaching content in foreign languages, especially the English language for some basic subjects This project starts with 20 percent of students from national, provincial universities and some strategic universities implementing EMI programs, then this number should increase gradually every year until 2020 when all these HEIs have intensive language training programs (Manh Le, D., 2014).
This language policy is also supported by government regulations when Decision No 1505/QD-TTG dated 15 October 2008 by the Prime Minister on the Project of Advanced Programs (AP) in Vietnamese HEIs period 2008-2015 re- confirmed the determination of the Vietnamese government on the implementation of EMI courses The aim of the project is to reform the HE curriculum and enhance the quality of teaching and learning to an internationally recognised level via cross- border curriculum partnerships The project document by MOET (2008) stated:
“The English-taught advanced program aims to equip undergraduate students with updated knowledge, life skills, professional skills, learner autonomy, research competence, and adaptability to the working environment upon graduation, which meets the socio-economic development requirements of the nation in the new epoch,( ) to improve Vietnamese teaching staff's specialist knowledge, pedagogy, andEnglish proficiency to get engaged in lecture delivery and research collaboration at overseas HEIs (M2008, p.15)
The project has been considered a core to MOET’s internationalisation agenda, as stipulated in the Strategy for Education Development for Vietnam 2011-
2020 (MOET 2012) The advanced programmes have been implemented in selected areas, mainly STEM and business education, in 27 universities in Vietnam (35 AP programs), by importing the curriculum from prestigious universities ranked in the top 200 universities in the world and using English as a medium of instruction (Hai Van, 2016; Minh Huong, 2017) More specifically, the APs have had 3.601 graduates and continued their growth (Minh Huong, 2017) They have yielded positive outcomes, enabling student to get access to materials and contents from innovative programmes in _ high-ranking universities and enhancing the employability of graduates However, there have been remaining issues and challenges in the implementation of this language policy (Tran et al., 2018).
As selected by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) as one of the
27 higher education institutions in Vietnam to implement the AP since 2008, the university under study has decided to choose a prestigious university in the UK as its foreign counterpart for the coordinating AP specialized in transport construction engineering This AP, which has been carried out for 14 years with 9 graduated courses, has encountered several challenges in its implementation in terms of curriculum development, teaching methodology, financial and human resources. Particularly, questions have been raised about how EMI lecturers and students interact in their classrooms to ensure the comprehension of subject content in English, how they perceive and evaluate the impacts of the interaction on students’ content learning and their English proficiency These questions also fall in line with the ones raised concerning the overall picture of worldwide EMI practices, particularly when EMI has emerged as quite a new area in the Vietnamese education system It is understandable that Vietnam is facing more challenges than other countries that have much more experience in EMI teaching and learning. Obviously, there should be more in-depth investigation into the ways EMI is taught at HEIs, and the effects of EMI, with particular focus on how student learning is affected by the language used The need for such investigation is clear when there are questions about whether learning subject matter through a language other than the native tongue places extra demands and workload on students, or whether instruction through the medium of English actually inhibits holistic content learning or pushes students towards surface learning.
The current study investigates the EMI lecturers’ and students’ diverse› perceptions of classroom interaction practices in EMI classes in a technical university in Vietnam In spite of considerable amount of research on EMI implementation in HEIs across the world, few studies have been conducted to investigate classroom interaction between lecturers and students in EMI classes. Research on EMI classroom interaction has mainly focused on the observable aspects of classroom interaction but little on the unobservable angles of this complex process According to Tsui (2001), it is these mental processes in learners’ and teacher’ mind during classroom interaction need to be uncovered as they actually form the interaction Johnson (1998) considers teachers and learners’ perception of classroom events as an important part of understanding classroom events Additionally, the extant literature has not investigated how the EMI lecturers and students solve the problems emerged throughout classroom interaction and how the interaction affects their disciplinary learning and English abilities.
The study employs the constructivist grounded theory by Charmaz (2006) to provide a general explanation of the EMI classroom interaction practices based on the views of participants including EMI lecturers and students in a Vietnamese technical university It explores both the observable aspects in the EMI classes (the interaction between the lecturers and students) and the unobservable dimensions (the lecturers and students’ thoughts and perceptions on these interactions), and investigates how the interaction facilitates or inhibits students’ content learning and their English proficiency in a particular university context Creswell (2013:83) states “grounded theory is a qualitative research design in which the inquirer generates a general explanation (a theory) of a process, an action, or an interaction shaped by the views of a large number of participants” Therefore, grounded theory is suited for the purpose of the study.
This grounded theory study aims to explore EMI lecturers’ and students’ diverse and situated perceptions of their classroom interaction practices in aVietnamese technical university It is hoped that the study will contribute to knowledge about the nature of EMI classroom interaction as it takes place in a Vietnamese higher education context, as well as informing and illuminating EMI policy and practice.
There are four main objectives established as follows:
1 To examine the EMI lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of EMI teaching and learning practices at the institution, which serves as the foundations for understanding the nature of EMI classroom interaction practices
2 To investigate the classroom interaction practices between lecturers and students in the observed EMI classes;
3 To explore the EMI lecturers’ and students’ reasons for their classroom interaction practices.
4 To identify how these classroom interaction practices facilitate or inhibit students’ content learning and language proficiency as perceived by EMI lecturers and students.
In order to achieve the above main aim, the study sets out the following overarching research question:
What are EMI lecturers and students’ perceptions of EMI classroom interaction practices in a Vietnamese technical university?
Based on the overarching research question, the following sub-questions are addressed:
1) What are the lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of EMI teaching and learning practices at the institution under study?
2) What are the EMI classroom interaction practices and how do these interaction practices take place in the observed EMI classes?
3) Why do these interaction practices take place as explained by EMI lecturers and students?
4) How do the classroom interaction practices facilitate or inhibit students’ content learning and language proficiency as perceived by EMI lecturers and students?
The study sets out the four sub-questions in order to achieve the ultimate aim of the study, which examines the lecturers’ and students’ diverse perceptions of
EMI classroom interaction practices in a Vietnamese higher education context The first question is to find out the lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of general EMI teaching and learning practices, which provides an insightful understanding of EMI practices at the institution as well as essential information about the lecturers and students such as their beliefs, attitudes and motivations, which might play an important role in shaping their interaction practices in EMI classes The second question is to explore the interaction practices between EMI lecturers and students in the observed EMI classes The third research question is to examine the reasons why they perform these interaction practices Finally, the fourth research question is to investigate how the interaction practices facilitate or hinder the students’ content learning and language proficiency as perceived by EMI lecturers and students.
The researcher has established a set of limits to serve as a basis for the study, acknowledging that there are numerous approaches that can be used to examine lecturers’ and students' perceptions of classroom interaction practices in higher education The limits are described here, but they are addressed as well when appropriate throughout his thesis Many of these aid in creating novel research directions when combined with the findings.
Definition of key teri 2.0.0.0
Classroom interaction refers to “the interaction between the teacher and the learners and among the learners in the classroom” (Amy Tsui, 2001, p.120)
Content based Instruction (CBI: refers to “the concurrent study of language and subject matter, with the form and sequence of language presentation dictated by content material” (D., Snow, M A., & Wesche, M.,1989, p 5).
