STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF INTERACTION PRACTICES IN ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION CLASSROOMS AT A VIETNAMESE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Over the last few decades, higher education institutions in non-native English-speaking nations have made attempts to internationalize their image and improve their competitiveness by offering programs and courses that use English as a medium of instruction (EMI) across multiple disciplines. However, investigations on interaction practices and students’ perceptions of these practices in EMI classrooms have revealed a fragmented and hazy picture. The current study adopted a constructivist grounded theory approach by Charmaz (2006) to investigate students’ situated perspectives on EMI classroom interaction practices at a Vietnamese technical university. Findings from classroom observations and individual intensive interviews with six EMI lecturers and thirty-five EMI students showed how EMI lecturers and students interacted in the observed EMI classes and how EMI students perceived and evaluated these practices. Finally, some recommendations, based on the findings, were made to improve EMI classroom interaction practices in a Vietnamese university context.