Understanding English-medium Instruction in Vietnamese Higher Education: Voices of Teachers and Students

English as a medium of instruction (EMI), which is the teaching of content subjects in English where most of the population's first language is not English, has seen fast expansion in recent decades because of global trends in higher education institution internationalization. In Vietnam, English has become popular and international in higher education and the overall picture of English-medium instruction programs taking place primarily in tertiary education has also recorded an exponential growth due to globalization. However, little is known about how English-medium instruction is implemented in Vietnam's higher education sector (Tri & Moskovsky, 2019). And there is still a lack of evidence-based studies to keep up with the pace of English-medium instruction policy implementation (Galloway et al., 2021). The study aimed to investigate both content lecturers and students’ reflection on their teaching and learning to get a broader understanding of English-medium instruction at a Vietnamese University. The results showed that lecturers frequently have problems with their students' uneven English ability. Additionally, they expressed that whether English or Vietnamese was used for evaluation made little difference; what mattered was how to use it most efficiently. The results also revealed that most of the students have difficulties in following lectures, participating in class discussions, understanding textbooks and course materials, and performing well on tests and assessments.