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): refers to € “a dual- focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language” (Coyle, D., Hood, P.,
& Marsh, D., 2010, p 1) It means teaching subject- matter through the medium of a language other than the first language The aim in CLIL is to teach both the language and the content at the same time, i.e., creating an environment where the learner picks up the language naturally while learning the content through the language.
Content knowledge encompasses what Shulman (1986) called the "structure of knowledge"-the theories, principles, and concepts of a particular discipline Especially important is content knowledge that deals with the teaching process, including the most useful forms of representing and communicating content and how students best learn the specific concepts and topics of a subject.
Constructivist grounded theory (CGT) is a “qualitative research methodology that seeks to understand and explore a social process where no adequate prior theory exists CGT uses an inductive approach to generating a new theory from
10 the data gathered through participant interviews or focus groups The approach is
“ứrounded” in the participants’ own words and experiences The ‘constructivist’ element of CGT refers to the fact that the evolving theory is constructed by the researcher and participants” (Ginsburg, S & Melvin, L., 2018, p 1).
English Medium Instruction (EMI) in higher education: refers to instruction of university level major courses through the medium of English, a foreign-language in the context Therefore, it is sometimes used interchangeably with foreign language medium instruction In contrast to CLIL, there is no overt aim to develop the language; in this sense, EMI is also called Content Learning through English (Van Leeuwen, 2003); Teaching through a Foreign Language (TTFL) and Foreign Language Mediated Instruction (FMI) (Hellekjaer & Westergaard, 2003; Hellekjaer & Wilkinson, 2003).
English as a Foreign Language (EFL): refers to the use of the (target) language in a community where it is not the usual means of communication.
EMI lecturer refers to the lecturer who teaches academic subjects via the medium of the English language in higher education institutions.
EMI student refers to one who studies academic subjects via the medium of the English language in higher education institutions.
EMI classroom interaction practices refer to the lecturers’ and students’ interactional activities that are repeatable, regular and recognizable in EMI classes.
General EMI practices refer to general EMI teaching and learning activities that are repeatable, regular and recognizable in the higher education institution.
Higher Education: refers to tertiary education, starting after secondary education. The term includes the university level education, both undergraduate and graduate.
Instructional Process: refers to teaching and learning of the subject matter In this study, it refers to instruction of the university-level course content through the medium of a foreign-language, English.
Perceptions: refers to the attitudes, beliefs and opinions of the stake-holders in the present study, i.e., EMI lecturers and undergraduate students.
Practices: refers to actions or activities that are repeatable, regular and recognizable in a given cultural context.
Overall structure of the fẽheSẽS - nghe, 12 IS
The thesis consists of six following chapters Chapter 1 is the Introduction, which states the rationale, research context, aims, scope, significance and the overall structure of the study Chapter 2 reviews the literature relevant to the topic of the research and summarizes previous studies on EMI classroom interaction practices, which helps identify the current gaps in these studies that need more investigation and contributions Chapter 3 presents the research methodology of the study, which discusses the epistemology of the research, rationale of the methodological approach, the participants, data collection and analysis procedures, the issues of trustworthiness and ethics of the study Chapter 4 reports and discusses the findings on EMI lecturers and students’ perceptions of general EMI practices based on the data analysis of intensive interviews Chapter 5 presents and discusses the findings of EMI classroom interaction practices and the lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of the classroom interaction practices via the analysis of observation and intensive interview data Chapter 6 summarizes findings, discusses the limitations and implications of the study, then finally suggests some directions for future research.
The introductory chapter is intended to set the scene for the research, which provides the readers with useful information in understanding the study First, the chapter briefly introduces the overall picture of EMI practices and the specific research context Next, it presents the aims, the objectives, the research questions and the scope of the study Significance of the study has also been discussed in the chapter The definitions of some key terms used in the study are presented and finally an overview of the thesis structure is given The next chapter is a review of the literature related to the key issues of this study, including discussions on EMI practices and classroom interaction studies.
LITERATURE REVIEW He 13 2.1 Overview Of EMÌ - ôtt HT 13 2.1.1 EMI origins and definitions eee - - + +4 1v HH HH ghe 13 2.1.2 Differentiating EMI, CLIL and CBI approaches -s+s<+s+s=s<<s2 16 2.1.3 EMI growth in higher education institutions worldwide eee eee 20 2.1.4 A brief overview of studies on EMI practices in HEÌs 5-52 22 2.1.5 Overview of EMI policies and practices in Vietnamese HEIs
EMI research in Vietnamese HEIs - + xxx EEekekekrkrkrkrreerree 34 2.2 Theoretical stances on classroom interaction in second language
As mentioned in the previous section, it is clear that EMI is getting more and more important in university programs in Vietnam, however, only a few studies on EMI implementation have been carried out in the country These studies have made quite similar conclusions about the implementation of EMI policy in Vietnam, which reveal a lot of problems from the macro to the micro levels.
Le (2012) critically reviews a number of aspects of using EMI at higher education institutions (HEIs) The author aims to address such issues as whether EMI at HEIs ensures students’ acquisition of language skills and subject content, whether EMI benefits a majority of people in the country, and whether it marginalizes disadvantaged students He concludes that without considering interfering factors while implementing at micro levels, lacking specific and sound strategies in practice, having no detailed preparation, and neglecting contextual issues may result in the collapse of the EMI project Consequently, students will not acquire both university subject content and language proficiency as expected.
His opinions were shared by Nguyen et al (2016) and Nguyen et al (2017) in two studies on EMI implementation Employing a language-in-education planning framework by Kaplan and Baldauf (1997) as the theoretical framework, Nguyen et al (2016) investigated how a Vietnamese public university deployed EMI as a strategy to navigate through the new regime of institutional autonomy mandated by the government A case study was conducted using interviews as the main data collection tool to gather information about the policies concerning EMI access, teaching staff, EMI evaluation and resources The implementation of EMI programs did not satisfy many of the necessary conditions such as lecturers’ English proficiency, materials and resources, teacher training and creating social and pedagogical environments for ensuring content and language learning outcomes.
Also based on language-in-educaton planning framework, Nguyen et al. (2017) examined difficulties and challanges in implementing EMI policy in a public university in Vietnam from macro (national), meso (institutional) to micro (individual) level She commented that the national guidelines for these EMI programs were too general to lead to informal practices and macro policy does not allow sufficient time and preparation for institutions to implement the new EMI policy At institutional and micro levels, there were also several obstacles in terms of English entry requirements, implementing imported curriculum, the poor English proficiency of both students and lecturers, and lecturers’ unfamiliarity with EMI focused pedagogy The author recommended solutions at these three different levels such as a detailed roadmap and timeline for implementation of an EMI program, reformulation and/or supplementation of imported programs and materials to fit requirements of local institutions and workplace contexts, reconsideration of language testing standards and procedures for enrolling EMI students, additional language support for EMI students and language and pedagogical support for EMI academics.
Another study was carried out by Vu & Burns (2014) to examine challenges facing EMI lecturers in implementing an EMI program in a Vietnamese public university The findings from the survey questionnaires and interviews reveal that lecturers have a lot of difficulties in terms of their own language abilities, students’ language competence and learning styles, pedagogical issues and resource abilities. The author implies that policy makers of EMI programs should take into account such issues in order to achieve success She also gives four suggestions concerning improvement of lecturers’ English proficiency, pedagogical support, institutional investment in English materials and technology, and finally reconsideration of student recruitment procedures for EMI programs These recomendations fall in line with those proposed by Nguyen et al (2017).
