Article info.

ABSTRACT

Received 28 Oct 2017
Revised 04 Dec 2017

Accepted 20 Jul 2018

With the growing popularity of English-as-a-medium-of-instruction (EMI) all over the world, the issue of how to best prepare non-native students for their language-related problems in EMI courses also arises. While a number of studies have shed critical light on problems students encounter in EMI courses, very few have explored how students should be supported to overcome these challenges.  The current study was conducted to investigate such an effort in a university inVietnamwhere an English foundation program (EFP) of 390 hours have been designed and implemented for one semester before students begin their EMI courses. In particular, the study was aimed to figure out the structure of the EFP and students’ evaluation of its usefulness for their EMI courses. The findings from the current study reveal that the EFP was carefully designed to tailor students’ needs of English proficiency enhancement for EMI courses, but only half of the student participants found that that the program was helpful to their EMI courses. Consequently, the study provided the EFP designers with a basis to further improve their program and to help other institutions which are implementing EMI have an idea of what should be done to support their students.

Keywords

EMI, foundation, support

Cited as: Yen, P.H., Huyen, H.C.M. and Quan, N.H., 2018. English-as-a-medium-of-instruction students’ evaluation of an English foundation program at a university in Vietnam. Can Tho University Journal of Science. 54(5): 30-37.