VietTESOL International Convention 2026

English-medium instruction (EMI) has expanded rapidly in Vietnamese universities, yet much of the existing work focuses on policy, programme-level implementation, or STEM and business subjects, with relatively little evidence from social science classes. This study addresses that gap by examining how students in an English-medium course on Globalization and Global issues perceive their readiness for EMI and the role of scaffolding activities in supporting both language and content learning. Seventy-five undergraduates completed an online questionnaire which combined Likert-scale items and short open-ended questions. The survey is formulated by prior EMI perception and challenge research, targeting four areas: language-related difficulty, content and cognitive load, affective factors, and the perceived usefulness of specific course activities. Three key findings emerged. First, most students self-rated at B2–C1 or higher and generally did not perceive English itself, or the lecturer’s accent and pace, as a major barrier to understanding lectures and readings, suggesting that this proficiency band is adequate for EMI in a social science course. Second, when asked to distinguish sources of difficulty, students attributed remaining challenges mainly to the complexity and workload of course content rather than to their English level, highlighting the need to support disciplinary understanding. Third, across proficiency levels, students rated scaffolding activities and explicit in-class explanations as helpful for managing both academic English and abstract concepts. This suggests that such scaffolding should be treated as core EMI practice rather than remedial support.