In general, the above mentioned research can figure out some traits of EMI implementation in Vietnam, which share common views about the problems facing Vietnamese HEIs in running EMI programs These have been tracked from the macro to the micro levels involving the lack of detailed guidelines from the government for an effective implementation of this language policy in HEIs, the
35 challenging delivery of imported curricular to students, inappropriate English entry requirements for students, the limited English proficiency of both EMI lecturers and students, EMI pedagogy and shortage of support resources and materials Several solutions have been suggested but little research has been done to examine whether they may work well for the existing problems Especially, there has not been any specific research on EMI classroom interaction, which can be regarded as an undiscovered land for Vietnamese researchers to consider in future studies. Therefore, the current study will try to seek the answer to this question, hoping to bridge the gap in the extant literature of EMI research.
2.2 Theoretical stances on classroom interaction in second language acquisition
According to Amy Tsui (2000, p 120), the term classroom interaction refers to “the interaction between the teacher and the learners and among the learners in the classroom” Early research on second language classroom interaction centered on the language use by the teacher and learners, the generated interaction and their impact on L2 learning However, recently, studies have started to investigate the underlying factors that shape interaction in the classroom, for example, teacher and learner beliefs, social and cultural background of the teacher and learners and the psychological aspects of second and foreign language learning All of these provide deeper understanding and further insights into the complexities of classroom interaction In order to understand this complex nature of classroom interactions, several theories related to second language acquisition should be discussed Thus, the following part reviews the most prominent theoretical frameworks related to second language acquisition in general and classroom interaction in particular.
2.2.1 Social interaction from cognitive perspectives
There have been a number of hypotheses, theories and models for explaining second language acquisition inspired by the cognitive perspectives Among them, the interaction hypothesis by Long (1983, 1996) and the noticing hypothesis by Schmit (1990, 2001) have emerged as dominant in the field and they have been used in several studies in exploring the nature of classroom interactions.
Evelyn Hatch (1978), Michael Long (1983, 1996), Teresa Pica (1994), Susan Gass (1997) and several other researchers have argued that conversational interaction is a necessary, if not sufficient, condition for second language
36 acquisition In their studies, these researchers have investigated the ways in which the speakers modify their speech and their interaction patterns in order to assist learners take part in a conversation or comprehend meaning in a new language. Although Long (1983) agreed with Krashen (1982) that comprehensible input is essential for acquiring the language, he put forward the question of how input could be made comprehensible According to his argument, modified interaction is the necessary mechanism for making language comprehensible Learners need opportunities to interact with other speakers to reach mutual understanding through negotiation of meaning Through interactions, the interlocutors can find out ways to keep the conversation going on and make the meaning more comprehensible for the less proficient ones According to Long (1983), modified interaction not only involves linguistic simplification but also elaboration, slower speech rate, gesture or the provision of additional contextual clues Some examples of conversational modifications are listed as comprehension checks, clarification requests, self- repetition or paraphrase etc Long revised this interaction hypothesis in 1996 by placing more emphasis on cognitive factors such as “noticing” and “corrective feedback” during interaction When people have difficulties in communicating their ideas, they must “negotiate for meaning” and this negotiation can help develop the language This concept is closely related to Swain’s (1985) comprehensible output hypothesis According to Swain (1985), learners can see their limits of their language and find the way to express their meaning when they have to produce language that their interlocutors can understand In other words, the need to produce comprehensible output pushes the learners in their language development.
Another influential hypothesis in language acquisition is the noticing hypothesis proposed by Richard Schmidt (1990, 2001) He suggests that nothing is learned unless it has been “noticed” Noticing does not lead to language acquisition but it is the important starting point According to this perspective, comprehensible input cannot improve language knowledge unless the learner is aware of a particular language feature Based on psychological learning theories, Schmidt (2001) hypothesized that second language learners are not able to acquire a language feature until they became aware of it in the language input Susan Gass (1988) also depicted a learning process that starts when learners notice something in the second
37 language that is different from what they have learned or expected However, this hypothesis raised a considerable debate on whether learners must be aware that they are noticing something in the input As stated in the information processing theories, anything that utilizes our mental processing space can contribute to learning even if we are not aware of it From a usage based perspective, language acquisition is likely to occur when something is available for processing not because of the learners’ awareness of something in the input Therefore, researchers may seek other theories to examine factors that affect learners’ language acquisition, one of which is the social cultural theory advocated by Vygotsky (1978).
2.2.2 Social interaction from socio-cultural perspectives
Within the broad field of research on learning and social interaction, sociocultural theory by Vygotsky (1978) is now commonly used as an explanaratory conceptual framework Interaction is a key concept in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory because of its importance in knowledge acquisition.
Vygotsky (1978) indicates that the origin of knowledge construction should not be sought in the mind but in the social interaction co-constructed between a more and a less knowledgeable individual More specifically, the construction of knowledge is a socioculturally mediated process influenced by the physical and psychological tools and artifacts (Lantolf, 2004) Walqui (2006, p.160) reaffirms Vygotsky’s theory by stating “Social interaction is the basis of learning and development Learning is a process of apprenticeship and internationalization in which skills and knowledge are transformed from the socio into the cognitive plane” Although Vygotsky’s interest was essentially in adult-child interactions, this draws attentions to education theory and educational inquiry, particularly to the role of interactions between students and teachers and among students in knowledge acquisition in classroom contexts.
Walqui (2006, p.160) lists the following assumptions as the core tenets underlying Vygotsky’ sociocultural theory:
2) Language is the main vehicle (tool) of thought.
3) Mediation is central to learning.
4) Social interaction is the basis of learning and development Learning is a process of apprenticeship and internalization in which skills and knowledge are transformed from the social into cognitive plane.
5) The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the primary activity space in which learning occurs.
Unlike the psychological theories that consider thinking and speaking as related but independent processes, sociocultural theory views speaking and thinking as tightly interwoven (Lightbown & Spada, 2013) Thinking is mediated by speaking and writing, which means that people can control their mental processes as a result of internalizing what others say to them and what they say to others This internal processing occurs when an individual interacs with an interlocutor within his or her proximal development (ZPD) — in this situation the leaner can perform at a higher level because they are supported with the scaffolding offered by an interlocutor.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Su ceieieike 56 3.1 Philosophical assumptions and methodological approach for the study
Overview of grounded theory - 5-5 tt + HH HH1 111 ri 60 1 Definitions of grounded th€OTV - ¿+ + 5s + +t SE *kEeEekerekekreresekreerkrrrersre 61 2 Types of grounded th€OTV - + + + + xxx Ek#kEkExeEExrx re rke 62 3 Comparison of three grounded theory types . s ô55s sex seeeterrrerree 66 4 Assumptions and strategies of constructivist grounded theory
The following part presents an overview of grounded theory including its different definitions and development over the decades, which provides more insightful understanding of the reasons why I have adopted the Constructivist Grounded Theory as the methodological approach for my study.
Grounded theory is one of the most dominant qualitative methodologies in social sciences, which is used to craft a theory that reveals patterns inherent in social relationships and group behaviours (Birks & Mills, 2015).
