NEOLIBERAL PERSONHOOD OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AT a VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY’S ENGLISH PROGRAM = CHỦ THỂ tân tự DO của NGƯỜI học CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH tại một TRƯỜNG đại học VIỆT NAM

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOIUNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIESFACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES GRADUATION PAPER NEOLIBERAL PERSONHOOD

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIESFACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING

COUNTRIES

GRADUATION PAPER

NEOLIBERAL PERSONHOOD OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AT A VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY’S ENGLISH PROGRAM

Supervisor: Hoàng Thị Hạnh, Ph D Student: Nguyễn Nhật Lan Hương Course: QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC

HÀ NỘI – 2021

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮKHOA NGÔN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HOÁ CÁC NƯỚC NÓI TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

CHỦ THỂ TÂN TỰ DO CỦA NGƯỜI HỌC CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC

VIỆT NAM

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Hoàng Thị Hạnh Sinh viên: Nguyễn Nhật Lan Hương Khóa: QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC

HÀ NỘI – 2021

I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Nhật Lan Hương, classQH2017.F.1.E1.SPCLC, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts(English Language Teacher Education - Honors Program) accept the requirements

of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paperdeposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited inthe library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, inaccordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care,loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Nguyễn Nhật Lan Hương

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to mysupervisor, Ms Hoang Thi Hanh, for her vital guidance throughout the wholeresearch process I would also want to send my appreciation to many otherteachers in the Faculty of Linguistics and Culture of English speaking Countries,who have provided insightful feedback to help refine my arguments and writing Ihave learnt invaluable lessons thanks to their expertise, which were not onlycrucial when conducting this study but also for future endeavors

Besides, I am also very thankful for the ten fellow ULIS students who haveagreed to be the participants for this study Their active cooperation, patience andpassionate sharing during the interview sessions have contributed greatly to thesmooth progress of the research

Lastly, I want to send my thanks for the endless emotional support from17E1 classmates as well as my family during this long and arduous journey Iwould not be able to get this far without them

The pervasive effects of neoliberalism on English language education havebeen well documented in literature, yet very few studies have addressed thisrelationship in the Vietnamese local context, despite the current societal ‘craze’about English learning in Vietnam This study investigates how VietnameseEnglish learners engage with neoliberal discourses in their learning and the extent

to which they embody the ideal neoliberal subject - based on Foucault’sconceptualization Participants are English majored sophomores who are studying

in a program developed from a neoliberal higher education policy named ‘Circular23’ from the government The findings reveal a considerable alignment to theideal neoliberal self presented in the English learners, who live in a society whereneoliberal trends like commodification of language and education are prevalent.This alignment can be seen through their construction of higher education andEnglish education as human capital investment, and their striving towards beingcompetitive and autonomous selves, despite some exceptions uncharacterized ofneoliberal logic At the same time, the data also unveil the students’ struggle,especially of those disadvantaged, on the journey to realize their neoliberalprojects, as well as hints of negative impacts on their well-being and self-perception, indicating a need for further critiques and critical treatment towardsthis phenomenon in the local context

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the research problem and research questions 3

1.3 Scope of the study 4

1.4 Potential significance of the study 5

1.5 Organization 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Neoliberalism, human capital, and Foucault’s concept of homo oeconomicus 7

2.2 Neoliberalism and second/foreign language education - the case of English .8

2.3 Language ideologies that correspond to the broader discourse of neoliberalism 10

2.3.1 Language as pure potential 10

2.3.2 Linguistic instrumentalism 11

2.3.3 Linguistic entrepreneurship 12

2.4 Problematizing these neoliberal language ideologies 13

2.5 Review of relevant studies and research gap 14

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Research setting 19

3.2 Participants 20

3.3 Data collection instrument: Semi-structured interview 21

3.4 Data analysis method: Thematic analysis 23

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 25

4.1 The dominant neoliberal agenda on language and education 25

4.1.1 The commodification of higher education 25

4.1.2 The resignification of language: language as a measurable skill and tied with economic benefits 27

4.2 The English learners: embracing or rejecting positioning as neoliberal subjects 29

4.2.1 English learners as human capital investors: calculation, risk-taking, hope and frustration 29

4.2.2 English learners in the classroom competition: motivation, stress and insecurity 31

4.2.3 The valorized “self-responsible, hard-working, resourceful” English learners 34

4.2.4 English learners’ traits that do not align with the neoliberal agendas .38

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 43

5.1 Discussion of the findings 43

5.2 Implications 47

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future studies 48

REFERENCES 51

APPENDICES 60

APPENDIX 1 60

APPENDIX 2 63

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a Foreign LanguageELT: English Language Teaching

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study

For the past few decades, with the emergence of knowledge-based andservice-based economy, the role of knowledge and skills has been increasinglyunderscored in contemporary society, evoking interests from both governmentaland corporate entities As a result, neoliberal discourse - the discourse of themarketplace - has exerted its presence and control in various social practices Inthe field of education specifically, neoliberal logic has transformed theconstructions of teachers and learners’ identity, and of knowledge itself (Bernstein,Hellmich, Katznelson, Shin & Vinall, 2015)

