Aug 27 – 29, 2026
University of Foreign Language Studies, The University of Danang, Vietnam
Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh timezone
Repositioning English: From Foreign to Second Language

"Who am I if I must teach in English?": Anticipatory identity negotiation among content teachers under a mandated EMI policy in a Vietnamese university

Not scheduled
30m
University of Foreign Language Studies, The University of Danang, Vietnam

University of Foreign Language Studies, The University of Danang, Vietnam

Oral Presentation EFL to ESL Transition Parallel Oral Presentations

Speaker

Ms Hoa Sen Huynh (University of People's Security)

Description

As English-medium instruction (EMI) expands rapidly across Asian higher education, universities in Vietnam are increasingly mandating content teachers to deliver courses in English under national language policy initiatives. Despite a growing body of research on EMI teacher identity, two significant gaps persist: the Vietnamese context remains underrepresented, and the anticipatory phase when teachers negotiate their identities before EMI implementation begins has received little scholarly attention. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner and Morris's (2006) Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) ecological framework, this qualitative multiple case study examines how four content teachers across different disciplines at a Vietnamese university negotiate their professional identities in anticipation of a mandated EMI policy. Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews and institutional policy documents and analyzed thematically using the PPCT framework as an analytical lens. Findings reveal complex identity tensions shaped by intersecting ecological layers from national policy pressures to disciplinary allegiances and imagined futures as EMI practitioners. This study contributes the concept of anticipatory identity negotiation to the EMI literature and offers implications for policy-sensitive EMI teacher development in Vietnam and comparable contexts.

Biography

Hau Huynh (Huynh Thi Hau) is a lecturer at the University of People's Security in Vietnam and a PhD candidate at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. Her research focuses on teacher education, teacher professional identity, and professional development in higher education contexts. She is particularly interested in exploring how teachers’ metacognitive skills, reflective practices, and contextual factors influence their professional growth. Her current doctoral research investigates mid-career English teachers’ identity.

Affiliate type University

Author

Ms Hau Huynh (Ho Chi Minh City Open University; University of People's Security)

Co-authors

Ms Hoa Sen Huynh (University of People's Security) Mr Nhut Khanh Phan (University of People's Security)

Presentation materials

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