Grounded theory was developed in 1967 by two sociologists, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss Before the establishment of grounded theory, these two scholars were not satisfied with the way in which existing theories dominated sociological research They argued that researchers needed a method that would allow them to develop new theories from data, not just using data to justify the pre- determined theories Such new theories would be specific to the particular context in which they had been developed They would be “grounded’ in the data from which they emerge rather than rely on analytical constructs, categories or variables from pre-existing theories Grounded theory, therefore, was designed to open up a space for the development of new, contextualized theories.
Glaser stated that grounded theory is “a general methodology of analysis linked with data collection that uses a systematically applied set of methods to generate an inductive theory about a substantive area” (Glaser, 1992, p 16). Grounded theory is defined by Strauss and Corbin (1990, p 12) as “the theory that was derived from data, systematically gathered and analyzed through the research process” In this approach, the aim is to construct a theory that is grounded in the data (Glaser, 1978, 1992; Glaser & Strauss, 1967, 2009; Strauss, 1987) The intent of a grounded theory study is to move beyond description and to generate a theory or a “unified theoretical explanation” (Corbin & Strauss, 2007, p 107) for a process or an action.
A key idea is that this theory development does not come “off the shelf,” but rather is generated or “grounded” in data from participants who have experienced the process (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) According to Creswell (2013), grounded theory is a qualitative research design in which the inquirer generates a general explanation (a theory) of a process, an action, or an interaction shaped by the views of a number of participants.
Punch (1998, p 163) explained the grounded theory approach as follows:
“grounded theory is not a theory at all It is a method, an approach, a
61 strategy Grounded theory is best defined as a research strategy whose purpose is to generate theory from data ‘Grounded’ means that theory will be generated on the basis of data; the theory will therefore be grounded in data ‘Theory’ means that the objective of collecting and analyzing the research data is to generate theory The essential in grounded theory is that theory will be developed inductively” This means the theory is grounded in the data in the field rather than based on some priori constructed ideas, notions, or system.
Glaser (1978) stated that grounded theory is a research approach that results in the development of middle-range theory at a substantive or formal level This explicit goal of theory generation makes grounded theory unique and different from other qualitative research methods Glaser and Strauss (1967) differentiated
‘substantive theory’ from formal theory Substantive theory is developed from research conducted in one specific area or contextual situation, such as patient care. Formal theory development is more conceptual An example of the substantive theory approach would be research into pain or violence Several grounded theory based studies have aimed to develop substantive theories, which are new and contextualized ones.
Charmaz (2006) who bases her grounded theory on social constructivism, defines it as “methods consist of systematic, yet flexible guidelines for collecting and analyzing qualitative data to construct theories 'grounded' in the data themselves” Being different from Glaser’s positivist views (1978), Strauss and Corbin’s post positivist views (1998), Chamaz (2006) claim that “research participants' implicit meanings, experiential views and researchers’ finished grounded theories are constructions of reality” In her view, the researchers construct grounded theories through their past and present involvement and interaction with people, perspectives and research practices.
Grounded theory studies are not conducted to test hypotheses but to generate theories that directly capture and explain processes, actions or interactions involving real life social phenonmena (Holton, 2009) According to Charmaz (1995), grounded theory tends to investigate unexposed or insufficiently reported social situations Through empirical fieldwork in social settings, grounded theory explores participants’ perspectives and actions through an inductive approach to generate theory grounded in the complexities of the real world (Urquhart, 2013).
Until now, there have been three major types of grounded theory (GT), including Classic GT by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Systematic GT (or also called interpretive GT) by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and Constructivist GT by Charmaz (2006) The following part discusses the types of grounded theory in details.
The first approach of grounded theory, the classic grounded theory was developed by Glaser and Strauss in 1967 This grounded theory type requires the researcher to delay the process of literature review until the data analysis has been completed and a theory has been established Glaser is often considered a pioneer grounded theorist and holds the view that the researcher should keep distance in the research process in order to avoid any biases and preconceived ideas into the research.
Classic grounded theory (CGT) is renowned for its “constant comparative” method — one of the main feature of most grounded theory studies (Hood, 2007) which involves comparing data with data to identify similarities and cluster them to create “codes” (Fram, 2013) Codes are interpretive labels assigned to concepts, ideas or themes that arise from the data, and become the units to conceptualize a theory (Saldana, 2016) Researchers simultaneously use theoretical sampling, which surrounds the data analysis, informing them which data to collect next and where these might be found (McCrae & Purssell, 2016) CGT’s coding of data focuses on two steps: (1) substantive coding, and (2) theoretic coding (Holton & Walsh, 2017). Substantive coding occurs throughout the initial analysis of emerging data The emphasis of a core category within GT includes denoting the main phenomenon connecting all other categories together Following the discovery of the core category, the researcher will begin to make theoretical hypotheses regarding its relationship with the remaining categories This theoretic coding stage additionally includes “coding family” that are available to assist with the process Glaser refers to these coding families as theoretic codes and describe them as abstractions which are used in merging categories together and towards the final goal of substantive theory (Glaser, 2013).
An exemplar of this Classic GT design conducted by Larson (1997) has been discussed by Creswell (2012) The aim of the study was to develop an explanation
63 for high school teachers’ conception of the classroom discussion The researcher examined data to develop categories at first, then the categories were refined into fewer categories, followed by comparing data with emerging categories and lastly an emerging theory regarding the process of classroom discussion was written without presenting a diagram.
3.2.2.2 Systematic Grounded theory (Interpretive GT):
This type of grounded theory design is broadly applied in educational research.
A typical systematic design in grounded theory is composed of three stages of coding, namely open coding, axial coding and selective coding (Creswell, 2012).
In the first stage of coding, open coding, a grounded theorist is required to construct initial categories of information about the studied subjects by segmenting the collected data (Creswell, 2012) In order to do so, the grounded theorist needs to identify the important words or phrases and label them by using suitable term (Birk
ỐC con nan hố ae
The study is conducted in a technical university in Vietnam, which mainly specializes in technical majors such as civil engineering, telecommunications, mechanics, information technology etc The university has 12 faculties providing different programmes and courses, however, English as a medium of instruction is only taught in the programmes under the Faculty of International Education with two programmes namely the Advanced and High Quality programmes EMI was first introduced in the civil engineering courses (High quality programmes - HQP) at the university about 21 years ago and has been continuously delivered since then. With the High-Quality programmes, EMI has been taught in 30 percent of the majors, often in the last two academic years of the programmes The Advanced Programme (AP) specializing in civil engineering was first introduced in 2008 with the approval of the Ministry of Education and Training on selecting the university as one of 27 higher institutions conducting the APs in different majors These APs aim to internationalize Vietnamese higher education, improving the quality of education and producing graduates who are well qualified both in the subject content and English proficiency, as well as being able to work in the internationalized labour markets.
The AP at the targeted university under study is divided into two phases with the first year delivering some basic subjects as stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) such as philosophy, physical education, military education in Vietnamese and an intensive English course aiming at the 5.5 IELTS target (equivalent to B2 CEFR level) at the end of the first academic year Students are required to achieve 6.0 IELTS at the end of the second year, which is also the graduation requirement for English proficiency In the second year, the students start to study the specialized subjects in English and all their tests and exams are conducted in English Finally, after four and a half year of the training program, they have to defend their graduation projects in English As stated in the EMI program directives, the overall objective is to promote the integral connection between the subject knowledge and academic English proficiency English is
74 explicitly stipulated as the working language for classroom instruction, teaching materials, assignments and exams Students are expected to master the content knowledge via the medium of English language, which prepares them to have more job opportunities as well as chances of further study abroad after graduation.
