English-taught courses are the most concrete step in the internationalization process, and also the step most easily done for show.
The line between a course that creates real value and one that exists only on paper comes down to five conditions, and the first is the decisive one.
This article sets out those conditions, how to choose the starting course, and the mistakes that render the effort pointless.
Five conditions for implementation
Condition one: instructors with sufficient competence. Not just being able to speak English, but being able to teach in English.
These are two different things. Teaching requires explaining difficult concepts in multiple ways, answering off-script questions, running discussions, and recognizing when learners have not understood.
The most practical way to check this is not to look at certificates but to have the instructor deliver a trial presentation on a specialized topic for thirty minutes and answer questions.
Condition two: learners meeting the threshold. If learners fall short, they will neither understand the lessons nor improve their language ability. The course needs an entry threshold and a support plan.
Condition three: complete materials in English. Textbooks, reference materials, assignments, and exams. Using Vietnamese-language materials while teaching in English creates a mismatch that makes it hard for learners to follow.
Condition four: an appropriate assessment method. Assessing subject-matter knowledge must be clearly separated from assessing language ability.
Condition five: an appropriate class size. A class that is too large loses the capacity for interaction, and interaction is what generates most of the value of learning in a foreign language.
If condition one is missing, implementation should be postponed. The remaining four conditions can be addressed gradually along the way.
Choosing the starting course
Four criteria help you choose the right course for the first attempt.
Low dependence on local context. Courses with universal content are far easier to convert to English than courses tightly tied to domestic regulations or practices.
Quality international materials already available. Not having to compile all the materials from scratch significantly reduces the preparation workload.
Assigned to the instructor with the best language ability. The first attempt should go to the most capable person, not to whoever has a free slot in their schedule.
Not a course that determines graduation outcomes. If the pilot course runs into trouble, the consequences for learners should not be too severe.
One to two courses are enough for the first year. Opening many courses at once means none of them gets properly prepared.
Preparing the teaching team
This is the most time-consuming part, and it cannot be shortened.
Assess the real situation first. You need to know exactly how many instructors are qualified, rather than estimating. The real number is usually much smaller than expected.
Train in specialized-field language, not just general English. Instructors need the terminology of their own field and how to express it in an academic context.
Create opportunities to practice. Present at online seminars, join joint projects with overseas colleagues. This is far more effective than taking a language class.
Prepare one semester ahead. Instructors need time to redo their lectures; they cannot teach and prepare at the same time.
Provide support along the way. First-time instructors should have colleagues observe classes and give feedback, and should have a channel to ask for help when facing difficulties.
Important point: preparation time must be counted into the workload quota. If it is treated as extra work, only the most enthusiastic staff will take part, and they will stop once overloaded.
What English-medium courses require from learners
Preparing learners is just as important as preparing instructors, but it receives far less attention.
State this clearly from the start. To what extent this course is taught in English: fully, partially, or only the materials are in English while teaching is in Vietnamese. These three levels are different, and learners need to know before enrolling.
State the recommended language threshold. It need not be a mandatory condition, but learners need to know whether they can keep up.
Provide a glossary in advance. A bilingual list of specialized terms helps learners prepare and significantly reduces difficulty in the early sessions.
Have a support plan. Extra consultation hours, or supplementary materials for those struggling.
Reassure learners about how assessment works. Learners often worry about scoring low because of language rather than knowledge. Clearly stating the grading approach reduces the tendency to avoid these courses.
Assessment method
This is a technical matter, but it directly affects whether the course is fair.
Tách rõ hai tiêu chí. Subject-matter knowledge and foreign-language expression ability should be graded separately, with weightings announced in advance.
Accept imperfect expression. If a learner presents the correct content with imperfect grammar, the knowledge component must still be given full credit.
Allow follow-up questions in Vietnamese in certain situations. Especially in the early sessions, this helps learners avoid missing content because of the language barrier.
Adjust gradually over the semester. Language requirements can be raised gradually instead of setting a high bar from the first session.
