Global Englishes in Emergence

Curricular Representations and Discursive Tensions in Vietnamese Higher Education

Bibliographic Data

ID10816248
AuthorsThao Quang Le (0000-0002-5083-5730, School of Foreign Languages, Institute of Social Technology Suranaree University of Technology Nakhon Ratchasima Thailand), Adcharawan Buripakdi (0000-0002-4302-8885, School of Foreign Languages, Institute of Social Technology Suranaree University of Technology Nakhon Ratchasima Thailand, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-01-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTESOL Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0039-8322 • E-ISSN: 1545-7249
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/tesq.70067
OpenAlexW7124470980
LanguageEN
References cited46

A body of research drawing on the Global Englishes for Language Teaching (GELT) framework has focused on stakeholder perceptions and practices at classroom‐based levels. However, few studies have examined curricula as platforms of GELT representations and ideological tensions. Examining these manifestations and conflicts provides insights into enablers and barriers to GELT implementation. Moreover, in Vietnamese higher education, scholarly attention to this transition remains scarce. This study analyzed 35 English‐as‐a‐major programs across Vietnamese tertiary institutions, using thematic and critical discourse analysis to investigate GELT elements and discursive tensions in curricula. The results revealed an emergent status of GELT, reflected in four dimensions: global orientation of English language education for communicative purposes and contextualized learner needs, cultural diversity awareness and respect, English with local identity, and orientation toward multilingual and translingual practices. However, full alignment with GELT is challenged by three ideological conflicts: global–local integration vs. standard‐native entrenchment, linguistic plurality vs. monolingual prescriptivism, and inclusive interculturalism vs. exclusive ethnocentric ideology. This study provides implications for teachers, curriculum developers, and policymakers to revisit how they regulate English‐as‐a‐major curricula to better incorporate GELT while addressing these ideological contradictions. It also extends GELT scholarship by positioning curriculum discourses as critical sites of ideological negotiation

Critical discourse analysis · Curriculum · Ethnocentrism · Higher education · Ideology · Multilingualism · Scholarship · Vietnamese · World Englishes · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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