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Abstract
In higher education, English-Medium Instruction (EMI) has seen a rapid increase in prevalence and is linked to internationalization, with implications for diverse learners of the English language. While the adoption of EMI has been studied, less focus has been placed on students' perceptions of inclusive teaching practices, especially in the Vietnamese higher education environment. This research described an open-label descriptive mixed methodology to explore students' perspectives on inclusion in EMI pedagogy and the instructional strategies used to help learners achieve learning within linguistically diverse classrooms. Questionnaire data were obtained from 192 undergraduate students studying EMI programs at two Vietnamese universities; subsequently, ten students were surveyed through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results suggest that students held relatively positive views about inclusive EMI pedagogy. Linguistic scaffolding, multimodal instruction, supportive classroom interaction, strategic translanguaging, and assessment for learning received positive impressions, with multimodal instruction and linguistic scaffolding receiving the best responses. Interviewees, in particular, found that lesson organization, collaborative learning, and translanguaging were effective strategies that increased students’ confidence and supported students’ knowledge of disciplinary content while retaining English as the main language of instruction. These findings underscore the need for EMI classrooms to incorporate inclusive pedagogical strategies that provide support to learners with varying English proficiency levels. These results establish the empirical evidence of a large body of evidence for EMI research conducted in the context of Vietnamese higher education, as well as highlighting some implications for teacher professional development, curriculum, and EMI implementation in practice.
Keywords: English-Medium Instruction; inclusive pedagogy; mixed methods; student perceptions; higher education; Vietnam