One particular education domain that has been under the pervasiveinfluence of neoliberalism is second/foreign language education Few would denythe edge that comes with competent communication skills, proficiency in anadditional language or multilingualism in today’s increasingly globalized worldand marketplace That market demand has transformed the purpose of languagelearning and how languages and language learning are perceived Underneoliberalism, which stresses the individual responsibility in liberating andcultivating one’s own potential to achieve well-being and happiness, competency

in language, particularly in the case of English, is now dominantly viewed in thedimension of human capital, and language learning is a special type of investmentthat will bring valuable economic benefits for the learners (Holborow, 2018b)

These investments can be widely documented across the world, asevidenced by the exponential growth of the global English Language Teachingindustry in past decades, or the focus of national educational policies towards theteaching and learning of English In the local context of Vietnam, the proliferation

of English could also be observed on different levels, starting from thegovernment’s orientation and investments on improving the quality of English

language education (Tran & Tanemura, 2020), to the individuals’ investments inlearning English, which could explain the impressive growth of the private Englishlanguage education business in Vietnam (Hewson, 2018).

From my insider viewpoint as both an English learner for the past 10 years

as well as a pre-service English teacher that is going to graduate within severalmonths, the social interest in English learning in Vietnam is currently at its height.Apart from the inundated advertisements about English centers, English programsacross social media, there is also the establishment of an “English learning”section in VNExpress - one of the most popular online news websites in Vietnam

On VTV7 - a national educational channel of Vietnam Television, the programs inEnglish and related to English teaching have occupied a significant amount of airtime One of the most notable programs is IELTS Face Off - a program to helpviewers improve their English in preparation for the IELTS test, and specificallyEnglish rather than any other subjects - has enjoyed great popularity since itslaunch and has been continued for six seasons up to October, 2020 The advantagethat comes with proficiency in English could also be clearly seen in the 2020’suniversity entrance exam season, when many universities in Vietnam, includingthe high-ranked ones, decided to use International English certificates as onecriterion to select which students to admit into their programs This immensepopularity of English in the current timeframe gave me the inspiration for thisstudy, born out of my queries and contemplation over these dynamics

This scenario of English learning in Vietnam can be likened to the trend ofcommodification of language (Heller, 2003), that English is seen as an economicasset and powerful tool that individuals should aspire to obtain, which directlycorresponds to language ideologies that are subjected to neoliberal logic Manystudies have sought to scrutinize and critique its various implications on Englishlanguage learning and teaching, on the individuals and institutions that are affected

by it, and on the society at large, yet it is a topic that is rather under-researched inthe context of Vietnam.

This study is an attempt to address that gap It has also sought out toexamine the multifaceted impact of neoliberal discourse towards English languagelearning, with a special focus on learners, specifically university English majorlearners, to explore the extent to which they embrace or reject the macro-levelneoliberal narratives

1.2 Statement of the research problem and research questions

The research aims to explore how students as English language learners may or may not come to embody the neoliberal narrative and act as a neoliberalsubject when it comes to their English learning at their university Based onrecurring themes from empirical studies on language learning under the influence

-of neoliberalism, the study specifically investigated their reflections on reasons forpursuing English courses, their practices and experiences with English learning,and their hopes and goals for their English study, following the conceptualframeworks of Foucault’s human capital theory and homo oeconomicus Theimplications of students’ socioeconomic background and previous learningexperiences on the position they take as subjects with their English learning werealso taken into account, as the problematization of language learning underneoliberalism has been associated with the social class structures in the society.Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1 How did students choose to pursue English major and select theirprogram at university?

2 How do they perceive their English learning experiences andexpectations of their English learning?

3 To what extent do the students embrace or reject positioning themselves

as neoliberal subjects in relation to their English learning?

1.3 Scope of the study

This study investigated how English learners engage with neoliberaldiscourses in their language learning by focusing on a group of English majorstudents who are in their second year learning English at an English program of arenowned university for foreign language training in Hanoi, Vietnam

Basing the context of the study on a higher education institution was mydeliberate choice, as it is one of the fields in which the manifestations ofneoliberalism can be seen clearly, including the dwindling state support and theincreasing emphasis on autonomy for institutes (Mok, 2003, 2006) Such a trend isalso evident in the Vietnamese higher education landscape, and the university inthis study is also among those that are transforming under the decentralizationprocess (Harman, Hayden & Pham, 2010), in which the institutions’ financialautonomy is strongly emphasized, resulting in the increase of students’ tuition fees

Besides, university students, being in the final stage before entering thelabour market, are also much more subjected to neoliberal narratives compared tostudents in lower levels (Kromydas, 2017) This might be even more true withstudents of the English program in this study, as this program follows therequirements outlined in the Circular No 23/2014/TT-BGDĐT of VietnameseMinistry of Education and Training on the development of “high-quality”university programs in Vietnam These programs differ from other mainstreamprograms due to the emphasis on ensuring the graduates’ competitive edge to meetthe demands of the contemporary labor market, hence the name “high-quality.”The tuition fees are also considerably (five times) higher than other mainstreamprograms, following the institutional autonomy agenda in Vietnamese highereducation

The accounts of students learning in the aforementioned English program,their choice, practice, experiences and their expectations - in their university major,were the main focus of the study.

