Speakers
Description
This presentation reports on the curriculum redesign and pedagogical implementation of an English-Medium Instruction (EMI) across two diverse higher education contexts: Software Testing course and a Comparative Educational Administration course following participation in an intensive eight-week EMI professional development program. Responding to current demands for English proficiency, and globalization and industry oriented competencies in Information Technology education and international education. Both projects reconceptualized traditionally lecture-dominated courses into a learner-centered EMI environment integrating content mastery, professional communication, and learner autonomy.
Drawing upon principles of task-based and project-based learning from autotechnographic studies, the redesigned courses incorporated EMI scaffolding strategies across syllabus development, lesson planning, assessment design, and classroom interaction. Key interventions included structured vocabulary support, reading and listening scaffolds, mini-lectures, peer teaching, collaborative problem-solving, reflective journals, and authentic project-based testing tasks. Assessment practices were refined through formative feedback mechanisms and rubric-based evaluation emphasizing both technical performance and disciplinary communication in English.
To strengthen the connection between classroom learning and professional practice, the courses further integrated experiential learning activities, including company visits, alumni mentoring sessions, and industry and professional workshops led by software testing practitioners and international education scholars. Preliminary observations suggest increased student engagement, participation, confidence, and independent learning behaviors within EMI settings. This presentation contributes practical and pedagogical insights into EMI curriculum development for Information Technology and Comparative Education disciplines and highlights strategies for balancing technical rigor with language support in Vietnamese and comparable EFL higher education contexts.
Biography
[1] Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc is a lecturer in the Faculty of Software Engineering at the University of Information Technology (UIT), Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. She has over two decades of professional experience spanning software industry practice, higher education, and curriculum innovation. Her teaching portfolio includes Software Engineering, Software Testing, Software Maintenance, and project-based IT courses delivered in both Vietnamese and English-medium instructional settings. She has participated in international academic and professional development programs in Japan and the United States, focusing on research, teaching methodology, and educational innovation. Her industry experience includes collaboration with international software development and quality assurance projects, providing her with extensive insight into the communication and technical competencies required in global workplaces. Her recent scholarly and professional interests center on English-Medium Instruction (EMI), ESP for Information Technology, learner autonomy, formative assessment, project-based learning, and the integration of authentic industry practices into computing education. She is committed to bridging disciplinary expertise and language development to prepare students for participation in increasingly internationalized academic and professional environments.
[2] Anh-Tuan Hoang is pursuing a Ph.D. program in Educational Studies at the Department of Education, National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan. He graduated a Bachelor program in Mathematics Education at Hue University of Education, Vietnam. He earned a Master of Education in Educational Administration at the Faculty of Education, Mahasarakham University, Thailand. His interest in research includes Higher Education (HE) for Sustainable Development, Educational Human Resource Management, Quality Assurance, Educational Policy, Leadership and Administration, Educational technology, Comparative Education in ASEAN education reform, R&D research in Educational Capacity Building, Teacher Education, and Bilingual Education. He was an international visiting professor at Sorsogon State University in the Philippines, a HR manager at Hue University of Education and a visiting lecturer at Phu Xuan University in Vietnam. He is an Associate Consultant at Singapore Education Consulting Group in Singapore, and an international consultant at the Department of Teacher Education, Ministry of Education and Science in Somaliland.
| Affiliate type | University |
|---|