There were two reasons why the AP programs were selected as the subject of the study Firstly, this AP was a coordinating program with a prestious university in the UK, which was appoved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training. These coordination programs were regulated in the National Foreign Language
2020 (NFL2020) and the AP programs at Decision No 1505 in 2008 by the Vietnamese Prime Minister The quality of such programs was of great importance, not only for the institution under study, but also for the higher education sector in Vietnam Secondly, the students in these programs were required to study EMI in all the academic disciplines at the institution, which provided favourable conditions for the data collection procedures as they could reflect the true nature of EMI class practices in Vietnam These were the reasons as well as the driving force for the researcher to conduct the study in the hope that the findings would contribute to improving the quality of EMI programs in Vietnamese HEIs.
According to Creswell, participants in a grounded theory study “need to be individuals who have participated in the process or action the researcher is studying” (Creswell, 2013, p 150) Charmaz (2006) recommends including 20 to
30 individuals in order to develop a well-saturated theory but this number may be larger.
Participants for this grounded theory were selected based on purposive sampling Purposive sampling is an appropriate method for selecting the most suitable participants in grounded theory studies This involves identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals that are especially knowledgeable about or experienced with a phenomenon of interest (Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2011) In addition to knowledge and experience, Bernard (2002) and Spradley (1979) note the importance of availability and willingness to participate, and the ability to communicate experiences and opinions in an articulate, expressive, and reflective manner Charmaz (2006) states that grounded theory usually starts with
75 purposive sampling and later uses theoretical sampling to select participants who can best contribute to developing the theory.
For the current study, two groups of participants including two AP third year classes with 35 AP third year students and 6 EMI content lecturers were selected as the participants of the study The criteria set for selecting the participants were as follows For the EMI students, they should have learnt EMI subjects for a period of time and had sufficient EMI learning experience so that they could provide precise information Among the AP classes in the institution, the third-year classes were selected as the students had been studying EMI for one year, which was also the first year they started to learn EMI, and encountered several challenges in EMI study Data collected during this time could reflect the problems they had to deal with and therefore, the findings could contribute to enhancing the quality of EMI programs in the institution For the EMI lecturers, they should have edequate EMI teaching experience at the institution (at least 3 years) and they were the EMI lecturers who taught these two third-year EMI classes during the time of data collection.
The first AP class (AP 59) consisted of 21 students and the second one (AP 60) had 14 students The sizes of these AP classes were very small as the number of students registered in these programs declined in the last few years due to high requirements of English proficiency outcomes for AP students and decreasing labour demands for civil engineering By the time of the study, the AP students had already undertaken 4 semesters of English preparation courses and 2 semesters of EMI study They had been required to pass an in-house IELTS screening test in order to ensure that they met the English requirement for EMI study (stipulated as B2 CEFR level at the university) The following tables summarise the information about these two AP classes.
Table 3.3 Information about AP 59 Class
No Student ID Gender English proficiency levels
Table 3.3 shows information about AP 59 class Of 21 AP 59 students, 20 were males and only one female Concerning their English proficiency levels, 17
AP students (81%) reached the B2 levels (ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 IELTS in the IELTS internal test (01 student got 6.5 IELTS, 2 got 6.0 IELTS and 14 students got 5.5), and 4 students (19%) attained B1 level (equivalent to 4.5 to 5.0 IELTS). Therefore, 4 students did not meet the requirement for English proficiency to study EMI but were still allowed to study EMI courses in this semester They were requested to retake this IELTS test in the next semester as a fulfillment of English requirement.
Table 3.4 provides information about the second class, AP 60 class This class had a smaller size in comparison to AP 59 class as the enrolment of AP programs was getting harder throughout the years (14 students compared to 21 students of AP 59) There was only 1 female and 13 males in this class and the English proficiency levels ranged from B1 to B2 levels (4.5 IELTS to 6.5 IELTS in the internal IELTS
77 test) 10 AP 60 students (71%) attained B2 levels, of them, I student with 6.5 IELTS, 1 with 6.0 IELTS, 8 students with 5.5 IELTS, and 4 students attained BI level (28%, ranging from 4.5 to 5.0 IELTS) Thus, there were 4 students who did not meet the requirement for English proficiency and they were required to retake this test in the next semester although they were still permitted to study EMI in this semester.
Table 3.4 Information about AP 60 Class
No Student ID Gender English proficiency levels
The reason why some students were still permitted to continue their EMI study even though they had not attained the required English proficiency was the small size of these classes and the AP program was very different from other programs at the institution The students could not register in any other classes if they dropped out of this program Therefore, they had to make a lot of effort to achieve the expected English proficiency requirements in the next semester if they wanted to continue their EMI study in the following academic years.
The second group of participants were 06 EMI lecturers who taught these two
AP classes, of them, lecturer 01, 02 and 03 taught the AP 59 class, and lecturer 04,
05 and 06 taught the AP 60 class Most of them obtained Doctor degrees (05 lecturers with Doctor degrees, one had MA degree) in English taught engineering programs in a foreign country (England, Germany, France, Japan and Singapore) and had experience of teaching EMI for at least 3 years Thus, the participants were well aware of the EMI teaching and learning practices in order to contribute
78 sufficient data for the current study Table 3.5 summarizes information about the EMI lecturers who participated in the study.
Table 3.5 Information about the EMI lecturers
Major/ Country of Years of EMI
EMI lecturer Qualifications R teaching graduation experience
Lecturer 01 Dr/ Associate Prof | Technical Maths/Germany 11 years
Lecturer 02 Dr/ Associate Prof Transport Construction 11 years engineering/France
Lecturer 03 Doctor Geological engineering/ 5 years
Lecturer 04 Doctor Failure Mechanism/Japan 7 years
Lecturer 05 Doctor Construction 6 years materials/England
Lecturer 06 Master Technical Mathematics/ 3 years
As the researcher also worked in the same institution under study, the data collection procedures were quite convenient The researcher contacted the EMI lecturers and students directly or via phone to invite them to participate in the study. Then the consent forms were sent to all the participants via mail to explain more details about the study procedures and ask them for their agreement on taking part in the study Among seven EMI lecturers, six agreed to join but one refused as they did not teach EMI courses to AP class in the academic year 2020-2021.
Concerning the EMI students, all of them agreed to take part in the study thanks to the good relationship with the researcher Actually, the researcher used to be their English lecturer as well as their academic advisor in the first two years at the institution then they knew the researcher very well This was an advantage for the researcher to collect data as they could express their opinions and perceptions without hesitation or confusion as they did with strangers In fact, in the first two years when the researcher had been their academic advisor, the EMI students often contacted with the researcher for asking for help with their problems in their professional studies at university Therefore, the researcher believed that the information that the EMI students provided was true and reliable.
To ensure rich data, the data collection stage is a crucial stage to obtain different kinds of sources as an endeavour to develop explicit theories Gathering
EMI LECTURERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF
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The analysis of interview data with EMI lecturers showed that the necessary qualifications required by the institution were lecturers with Doctor or Master degrees in EMI programmes in a foreign country or those with Doctor or Master degrees in Vietnam but having international certificates in English language like IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.