1.4 Potential significance of the study

The study will offer in-depth insights into the way English languagelearners interact with the dominant neoliberal discourses and the extent theyposition themselves as neoliberal subjects in their language learning, adding to theunderstanding of the intersections between language language education andneoliberalism

The findings will help stakeholders in EFL programs to critically reflect onthe how current social narratives, particularly neoliberalism in this case, haveimpacts on their learners and teaching practices, as learning a language “involvesparticipation in the hegemonic discourses that circulate around and in thatlanguage, yet also contains the potential to speak back to those discourses and touse the language to counter them” (Bernstein et al., p 13) Understanding thecurrent dynamics that neoliberalism influences on English language learningwould be the first step towards the transition to more critical perspectives andpedagogies They in turn provide the grounds for learners to “engage popularmedia and mass culture as serious objects of social analysis and to learn how toread them critically through specific strategies of understanding, engagement, andtransformation” (Giroux, 2004, p 68)

1.5 Organization

Following this chapter, chapter 2 - Literature review - provides information andanalysis about the key concepts and the review of related studies In chapter 3 -Methodology, details about the research setting, participants, as well as datacollection and analysis process are included While chapter 4 - Findings -describes the study’s findings, chapter 5 - Conclusion presents the discussion of

the findings, implications and limitations of the study as well as recommendationsfor further research.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Neoliberalism, human capital, and Foucault’s concept of homo oeconomicus

Neoliberalism can be understood as “a theory of political economicpractices that proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberatingindividual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional frameworkcharacterized by strong private property rights, free markets and free trade”(Harvey, 2005, p 2) In the institutional level, neoliberalism entails the alignment

of state policies with corporate principles that place the central focus on thecompetitive market (Klein, 2007; Foster, 2016) This study, however, focuses oninterpreting neoliberalism at an individual level, which means consideringneoliberalism as a hegemonic, pervasive mode of discourse that has been soembedded into “the commonsense way we interpret, live in, and understand theworld” (Harvey, 2006, p 145) As Foucault, Davidson and Burchell (2008)pointed out, the generalization of economic rationality thrives under neoliberalism,becoming “a principle of decipherment of social relationships and individualbehavior” (p 262), even permeating its influence over phenomena and domainsthat are inherently non-economic With this perspective, neoliberalism could beunderstood as a form of governance, involving mechanisms and techniques toorient people’s behaviors and practices to the best economic interests (Webb,Gulson & Pitton, 2014) The neoliberal worker is “not the object of capitalistexploitation but is a rational subject who aims to benefit from the future exploitsgenerated by her own capital” (Van Doorn, 2004, pp 357–358) Individuals havealso been responsibilized to undertake the investments and risks that are thetypical responsibilities of the state (Pulsford, 2019)

Neoliberalism, with its paramount importance placed on individuals’freedom of choice in an unrestricted market, has also produced a new ideal subject

To understand this subject position and map how the participants as Englishlearners in this study align with it, Foucault’s concept of homo economicus andhuman capital (Foucault et al., 2008) was employed, as a useful tool to investigateand interrogate neoliberal ideas and practices (Gormley, 2020).

In neoliberal agendas, homo oeconomicus (an economic man) is “anentrepreneur, an entrepreneur of himself [ ] being for himself his own capital,being for himself his own producer, being for himself the source of [his] earnings”(Foucault et al., 2008, p 226) To detail further, this subject is expected to berational with reality, as in being sensitive to the environmental changes, and knowhow to adapt systematically to these changes, which at the same time makes himeasily manipulatable and governable (Foucault et al., 2008) The traits like beingautonomous, flexible and innovative are also valued in this ideal figure (Besley &Peters, 2007)

As it is the site that helps cultivate the acquired elements of one’s humancapital (Foucault et al., 2008), education has long been a domain that is undergreat influence by neoliberal agendas Through the neoliberal lens, education ingeneral is meant to enhance human capital, to make people productive in terms ofvalue and cost (Holborow, 2018b), and commonly characterized as an individualgood, with the public good visible only as an accumulation of individual benefits(Olssen, 2000, as cited in Pulsford, 2019) The special focus of this study isdevoted to the current scenario foreign language education, particularly of theEnglish language, where the links with neoliberalism are easily observable

2.2 Neoliberalism and second/foreign language education - the case of English

In the neoliberal age, the concept of human capital has been extended to allhuman capacities, even including those intrinsically connected to identity likelanguage (Holborow, 2018b) In fact, in this globalized era, language and culturehave been constructed as important components of human capital, and turned into

commodifiable resources This demand for worker’s communication skills andmultilingualism have risen due to the changes in global economy, including theability to cross borders, the emergence of international norms, the increasinglyculturally and linguistically diverse workplace, the need for global-scale productmarketing (Heller, 1999).

