The implementation of an English-Medium (EMI) program as an educational change in a Vietnamese public university: A needs analysis study

This case study investigated the implementation of an EMI program as an educational change in a Vietnamese public university. Using a needs analysis framework, this qualitative-dominant study sequentially collected data from questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and class observations from 148 students and 71 lecturers in the program to provide a thick description of their perceived meaning of the change. The findings revealed that EMI, based on the content and language integrated principles, was promoted as an intended means to improve the quality of the education system in general, and of language teaching and learning in particular, to meet the increasing demand of a previously closed nation toward a more open and market-oriented economy. While the students and lecturers were positive about the benefits of EMI, they were unaware of the big picture of the change and the change process. Therefore, they exhibited uncertainty and confusion about the meaning, actual practices, and outcomes of the innovation. Through the lens of change theory, the study confirmed that these phenomena were common in the change process. It also identified areas that needed to be addressed to effectively enact EMI; for example, clarification of its purposes and implementation model, teacher learning community, teacher and student support, program evaluation, and student recruitment. In other words, the EMI implementation was depicted as a transition from a Confucian-influenced education system towards a Westernised one, in the context of a transforming nation striving to join the rest of the world