VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
ĐỖ THỊ THANH THƯ
A STUDY ON PHYSICS STUDENTS’ CHALLENGES AND THEIR
COPING STRATEGIES ON AN ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF
INSTRUCTION (EMI) PROGRAM AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF
SCIENCE, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
(Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn và biện pháp khắc phục
của sinh viên khoa Vật lý khi theo học khóa học chu ên ngành gi ng
ng ti ng nh t i trường Đ i học Khoa học Tự nhiên,
Đ i học Quốc gia Hà Nội)
M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English teaching methodology
Code: 60140111
Ha Noi, November 2016
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
ĐỖ THỊ THANH THƯ
A STUDY ON PHYSICS STUDENTS’ CHALLENGES AND THEIR
COPING STRATEGIES ON AN ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF
INSTRUCTION (EMI) PROGRAM AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF
SCIENCE, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
(Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn và biện pháp khắc phục
của sinh viên khoa Vật lý khi theo học khóa học chu ên ngành gi ng
ng ti ng nh t i trường Đ i học Khoa học Tự nhiên,
Đ i học Quốc gia Hà Nội)
(M.A THESIS)
Field : English teaching methodology
Code : 60140111
Supervisor : Dr. Vu Thi Thanh Nha
Ha Noi, November 2016
i
DECLARATION
I hereby certify that this thesis is entirely my own work. I have provided
fully documented references to the other‟s work. The material in this thesis has not
been submitted for assessment in any other formal course. I also accept all the
requirements of University of Languages and International Studies relating to the
retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This thesis would not be fulfilled without the help of some people, and in
some ways, I would like to thank everyone who has taught me, inspired me,
challenged me, and supported me throughout the realization of this thesis.
I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor, Dr. Vu
Thi Thanh Nha
, for her whole-hearted assistance, encouragement as well as the
profound guidance she gave me while I was doing my research.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all lecturers
in Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International
Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures which
have inspired me to conduct this thesis.
Last but not least
, I would also like to express my thanks to
students at
Hanoi University of Science, VNU
for their willingness to participate in the
research. Without their help, this project could not be fulfilled.
Hanoi, November, 2016
Do Thi Thanh Thu
iii
ABSTRACT
English-medium instruction (EMI) has been a great interest to language and
language policy researchers in an era of globalization and internationalization. In
spite of recognising implemental problems and constraints, EMI has been widely
introduced into countries where English is not the native language.
This paper reported the findings of the study that aimed at identifying
second-year physics students‟ challenges and their coping strategies when they
studied the EMI program. Two issues, hence, are investigated: (1) what
challenges the learners face and (2) what are their coping strategies in the
implementation of EMI in Vietnam. The analysis of empirical data garnered from
questionnaires and interviews reveals that the students faced such serious
challenges as: students‟ English ability and comprehending lectures. Their common
strategies were group work, extensive reading, lecture attendance, completing
assigned work and memorization. Based on these findings, suggestions are made
for enhancing the success of similar programs.