According to Gray, O’Regan and Wallace (2018), neoliberalism is also alinguistic phenomenon, which entails both the language of neoliberalism itself andthe role of certain languages under neoliberalism Language of neoliberalismrefers to the way public discourses as well as everyday speech have beendominated by market-related terms such as accountability, competitiveness,efficiency, and profit, which Holborow (2012) termed as “neoliberal keywords”and suggested that they “have special meanings and associations within theframework of neoliberal ideology and reflect a version of reality which promotesthe interests of capital” (p 41) What this research specifically focuses on,however, is concerned with the role of individual languages under neoliberalism.Under neoliberalism, there is the ‘resignification of language’ (Flubacher & DelPercio, 2017, p 7) that strips language from its traditional roles (for meaningmaking, communication and identity expression, access to and appreciation ofculture and ideas, etc) Language is turned into a monetary or symbolic value andevaluated under the instrumental lens, which elevates the market as the basis fordecision making on which, when, where, to whom and how language is learnt andtaught, as it all depends on what could give learners the competitive edge(Bernstein et al., 2015) This shift in the view of language is relevant with English,which has taken up the important role of a global lingua franca The global spread

of English, as well as the emergence of a global ELT industry has led to not onlythe valorization of English in various national education systems around the world,but also the valorization of monolingual instrumentalism in inner circle countries -

which can explain the increasing lack of interest in learning other languages in the

UK and the US (Gray et al., 2018)

With the act of choosing and learning a language being considered as aninvestment by itself, rather than a choice of personal preference and desire toexplore new languages and cultures (Bernstein et al., 2015), language learners turninto entrepreneurs and consumers, that through the management of their

“enterprising-self,” learners contribute to the economy with their language skillsand at the same time working towards maximizing their self-interests (Rose, 1998)

As summarized by Bernstein et al (2015), “second/foreign language education,like education more broadly, has not only been influenced by neoliberalism; it hasbeen responsible for reproducing many of its discourses” (p 6)

2.3 Language ideologies that correspond to the broader discourse of neoliberalism

Regarding the resignification of language mentioned above, I would like tooutline several language ideologies that have emerged under the view ofneoliberalism According to Silverstein (1979), language ideologies are “beliefsabout language articulated by the users as a rationalization or justification ofperceived language structure and use” (p 193) The perspective allows the study

of language as embedded in the historical, economic and sociocultural contextswhere it is used (Irvine, 1989), which opens up the possibilities to investigate thesystems of belief that both influence and are influenced by language use (Van Dijk,2000)

2.3.1 Language as pure potential

Language as pure potential refers to “a view of language as a completelyneutral tool for conveying messages in an unadulterated way, a pure medium ofpotentiality that allows a speaker to achieve anything she wishes to” (Park, 2015, p.2) Under neoliberalism, this idea of language as transparent medium is actively

embraced, as it conceptualizes the notion that learning a language can remove theconstraints of one’s culture and community, and other imposed boundaries, so thatthe speaker can explore better opportunities, realize one’s latent potential andbecome the ideal version of oneself It fits in with the neoliberal narrative, aslanguage learning is an investment that ensures one’s human capital “can begeographically and culturally maximized” (Park, 2015, p 5) It is noted that theefforts and investments one puts into language learning become just as important

as their actual language proficiency, as it shows the alignment with the idealneoliberal subject - one who constantly works to improve herself and maximizethe value of human capital

2.3.2 Linguistic instrumentalism

Linguistic instrumentalism refers to a view that a language's usefulness infulfilling instrumental goals like economic growth or social mobility is whatjustifies its existence in a community (Wee, 2003) On the contrary, a non-instrumentalist view of a language is when its function in a society is strictlyrestricted to its symbolic value of maintaining one’s ethnic or cultural identity(Wee, 2003) Instrumentalist and non-instrumentalist functions of a language cancoexist, yet it is argued that practical value of a language regarding thepossibilities it could bring in terms of social mobility and economic gains is whatensures a language’s survival, rather than its sentimental attachments (Edwards,1985)

The discourse of linguistic instrumentalism is commonly associated withEnglish and the emphasis on teaching English - a global lingua franca and alanguage representing global competitiveness in non-English-speaking countries(Phillipson, 2008) - and it has permeated all its related practices, ranging fromlanguage policies to language teaching and testing industries Teaching Englishhas turned into a commodity that brings economic gains for the language schools,

the textbook designers, the testing service and other individuals involved in theprocess of providing the services to customers - the learners (Kubota, 2011).