Among six EMI lecturers, five EMI lecturers answered that they got the doctoral degrees in a foreign country (Germany, Australia, Japan and France), and one lecturer (Lecturer 06) got his Master degree in Singapore in the majors they were teaching and they did and defended their dissertations in the English language. They said they met the requirement of the institution for EMI lecturers.
Lecturer 01 said “The institution has set the requirement that the EMI lecturers are those who studied abroad or got the international English certificates like TOEFL or IELTS, I think I have met that requirement”.
Lecturer 02 explained: “ 7 graduated abroad and defended my doctor thesis in English so the institution has accepted me as having sufficient language proficiency for teaching EMI (equivalent to B2 CEFR level) ”
Therefore, according to all the lecturers, the requirements were those who got doctoral degrees and international English certificates like IELTS or TOEFL or ones who studied and defended their doctoral thesis in English in a foreign country were accepted to teach EMI at the institution One lecturer added the ideas that he also wrote articles and reports for international academic journals and conferences in English that he thought was necessary for teaching EMI.
There were two main reasons for teaching EMI as explained by EMI lecturers, institutional requirements and lecturer motivation.
All of the EMI lecturers had similar reasons for teaching EMI, which was the institution’s requirements for teaching the specialized subjects in English to AP &
HQ programs All six lecturers were appointed for teaching EMI by the institution as they had sufficient qualifications and experience for doing this job.
Lecturer 06 said: “J have participated in this programme as appointed When
I started working for the university, I was under the management of the International Education Faculty as it directly manages the advanced and high quality programmes that I have joined since 2016”
Apart from the above reason for teaching EMI, lecturer 02 mentioned the motivation for taking part in this programme as follows: “One more reason is because I like advanced and high-quality programmes, I have experience in teaching in France When I was in France, I taught the content knowledge in French but when I came back to Vietnam, I taught in English” The lecturer explained that he did his doctor degree in France but his doctorate programme was in English and he spoke both French and English quite well.
They thought the EMI policy was an appropriate one to meet the demand of the labour market, which was to train engineers with good content knowledge and English proficiency All of the lecturers had at least 5 years experience of teaching EMI courses at the institution, and more than 7 to 10 years teaching the content knowledge in Vietnamese Therefore, they had a lot of experience in teaching the content knowldge to the students.
All of the EMI lecturers said that there was no official training for EMI teaching methodology but there was an English improvement course for EMI lecturers The aim of the course was to provide English knowledge and skills so that the EMI lecturers could get 6.5 IELTS at the end of the course.
Lecturer 01, who joined the English improvement course for EMI lecturers, said: “I have not been given any training in EMI teaching methodology, but the institution organized an IELTS course for EMI lecturers to improve their English proficiency” He got the satisfactory result after the course.
Five lecturers (Lecturer 02, 03, 04, 05 and 06) said they did not participate in the English improvement course Four of them (Lecturer 03, 04, 05 and 06) said they started teaching for the institution after 2008, the time when the IELTS course was organized for EMI lecturers, one (lecturer 02) said that he could not take the course because he was so busy.
Lecturer 04 said: “It was not official training, I conducted a trial teaching for EMI in the section office for comments and advice I have not been given training in English proficiency as I started working for the university after the English course”.
Lecturer 05 stated: “Actually, I myself feel that I have enough knowledge for teaching EMI, doing research and writing academic articles I have not been required by the faculty or the institution for training, maybe because of lecturers’ profiles, they have good English proficiency so they have been chosen for teaching EMI”.
The lecturers mentioned several benefits of EMI not only for the students but also for the lecturers including improving students’ English proficiency, enhancing international integration for both EMI lecturers and students and job opportunities for students.
First and foremost, the EMI students could improve their English proficiency because they were exposed to the English language throughout the course Lecturer
03 commented that “The students are able to enhance their English ability through EMI as that is their content knowledge and they will feel interested in English). Lecturer 04 confirmed “Surely, they will improve their English Students often read materials and do tests in English ”.
The second benefit that the lecturers mentioned was that EMI improved students’ international integration into the world, especially after they graduate from university, they could find a job in a foreign company or working with foreign partners Lecturer 05 said “Studying EMI helps students to improve their English Skills and they have a lot of job opportunities with international integration”. Lecturer 06 explained “Nowadays, most construction projects are foreign invested such as the investors and the consultants etc, therefore, learning EMI is a great advantage”.
In particular, lecturer 05 even compared the graduates from EMI and VMI courses He stated that EMI students had more job opportunities than VMI students thanks to their better English proficiency He stated: “/f students have quite good content knowledge in English, they will have more advantages than students graduated from VMI courses In fact, many companies test their candidates’ English ability and reject those who do not meet English requirements, especially the enterprises working with foreign partners Good qualifications are similar to those in VMI courses, no difference in terms of content knowledge The companies will provide more training for their employees It is possible that some students are not as good as those in VMI course in terms of content knowledge but they have better English proficiency that make up for that deficiency”.
In addition, the lecturers also enjoyed an opportunity for improving themselves, especially enhancing the access to the international integration, lecturer
04 stated: “Higher international integration for those who teach EMI (EMI lecturers) through teaching the content in English, teachers can get access to international coursebooks and teaching methodologies ”.
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There were seven major problems reported by EMI lecturers when they first started teaching EMI in terms of the lecturers themselves and the students The problems included Jecturers’ teaching methodologies, lecturers’ workload, curriculum framework, EMI terminology, students’ mixed abilities and limited English proficiency, and students’ limited interaction while learning EMI.
All the six EMI lecturers said they did not have training in EMI teaching methodology, which caused a lot of challenges for them At the beginning, they had
105 to struggle a lot in order to teach EMI subjects that the institution had appointed them They had to attend the lessons by other experienced teachers to know how to teach EMI lessons Lecture 06 said: “I had to attend some EMI lessons as a teaching assistant for a while to observe how to teach content knowledge and EMI terminologies At that time, I often attended lessons of Mr Sang and Mr Hung, the Vice Dean of the faculty”.
Another lecturer described his problem in teaching the subject content in English, combining the knowledge with the students’ civil engineering major:
“There were some problems, the biggest problem was how to reconcile Maths with their majors in English, that means not to teach mechanically but also provide them with relating examples to apply in their engineering major in English, which is very challenging”.
Mentioning their workload in EMI, all of the EMI lecturers stated that they had to spend a lot of time preparing for the lessons They had to read and select the suitable materials for students’ levels Lecturer 02 said “This is the most important point and take up the most time in teaching EMI Teachers need to read a lot of materials and select the best and the most comprehensible ones for students for reƒerence” Lecture 05 affirmed: “Designing lessons take a lot of time and effort I myself have to spend time preparing lessons and materials to send to students for reference.”
