Speaker
Description
This narrative inquiry uncovers how four Vietnamese university lecturers narrate their professional investment in preparing to become EMI lecturers against the policy backdrop of Vietnam’s transition from EFL to ESL. The study focuses on two groups of lecturers with different investment trajectories: two EFL lecturers who invest in MBA/DBA-related qualifications to expand their disciplinary capital for EMI teaching, and two disciplinary lecturers in Biology and Tourism who invest in English Language degrees alongside their major expertise. Guided by Darvin and Norton’s Model of Investment (2015), the study examines how these lecturers negotiate professional identity, accumulate capital, and respond to ideological expectations surrounding English, EMI, internationalization, and lecturer readiness. Narratives are collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through thematic narrative analysis, presenting the participants’ stories of professional development, aspiration, tension, and transformation. The study argues that becoming EMI-ready is not simply a matter of English proficiency, but a complex process of professional investment, identity reconstruction, and cross-disciplinary preparation within Vietnam’s changing English education landscape. The findings offer implications for designing EMI-oriented lecturer development programs that support both EFL lecturers and disciplinary specialists.
Biography
An Le is an EFL lecturer in his thirties at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam. His research interests include English-medium instruction (EMI), global citizenship education, and identity. As a teacher-researcher, he is particularly interested in how English language education shapes learners’ identities, academic trajectories, and participation in local and global communities. In addition to his academic work, he writes for Vietnamese newspapers, including VnExpress, Dân Trí, and Tuổi Trẻ.
| Affiliate type | Vietnamese public school |
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