2.3.3 Linguistic entrepreneurship

This ideology is related to the emergence of enterprise culture that stressesthe importance of qualities like sturdy individualism, self-reliance andentrepreneurship (Evans & Sewell, 2013) Certain related characteristics and skillslike autonomy, creativity, flexibility, team working and leadership are also valued,

as it prompts individuals to become independent rather than rely on support fromothers, responsible for their performance and adaptable in the scenario of changesand competition - all that are necessary in today’s marketplace (Gee, Hull &Lankshear, 1996) Therefore, one does not have to start up in order to become anentrepreneur, since many identities today are now viewed under the lens ofentrepreneurship so that they can be “an entrepreneur of himself or herself” (Ong,

2006, p 14)

According to De Costa, Park and Wee (2016), linguistic entrepreneurship isdefined as “an act of aligning with the moral imperative to strategically exploitlanguage-related resources for enhancing one’s worth in the world, and a linguisticentrepreneur is an actor who demonstrates such alignment” (p 1) This definitionemphasizes the way neoliberalism not only transforms our view of language into atype of resource that can be exploited, but also “makes such exploitation an ethicalimperative where becoming a linguistic entrepreneur is seen as the responsibility

of an ideal neoliberal subject” (De Costa et al., 2016, p 2) It is in this way thatrenewed importance has been attributed to language learning, that it is not only forthe purpose of material gains, but the act of learning the language itself couldalready demonstrate how one is a good neoliberal subject, an “entrepreneur” whotakes initiatives in cultivating their human capital De Costa et al (2016) statesthat linguistic entrepreneurship can manifest through the learner’s motivation for

language learning and the learner’s mode of language learning in which traces likeresourcefulness, active risk-taking, persistence, hard work, and eagerness toovercome all difficulties in the language learning journey can be found in a learnerwho actively embraces linguistic entrepreneurship.

2.4 Problematizing these neoliberal language ideologies

Holborow (2018b) points out four different problematic aspects in applyingthe human capital theory to language skills, including: 1) the difficulties toaccurately measure language(s) as an economic asset; 2) the incapability oflanguage skills to ensure absolute earning premia for all multilingual speakers; 3)the inherent structural inequalities which make it impossible to fairly reward tolanguage skills in terms of earnings; and 4) the negative effect that economicrecession have on the presumed benefits of language as human capital

The assumption that language can be an abstract and neutralcommunication system is what problematizes the valorization of language as animportant index of a neoliberal subject Kutoba (2011) noted that ideologies likelinguistic instrumentalism are “folded in complex and contradictory ways intosocial stratifications between men and women, regular workers and non-regularworkers, native speakers and nonnative speakers, and white people and people ofcolor.” (p 259) Moreover, language is bound to “play a part in indexing andreproducing the social constraints and social differences that the neoliberal subject

is expected to transcend” (Park, 2015, p 5), as English itself can be part of thoseconstraints to begin with It is deeply intertwined with structures of class, sinceaccess to English language learning opportunities is largely conditioned bysocioeconomic class, as well as geographical space

Downplaying this social embeddedness of language will lead to theobscuring of inequalities that the reality of neoliberalism brings Those whointernalize the logic of neoliberalism and are led to see any difficulty they

experience in the harsh job market as their own fault (Park 2010, 2011), eventhough it is simply not possible to evaluate learned language abilities, whilebracketing out the speaker and her sociolinguistic histories It is interesting to notethat, however, that certain practices associated with the strong emphasis onlearning English nowadays, actually confirm that people are aware of the socialembeddedness of language, evidenced by the preference for learning from nativespeakers or native-like context, implying that certain geographical locations (i.e.inner circle countries) are associated with more valuable forms of linguistic capital(Park, 2015).

Neoliberalism, through its emphasis on individual responsibility, treatstraces of social conditions of language learning in a speaker’s English as theefforts and resources (or the lack thereof) that one invests to make them becomeideal neoliberal subjects (Park, 2015) This in turn rationalizes the perpetualpursuit to better one’s English, justifying the endless investments that are pouredinto the process (De Costa et al., 2016) With similar mechanism, neoliberallanguage ideologies could lead to the normalization of immense stress andcompetitiveness, which could lead to serious consequences like anxiety, sufferingand invalidation of one’s self-worth due to the overemphasis on the ability tocompetitively overcome challenges in language learning (De Costa, 2015; Piller

& Cho, 2013)

2.5 Review of relevant studies and research gap

The hegemonic discourses of neoliberalism have left its coercive impacts invirtually every corner of the world; therefore, research on its influence onlanguage learning has also been documented in various contexts In the USA, aninner-circle country, studies were conducted to examine the implications ofneoliberal language ideologies in a program for adult refugee learners of English(Warriner, 2016), or analyze the traces of neoliberalism in principals’ description

of their dual language programs, and how it could lead to the exclusion of certaintypes of English learners (Bernstein, Katznelson, Amezcua, Mohamed, &Alvarado, 2020) In another country that is linguistically and culturally diverselike Singapore, the effect of neoliberalism can be spotted on the government’sdiscourse of linguistic instrumentalism that emphasizes the role of English in theeconomic and technological development of the country, while other mothertongues are regarded as strictly traditional and cultural (Wee, 2003) For countriesthat English is taught as a foreign language, there have also been a great number ofstudies that critique the situation of language learning under the dominantneoliberal narrative For example, Kubota (2011) depicted how the instrumentalprospects of English learning fail to materialize in the workplace, problematizingthe neoliberal language ideology of linguistic instrumentalism in the Japaneseworkplace Many researchers have also conducted research to inspect the wayneoliberalism is deeply embedded in English language learning in Korea, asevidenced by studies that explore the trend of early childhood English education

