Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2024. ISBN: 978-604-82-8175-5
544
USING AI IN EMI CLASSES: VOICES OF EFL TEACHERS
WHO TRANSITION TO EMI ROLES
Nguyen Thi Viet Nga
Academy of Journalism and Communication, email: nguyenthivietnga.ajc@gmail.com
1. INTRODUCTION
The adoption of English as a Medium of
Instruction (EMI) in higher education is
becoming increasingly common worldwide,
including in Vietnam. This shift aims to
enhance students' English proficiency and
better prepare them for global opportunities. As
Dearden (2014) put it, the rise of EMI is driven
by globalization and the need for English
proficiency in the international job market.
In Vietnam, the shortage of qualified EMI
teachers has necessitated the transformation of
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers
into EMI instructors. EFL teachers, who
primarily focus on language skills, must now
deliver subject-specific content in English,
presenting both benefits and challenges (Doiz
et.al., 2012). On the positive side, these
teachers bring strong language instruction
skills, which can enhance students' overall
English proficiency and support their
academic success. Additionally, this transition
offers professional growth opportunities,
expanding teachers' expertise and career
prospects. However, challenges are
significant. These teachers often lack content-
specific knowledge and struggle with the dual
task of teaching complex subjects while
ensuring language comprehensibility. This
situation is exacerbated by insufficient
training and resources tailored to EMI needs,
leading to decreased confidence and
effectiveness (Nguyen et.al, 2017).
Many teachers feel inadequately prepared
for the shift, lacking specific training in EMI
methodologies. As Dang et.al. (2021) state, the
move to EMI presents a challenge to many
educators when they have to re-evaluate their
existing pedagogical approaches as they
transition to EMI. Such a transition, along with
the emergence of AI recently, forces teachers
to continue adjusting their teaching methods.
This research explores perceptions of EFL
teachers on the benefits and challenges of
using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their EMI
classes, which will help consolidate theories
related to using AI in EMI in general and
shed better light on the situation of teaching
EMI in Vietnam.
2. RESEARCH METHOD
This qualitative research will focus on five
teachers at a mid-size university in Vietnam
who have transitioned from teaching General
English to EMI. The author gathered and
conducted an online semi-structured
interview within approximately one hour in
Vietnamese with each of these teachers (2
males, 3 females) from the same university.
All teachers have 5-15 years of experience
teaching General English for non-English
major students and have transitioned to teach
EMI for three to five years. They teach
different subjects related to five disciplines:
Linguistics, Public relations, Media studies,
Broadcasting, International Relations.
Semi-structured interviews provide depth
and detail in responses, as they allow
interviewers to probe further based on
participants' answers, thereby uncovering
rich, nuanced data (Kvale, 2007). Once the
interviews were completed, they were