The overarching principle: the course’s goal is for learners to master the subject matter while also improving their language ability. If the assessment causes learners who are strong in the subject to score low because of language, the first goal is sacrificed for the second.
Four common mistakes
Launching a course before a team is ready. The result is that instructors read slides in English and then explain in Vietnamese. Learners gain nothing on either front, and the institution loses credibility after announcing an English-medium program.
Not preparing materials. Using Vietnamese-language materials means learners study in one language and are examined in another.
Expanding too quickly. After one semester that seems to go well, the institution opens many more courses at once before there has been time to draw lessons.
Not collecting feedback. If assessment relies only on end-of-term results, difficulties along the way go undetected. A mid-term survey is needed.
The first mistake is the most common and the most damaging, because it creates the impression that English-medium teaching does not work, when the real problem lies in preparation.
Measuring effectiveness
Four indicators to track for every English-medium course.
Academic results compared with a Vietnamese-medium class of the same course. If significantly lower, language is hindering learning.
The rate at which learners re-enroll in similar courses. A good indicator of the actual experience.
Progress in specialized-field language, measured by tests at the start and end of the course.
Mid-term feedback, focused on whether learners are able to keep up with the content.
The second indicator is worth noting because it summarizes many factors. If a learner has taken one English-medium course and proactively chooses another, that is the clearest sign of quality.
When you need to place results in a broader context, data on the language of instruction across education systems from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) serves as the reference source.
Expansion roadmap
Once the first course is running, a reasonable expansion sequence is as follows.
Semester two: keep it unchanged and learn from it. Run the same course again with adjustments based on feedback.
Year two: add one to two courses in the same field, making use of materials and experience already gained.
Year three: expand into another field, with a team that has been prepared in parallel over the previous two years.
From year four onward: consider a continuous cluster of courses sufficient for learners to complete part of the program in English.
This pace is much slower than most institutions plan for, but it reflects the actual time needed to prepare the team.
Rushing usually leads to low quality, and a low-quality course does more harm than not having one at all, because it makes both instructors and learners lose confidence in this direction.
For matters concerning how learning outcomes are recognized in international cooperation, the framework of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should be referenced when designing the course.
The real cost of a course
To budget accurately, you need to know what an English-medium course costs on top of a regular course.
Time to redo the lectures. Usually two to three times longer than preparing in the native language the first time, decreasing in subsequent runs.
Cost of materials. International textbooks, or the cost of authoring materials if done in-house.
Time to build up the team’s capacity. This takes many months and should be counted as a shared investment, not attributed to a single course.
Time for out-of-hours support. Learners struggling with the language often need extra consultation hours.
Smaller class size. To maintain quality of interaction, class sizes must be reduced, and this affects the resourcing equation.
The last item is the one most often overlooked in planning, and it is why many institutions are surprised when they recalculate costs after the first year.
When to discontinue a course
Not every course should be kept running, and stopping at the right time is better than prolonging an ineffective one.
Signs that it should be discontinued. Academic results significantly lower than the equivalent class, enrollment continually declining, or the instructor in charge has left with no replacement.
Signs that only adjustment is needed. Learners report difficulty keeping up but results remain fine, or the problem lies in the materials rather than the team’s ability.
The right way to discontinue. Give notice at least one semester in advance, ensure those who have already started can still complete the course, and record the reasons so the same mistake is not repeated.
Discontinuing a course is not a failure if the reasons are documented. The real failure is keeping a course running that everyone knows is ineffective, simply because it was already announced.
Summary
An English-medium course needs five conditions, of which instructor competence is decisive and cannot be skipped.
Preparing learners is just as important as preparing instructors, and the simplest tool is a bilingual glossary provided in advance.
And the assessment method must clearly separate subject-matter knowledge from language ability, or the course’s main goal will be sacrificed.
Next Steps
Invite three instructors your institution is considering to each deliver a thirty-minute trial presentation on a specialized topic in English, followed by Q&A.
The outcome of this session shows exactly where the institution stands, and it is often quite different from an assessment based on language certificates.