“jogi-yuhak” programs in Korea and its implications (Shin, 2016), how English isperceived as a tool for social reproduction in youth online discourse (Choi, 2021),how English learning is associated with competitiveness, stress and insecurityunder neoliberalism influences (Piller & Cho, 2013)

Different perspectives have also been gained with attention being paid to amultitude of aspects Some studies have outlined the overall picture and providedcommentary of the dynamics and interactions of English learning andneoliberalism in the current social landscape of a particular context (Park, 2015;

De Costa et al., 2016; De Costa, 2019) While some have sought to examine macroneoliberal agendas with English teaching and learning from a top downperspective by looking into state language policies and related official documentsand talks (Wee, 2003; De Costa, Park & Wee, 2019), many have set out toscrutinize how such a macro hegemonic rhetoric has permeated into various

aspects and discourses related to English language learning and its implications,including English textbook analysis (Copley, 2018; Babaii & Sheikhi, 2018;Gray, 2010; Xiong & Yuan, 2018), teachers and administrators’ construction ofEnglish and their learning program (Warriner, 2016; Bernstein et al., 2020); howstudents and teachers manage and carry out their English language learning andteaching in a way that conform to neoliberal goals and motivations (Ennser-Kananen, Escobar & Bigelow, 2017; Giustini, 2020; Bacon & Kim, 2018);reflection of the elusive gains that English learning can bring to adult individuals,

as opposed to the public neoliberal discourse (Kubota, 2011; Park, 2011)

Regarding local contexts, the foreign language education in Vietnam,including English, has always been largely connected to the political andeconomic contexts of different periods (Le, 2006) Throughout the years,especially since the ‘Doi Moi’ in 1986, with Vietnam restructuring its economy to

a more market-oriented one and opening its door to the global economy, Englishhas obtained a higher status in Vietnam (Doan, Pham, Pham & Tran, 2018) It can

be seen through the different Prime Minister’s directives related to foreignlanguage education in 1968, 1994 and 2008 While English was simply regarded

as a minor foreign language, a language of the West in the 1968 directive, the

1994 Directive, which specified the requirement for English training ofVietnamese’ government officials and staff, gave English a superior status.English was then considered as an important medium for Vietnam’s economicdevelopment, facilitating Vietnam's international partnership and access toadvanced knowledge and technology (Prime Minister, 1968, 1994) In 2008,another Prime Minister’s Decision (No 1400/QĐ-TTg) further reinforced theimportance placed on English (Prime Minister, 2008) The guidelines aimed tointroduce English as a compulsory subject at primary school from Grade 3 instead

of Year 6 like before, and English could also be used as a means of instruction insecondary schools and tertiary education (Doan, Pham, Pham & Tran, 2018) The

Vietnamese MOET also made a large-scale investment of 500 million dollars inthe implementation of the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project, which aims

to ensure students’ command of English before leaving school, even though it hasfailed to achieve its goals before the deadline of 2020 (Tran & Tanemura, 2020).The rapid rise of the private English education industry in Vietnam is also a clearindicator of the popularity of English, as learners seek opportunities to improvetheir English via private education services to compensate for the shortcomings ofthe public formal classrooms (Hewson, 2018)

English now functions as a gatekeeping tool in Vietnam’s society,particularly with education and employment opportunities, for example, Englishproficiency is an important criterion for getting a job or career promotion (Phan,2005; Le, 2006) Ngo, Spooner-Lane and Mergler (2015) pointed out that althoughEnglish majors had more intrinsic motivation, the dominant motivation for bothmajored and non-majored English learners at university was still for futureemployment It is clear that on an individual’s level, the learning of English inVietnam has been traditionally viewed in the instrumental lens, linked with goodincome, security and happiness in the future

While the association of English with its symbolic power is not new inVietnam, there has yet been much research that explores the link between Englishlearning and neoliberal agendas in the local context, despite its pervasive effects

on the learning beliefs and practices As I have detailed in the introduction, theparticular scenario of English learning in Vietnam for the past few years iscertainly, in my opinion, more noteworthy compared to before We can witnessthe rise of credentialism, seen in the development of a English national TVprogram named after a popular international English certificate (IELTS Face-off),

or the use of English international standardized certificates in the admissionprocess of many Vietnamese universities The invasiveness of English learningcan also be felt rather clearly, with the prosperity of English private education

enterprises, branding their promotions and advertisements across the Internet andsocial media It strikes a resemblance to the phenomenon termed “English frenzy”

in Korea (Park, 2015; Shin, 2016), which has been investigated and critiqued in anumber of studies, specifying the way English learning has constituted part of theneoliberal project of self-development expected from an ideal neoliberal subject,

as well as its effects and implications Indeed, the scenario in Vietnam also givesoff the general feeling of a society’s “craze” about English proficiency, and anyindividual lacking it will face the risk of being left behind in the competitiveworkforce