Another difficulty laid in the curriculum framework They complained that the amount of time allocated for the EMI subjects was reduced, which caused quite a lot of challenges for the EMI lecturers Lecturer 05 said: “J am in charge of not only developing the curriculum for the UTC but also for Vietnam-Germany university in Thu Dau Mot, I can see that Vietnam Germany university is an international university which can completely apply EMI teaching methods during the training process and their graduates can go abroad for further study However, the curriculum at our university has many subjects stipulated in the curriculum framework, therefore the relevant EMI content knowledge is reduced in terms of time and when organizing class activities, the lecturers have to consider very carefully If they cannot teach extra lessons for students, they must have other ways to make up for them to complete teaching all the content knowledge to the students during their EMI course” He also added about the reduction of time and content
106 knowledge in his subject as follows: “These EMI lessons like this in international universities have large amount of time allocation When I came back to the university, the curriculum had been designed so I don’t know how it had been developed, from 4 to five credits for each subject had been reduced to 2 to 3 credits”.
One problem mentioned by the EMI lecturers was concerned with the EMI terminologies They complained that there was not an established standard EMI system in Vietnam, which caused a lot of difficulties for EMI lecturers to translate them into Vietnamese They believed that an English terminology system in civil engineering should be set up to assist EMI lecturers and students in their teaching and learning For example, lecturer 04 said: “Tt is very difficult to translate many EMI terminologies into Vietnamese, which causes a lot of debates and arguments.
In the future, a system of standard EMI terminologies should be established and precisely assessed In the documents on standards or regulations, they try to define the terminologies and how they are understood ”.
Concerning the challenges from the students, the biggest obstacle was the EMI students’ mixed abilities not only in the content knowledge but also the English proficiency Lecturer 03 said “J always check if the students understand the lesson or not, some of them are excellent in the first enrolled course, but some almost do not comprehend anything, Some of them were good but some others were not good enough both in English and content knowledge’’ Lecturer 06 said: “The students of course 54 and 55 were good at English, some students of course 57 were excellent and they speak English very well but some others were very weak actually” Lecturer
02 stated “There are difficulties because the students have to study the new knowledge in English but the students’ English proficiency levels are uneven”.
One obstacle often mentioned by the lecturers is the students’ limited English proficiency, especially knowledge of EMI terminologies, which caused a lot of difficulties for lecturers in their teaching Lecturer 05 also added: “The students of later courses have quite low English proficiency so their content comprehension and knowledge of EMI terminologies are not good, therefore I have to pause during the lesson to explain so that they can understand the next sections” Lecturer 02 complained: “Students do not know the basic terminologies in the subjects At present, they still cope with this problem”.
Apart from that, the lecturers also gave negative comments on the students’ communication skills in English Lecturer 04 said: “One more challenge is not all students can communicate in English fluently so it is hard to convey knowledge to them” Lecturer 06 commented: “At present, there are not difficulties about coursebooks and materials but problems are from other aspects, for example, the students of previous courses are better so the communication in English is easy, students understand what the lecturer says and the lecturer understands what the students say Now in many situations, the students do not understand what the lecturer says.”
One more obstacle mentioned by the EMI lecturers is the students’ limited interaction that can affect their content learning in English They kept silent and took notes during the EMI lessons According to EMI lecturers, students’ limited interaction was was caused by their personalities For example, Lecturer 05 said:
“Vietnamese students are often rather passive, afraid of making mistakes, quiet and reserved so the exchange of ideas in English during teaching takes a lot of time and effort, and if the lecturer is not patient, the students will follow Vietnamese style, that is keeping silent and taking notes”.
Solutions can be categorized into Self-determination and Negotiation Self determination includes solution decided by themselves and Negotiation involves exchanging with colleagues and educational managers.
All EMI lecturers tried to solve the problems by themselves in different ways, which included designing the lessons, teaching EMI terminologies to students, combining L1 and L2 in teaching EMI, changing their teaching methodologies, exchanging with students personally to solve problems.
The first way mentioned was to design the lessons by themselves One lecturer, lecturer 06 said: “J myself found out materials, prepare slides for lessons and ask for other experienced lecturers’ slides for reference, when designing the lesson by myself, I have the focus for teaching, if you want to prepare well, you should do it by yourself This takes a lot of time ”.
Another lecturer, lecturer 02 used a different way to deal with the problems in teaching EMI He said that EMI students did not have sufficient EMI vocabulary,
108 therefore, he taught EMI terminologies to students He said: “The lecturer solved the problem by themselves by teaching more terminologies of that subject”.
EMI students’ perceptions of EMI teaching and learning practices
The interviews with EMI students were also divided into two main parts The first part focused on the students’ perceptions of EMI teaching and learning practices in general such as the reasons for choosing EMI to study, benefits of EMI, problems and solutions when learning EMI, self-evaluation of their English proficiency for EMI study, their opinions about EMI lecturers’ English proficiency and EMI teaching methodology, teaching and learning facilities as well as material resources for EMI, their opinions about EMI assessments, impacts of EMI on their content learning and English proficiency, and factors affecting the success of EMI practices, The aim of the questions was to explore the aspects that could affect students’ EMI learning in general and their EMI classroom interaction in particular.
The second part of the interview centred on major categories emerged from the analysis of the classroom interaction observation data, explaining the common interaction practices the students often did during the observed lessons The findings of this part will be presented in the next chapter.
There were thirty-five EMI third-year students participating in the study and answering interview questions Following are the findings from the first part of the interviews with the EMI students.
4.2.1 Reasons for choosing EMI courses
The analysis of data show that the EMI students had a variety of reasons for their decision on choosing EMI courses The reasons range from English
114 proficiency improvement, job opportunities, the quality of the EMI courses and lecturers, chances for further study abroad, professional improvement, preferences for civil engineering, — relatives’ recommendations, university _ staff” recommendations Some students listed not only one reason but several reasons why they chose to register the EMI courses at the university Table 4.1 summarizes these reasons by number of responses and percentages of the responses.
Table 4.1 Reasons for choosing EMI courses listed by EMI students
No Reasons for choosing EMI courses Frequency Percentage counts
8 | Recommendations by university enrollment staff 4/35 11%
9 | No idea of the EMI courses 3/35 8.5%
The most common reason (62.8 % of the students’ answers) was related to the students’ expectations for improving their English proficiency They mentioned the improvement of their English skills and vocabulary when studying EMI as the main driving force that motivated them to register EMI courses Student 03 stated:
“T registered in AP class because I know that the students will study all subjects in English then I can improve my English skills” Student 14 said: “I feel that if I study the subject in English, I can practice English” Another student explained: “7 participate in AP class as I know students of this programme study the technical majors in English I registered as English is my strength” Student 25 added: “AP class will help me a lot in reading English materials” Stadent 17 said: “Apart from studying the majors in Vietnamese, I want to improve my profession in English to improve my English vocabulary” Thus, it can be concluded that English proficiency was an important factor that attracted students to this programme.
The second most common reason listed by the EMI students was concerning with the job opportunities (51.4% of the answers) They believed that studying EMI could help them find jobs more easily not only in Vietnamese companies but also in foreign ones For example, student 05 explained: “As J think studying in AP class can help me find a job easily” Student 15 said: “After graduation, I can apply in foreign
115 companies and use my English ability in my job” Student 32 explained: “Tn the future, the prospect of working in a foreign enterprise can be expanded” Student 14 had the same opinion: “J can not only work in the country but also work abroad”.
