Ideologies of English-medium instruction in Vietnam

This study seeks to conduct a multi-layered examination of language ideologies in English-medium instruction (EMI) education anchored in policy documents and relevant stakeholders' discourse in Vietnam. Research data were based on national and institutional policies and interviews with ten university administrators, 15 content lecturers, and five focus groups of six students. The findings indicate that EMI is ideologically embraced as producing different forms of capital, including linguistic, cultural, economic, and social capital, all of which have enormous potential for the cause of national socio-economic development, internationalization of higher education, and individual future employability. However, the study demonstrates that the way EMI is celebrated and glorified as access to supreme quality education unexpectedly gives it symbolic power and undoubtedly downgrades the mother tongue as a medium of instruction. The study is concluded with implications and recommendations for further research on language ideologies in EMI education.