The traces of neoliberalism in the whole discourses and practicessurrounding English learning in Vietnam is already observable through simpleaccounts of the context; yet there are only a scant number of studies that shed light

on the real-life phenomena One example is Bui and Nguyen (2016), which putsthe English language policies in Vietnam under the critical lens to examine howsuch policies created barriers and constraints for linguistically minority students.Another example is Hewson (2018), in which close attention has been paid tomany different hidden negative facets of the Vietnamese private English educationindustry that are flourishing under neoliberalism as perceived by native teachers.There has yet been research that focuses on learners in a particular languageschool, those who are central to the learning process, to inspect how they situatethemselves among all the dominant narratives and what it means for their Englishlearning, which is what this study seeks to uncover

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research setting

Higher education in Vietnam, similar to other countries, is also under theinfluences of neoliberalism, most notable of which is the withdrawal of stateinvolvement and the increasing presence of practices like liberalization andprivatization within the higher education sector, as well as the emphasis forinstitutes to become more competitive, efficient and entrepreneurial (Mok, 2003,2006) In Vietnam, more autonomy has been increasingly granted to theuniversities (Quốc hội, 2018), including control over aspects such as governance,curriculum, staff and finance (Nguyen, 2020)

In the 2020 - 2021 school year, the research took place at University X,which is one of the most well-known and high-ranking Vietnamese highereducation institutions in the field of foreign language training, and is among thoseuniversities that are currently shifting towards the trend of becoming financiallyautonomous The study focused on the Circular 23 English program, one of thenewest trademarks of the university The program’s curriculum is designed anddeveloped based on the Circular No 23/2014/TT-BGDĐT of Vietnamese Ministry

of Education and Training on the implementation of high-quality programs inVietnamese higher education, whose main objective is to train highly competitiveworkforce for the labor market in the age of economic integration at regional andglobal scale (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014) It allows universities toset tuition fees accordingly in order to ensure the training quality of their program.The curriculum of the English program in question also claims to ensure studentscan learn a variety of essential competencies and skills that can help graduates towork across various fields and to pursue further study; and it especially seeks out

to help students develop their autonomy and flexibility to not only accommodatewith the rapid changes in the society, but also lead and direct those changes The

program is described to be more superior than the previous years’ programs forthis reason, besides the opportunities for learners to study with modern facilitiesand have real work experience However, the tuition fee has also been increasedfive times from 7 million VND per year (in previous mainstream Englishprograms) to 35 million VND per year Such an investment, besides the generallytough competition to get into the university, could be considered a cause ofconcern for students who want to study in the program.

3.2 Participants

The participants of the study were ten sophomore students majoring in theCircular 23 English programs, who entered in the school year 2019-2020 Theirfirst two years in university are dedicated to honing general English skills beforetransitioning to courses that focus more on subject matter knowledge and skillsrelated to their specific career orientation in the third and fourth years They havehad more than one year experience with studying English in the programs, andseveral years with learning English as a compulsory language in primary andsecondary school, which allows them to give their reflection on their languagelearning experiences and practices - the focus of the research

They are also the very first cohort enrolling in the program since itscommencement in school year 2019-2020, which would make it suitable toinvestigate the reasons that propel them to enroll in such a new program in the firstplace, as well as their goals and hopes for their English study It is important tonote that in their year, there are both the traditional English mainstream programand the newly launched Circular 23 English program running at the same time.This makes it more special compared to the previous cohort (the 2018-2019 schoolyear) with no Circular 23 programs, as well as the subsequent cohort (the 2020-

2021 school year) with no mainstream programs

These ten participants were selected from two Circular 23 classes, five ofwhich are from the only class in their year where the progress can be sped up(students can learn ahead compared to their peers in other classes, completing theirfirst two years’ English courses in just one year), while the other five are from anormal-paced class The participants were purposely selected either due to mypersonal contact with them or being recommended by other participants, whileensuring that learners with diverse profiles and backgrounds could be all included

in the study This is to explore whether there are any patterns in the findings acrossdifferent learners’ profiles Besides, as the interview content could be ratherintensive and personal, a pre-established relationship between me and someparticipants allowed them to be more comfortable and willing to share their honestthoughts about their beliefs and experiences

During this whole process, participants were informed of what they areasked to do, and only proceed when they have given their consent For details onthe research information sheet and consent form, see Appendix 1

3.3 Data collection instrument: Semi-structured interview

Interview, in general, can allow researchers to gain insights intounobservable phenomena (Berger, 2018) It is especially useful to answer thequestions of “how” and “why,” which is needed in this study’s context, whereEnglish learners’ beliefs, attitudes, reflections and the reasons behind them arewhat the researcher wants to explore The flexibility of a semi-structured interviewalso makes it easy for the researchers to probe into any topic that evokes interests

or needs further explanation

The interview guide is a set of 10 core open-ended questions, revolvingaround topics related to the participants’ English learning, which seeks out touncover their thoughts and reflections towards these matters, hence addressing theresearch questions The questions are arranged following a generally chronological

order in order to ensure the logical flow of the interview, divided into four mainparts as detailed below.