The third most common reason for choosing EMI courses was the quality of EMI courses relating to the quality of EMI lecturers, the small number of students per class, the imported curriculum and the facilities Qualified and experienced lecturers were the first factor mentioned by students Student 03 claimed: “The curriculum is taught by experienced lecturers (100% of lecturers studied abroad) with high professional skills” Student 11 added: “The opportunity of contacting foreign lecturers is very helpful for my professional study” Some students registered to study AP because they thought the quality of this programme was better than other mass programmes at the institution thanks to the small number of students per class Student 01 said: “7 registered because I thought the number of students in the International Faculty is much lower than that in the mass programmes, then the quality must be better” Students also mentioned the new curriculum delivery in comparison to mass programs as a reason for learning EMI:
“As I see the programme is delivered in new ways, students learn in English and can get good degrees” Student 01 mentioned benefits provided by the programme for the country’s development as new knowledge can be updated in the EMI courses: “to develop the country, we must improve and study new knowledge from all around the world The AP class of the International Education Faculty is an appropriate idea The knowledge is updated according to new trends
The fourth most common reason for choosing EMI courses listed by EMI students was the professional knowledge improvement (22%) For instance, student
01 stated: “The knowledge has been continuously updated and students can study their technical majors in English This is perhaps the most prominent point that persuaded me to register AP class” Student 14 confirmed: “Studying the technical majors in English opens up many opportunities to improve our professional knowledge”.
The next reason mentioned by EMI students was the chances for studying abroad after graduation (20%) For example, student 03 explained: “The reason for registering AP class is having opportunity for going abroad for further study”.
Student 25 also said: “J registered because I think with the English knowledge and content knowledge in English, I can study abroad after I graduate from university”.
Another reason that made students choose to study EMI courses was their preferences for civil engineering (17%) Student 04, 08 and 30 and some others stated that they decided to register this course because they liked the idea of constructing transport works “The reason for registering this class is that I love building transport works”.
The next common reason for studying EMI civil engineering courses was relatives’ recommendations (14%) This was rather common practice in Vietnam that parents or relatives always guided their children to follow the same path of career. Student 32 said: “My father and my elder brother work in transport sector so they want me to follow the same job” Another student (Student 27) said “Most of my relatives work in transport sector so they guide me to follow transport career”.
Four of thirty-five students (11%) decided to study AP class due to the recommendations of university enrollment staff For example, student 01 said: “One more reason is the staff's advice and recommendations in the enrollment consultation on the training quality” Student 28 said: “The enrollment staff recommended this programme and I think it has many advantages so I registered”.
EMI CLASSROOM INTERACTION PRACTICES: THE
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Data analysis of the classroom observation protocols has shown that there were four major interaction types emerged including interaction between the lecturer and the whole class, lecturer and individual students, lecturer with students in pair work, lecturer with students in group work (see figure 5.1) The next part describes the interaction types in more details.
Figure 5.1 Interaction types identified from observation protocols
Among these interaction types, the interaction between the lecturers and the whole class was prevalent with the highest frequency reported in the observation analysis (297 frequency counts /17 lesson observations), in which the lecturer taught and explained the content knowledge, asked questions, gave commands and work to the whole class and greeted the students when entering or leaving the class.
Teaching content Keeping silent Explaining content Taking notes Asking questions Answering Giving command occasionally
Figure 5.2 Lecturer-Whole class interaction
However, the interaction between the class and the lecturer was rather limited (75 frequency counts/ 17 lesson observation) Often the class kept silent and took notes while the lecturer was teaching, sometimes answered the questions raised by the lecturer.
The next interaction type was between the EMI lecturer and the individual student (78 frequency counts /17 lesson observation), in which the EMI lecturer asked one particular student to answer the question or to go to the board to do the exercise When being asked by the EMI lecturer, the individual student stood up and did as required.
Figure 5.3 Lecturer-Individual student interaction
Individual work was reported with 67 frequency counts per 17 lessons, in which the EMI lecturer asked students to work individually for a while.
5.1.1.3 Lecturer- pair work student interaction
Pair work was reported with 34 frequency counts with the lecturer asking students to work in pairs to solve a problem with their partners Students interacted with each other in pairs to tackle the problem by exchanging ideas mainly in Vietnamese.
Working to do pair work Exchanging with peers Asking lecturer if having problems
Figure 5.4 Lecturer- pair work student interaction While the students were doing pair work, the lecturer often moved around to check their work and gave advice or help if they encountered any problems.
5.1.1.4 Lecturer-group work student interaction
Group work was conducted with the lowest frequency (8 frequency counts), in which the lecturer asked students to work in groups to prepare for group presentation or discussing with their classmates about a problem During group work, the lecturer moved around to inspect students’ work and offered help if necessary The students interacted with their peers to do their group work, they exchanged ideas and asked lecturers if they did not understand something.
In all, it can be concluded from the data analysis that the teacher fronted- style still dominated in EMI classes with lecturers teaching, explaining, asking and giving commands to students while the class kept passive listening to lectures and taking notes The lecturer-whole class interaction took up the highest frequency while the other types played fewer dominant roles.
Figure 5.5 Lecturer- group work student interaction 5.1.2 EMI lecturers’ and students’ verbal and non-verbal interaction practices
As the observation protocols and observation recording differentiated the lecturers and students’ actions, the data were analyzed into two themes, i.e lecturers’ and students’ interaction based on a code system including open codes, focused codes and theoretical codes Four major categories emerged in the lecturers’ interaction included use of English, code-switching to Vietnamese, use of teaching aids and their non-verbal behaviors (movement/gestures) while four major categories emerged in students’ interaction consisted of non-verbal behavior (silence & note taking), use of English, use of LI, and individual work/pair- work/groupwork
Figure 5.6 summarizes these interaction practices in EMI classes in a Vietnamese technical university.
Figure 5.6 EMI lecturers’ and students’ verbal and non-verbal interaction practices 5.1.2.1 EMI lecturers’ verbal and non-verbal actions
The lecturers dominated the lessons with their actions and language expressions with the much higher frequency of actions than the students A teacher fronted instruction style was prevalent in most EMI classes with a little interaction between EMI lecturers and students.
In all of the observed EMI classes, the EMI lecturers used teaching aids like laptops with power-point slides or PDF book to show on the smart board and the blackboard during the lesson.
Power-point slides on the lecturers’ laptops were frequently used to teach the subject content Ater greeting the students, the lecturers started to open their laptops and connected them to the overhead projectors, or they used the smart boards equipped in some classrooms to teach their subject.
Another activity to notice was that all the lecturers used slides in combination with the black boards The key notes or knowledge were presented on the slides in English but the lecturers explained them in details in English on the boards, especially in practice lessons when the lecturers explained to the students on how to solve a factual problem using formulas In addition, the lecturers drew a lot of pictures on the board to illustrate the content knowledge like the bridge structures, which helped the students comprehend the specialized knowledge more easily They also wrote the exercises on the board and asked students to go to the board to do them, then checked and corrected the answers All of the knowledge written on the slides and the board was English.
Some lecturers showed PDF books on the smart boards and explained the content knowledge in the books or introduced the book content to the students so that they could read at home Some softwares like excel were also used to help students to calculate the formulas In some lessons, videos for illustrating a process of foundation building or other technical processes were shown on the smart boards for the students to understand how to construct a foundation for a bridge.
The EMI lecturers mainly used English to teach the content knowledge, ask questions, summarize the previous lessons and give tasks or commands to students. When using L2, they also used a lot of language cohesive devices in their speech to connect the ideas.