VietTESOL International Convention 2026

Recent research in EFL learning shows that Vietnamese students often struggle to balance academic expectations with the need for appropriate social language when communicating with teachers. In an effort to sound suitably formal, students frequently rely on translation tools to draft their emails, which can prevent them from developing authentic language skills. However, as student-teacher interaction increasingly shifts toward instant messaging apps like Zalo, this learning dynamic is changing. This study explores how students navigate these two different digital environments to practice their L2 pragmatic competence. Through a comparative task and follow-up interviews, I found a clear difference in student behavior: while learners use technological tools to maintain a formal, rigid tone in emails, they use emojis and stickers in Zalo to soften their messages and show respect, signaling a more spontaneous development of their interlanguage. By examining this transition from machine-translated emails to emoji-rich chats, this study reveals how students adapt their language strategies to fit different digital platforms. These findings offer practical ways for educators to integrate digital communication into the classroom, helping students bridge the gap between their limited language resources and the cultural need for academic politeness.