Part 1: Background information and early experiences of English Learning

● Question 1: Brief introduction of the participant, their family background andeducation history

● Question 2: The participant’s description of their English learning experiencebefore university (location, length, mode, method, etc)

● Question 3: The participant’s thoughts of these experiences (their influences,memorable experience(s), etc)

Part 2: Choice of major at university

● Question 4: The participant’s narration of how they come to choose the majorthey will pursue at university (including their current major) and their thoughts(feelings, worries, etc)

Part 3: English learning’s practices and experiences at university

● Question 5: The participant’s description and thoughts of their English

learning practices at university (way of practices, dedicated time, what theylike/dislike, difficulties and concerns, what should change, etc)

● Question 6: The participant’s description of an ideal English learner from theirpoint of view

Part 4: Goals and futures plans that are related to English

● Question 7: The participant’s goals for their English learning

● Question 8: The participant’s thoughts on what English can bring to them and

to others

● Question 9: The participant’s future plan (employment, study, etc)

● Question 10: The participant’s thoughts on the tuition fee of 35 million

VND/per year

The main language used in the interview was Vietnamese - the mothertongue of both interviewer and interviewees - for the sake of better understandingand tie efficacy For a more detailed version of the interview guides written inVietnamese, which is used in the interviews with participants, see Appendix 2

3.4 Data analysis method: Thematic analysis

For the qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, thematic analysiswas used as the data analysis method Braun and Clark (2006) defines it as “amethod for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data” that

“organises and describes the data set in (rich) detail, and even “goes further andinterprets various aspects of the research topic” (p 79) The effectiveness of thismethod is pointed out by Braun and Clarke (2006) and King (2004) as particularlyuseful for “examining the perspectives of different research participants,highlighting similarities and differences, generating unanticipated insights” and

“summarizing key features of a large data set” (as cited in Nowell, Norris, White

& Moules, 2017, p 2)

To analyze the data, I began by thoroughly transcribing interviewrecordings into texts, which allowed me to familiarize myself with the data firstbefore moving on to coding In the first stage, the initial codes were generated

based on the research questions; in the second stage of coding, I attempted tocategorize the themes and patterns that emerge after scrutinizing the data set Thenext stage was to name and define the themes, by reviewing how they were related

to the research questions and the reviewed concepts

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS

The findings and discussion of the research presented in this chapter isbased on the interview answers of the ten participants of the study, namely Chi,Phuong, Kien, Cuong, Trung, Uyen, Tra, Hoa, Van, Ha (pseudonyms) The firstsection details some impacts of dominant neoliberal agendas on education andlanguage that emerge in the data, while the second section focuses on how thelearners navigate within this hegemonic discourse The data revealed the way most

of the participants, as English learners, came to position themselves as neoliberalsubjects - as homo oeconomicus - to a considerable extent; however, there werealso some traits not fitting with the characterizations of the ideal neoliberal figure

4.1 The dominant neoliberal agenda on language and education

4.1.1 The commodification of higher education

From the participants’ accounts, in the Vietnamese current society, thedominant viewpoint about the purpose of higher education revolves around having

a head start in the marketplace, rather than further learning This view is held bythe majority of the participants’ family members or acquaintances, and even theonline public, as they recall the opinions on their choice of university major:

My parents want me to learn Business, [ ] since a business degree is morebeneficial than a language degree My cousin who is a business directoralso said that learning languages would make it hard for me to find workafter graduation (Chi)

Some others complain about why I want to choose that field [EnglishLinguistics], what job am I going to do when I graduate? (Trung)

I read some advice from the online comments [ ] It’s not a “dead-end”choice for me, because no matter what job you do, you will need Englishanyway (Hoa)

Their answers reveal how the common discourse about higher education inVietnam only concerns students' employment prospects, particularly about the

ease to find work or the monetary value of the job in the current volatile neoliberaleconomy It is indeed similar to the observation made by Giroux (2002) that “inthe age of money and profit, academic disciplines gain stature almost exclusivelythrough their exchange value on the market” (p 432), which is students’employability in this case.

In fact, the findings reveal that not only the major, but also the university its reputation - and the kind of program where students would pursue that major,were also of great importance to consider:

-At that moment, I just wanted the choice that would be best for my futureemployment, and the name of this program sounds much more superior,since it is ‘high-quality,’ which the other university doesn’t have (Hoa,talking about how she decided between two different universities for hermajor)

I was not that interested in English, it was just that the university is verywell known, so I put this program as one option (Chi)

Furthermore, as to help individuals maximize their human capital potential,the students’ choice has to provide them with new knowledge and skills, ratherthan things they already know, as can be seen Uyen’s account: “Others, who have

a lot of experience, asked me why I didn't pursue another field since I was alreadygood at English.”

All these justifications and rationales share the grounds of thinking abouthigher education as solely a commodity or product, for students had to make theirchoice among a range of options to figure out which one is worthy for investment

in terms of future employability

This commodification does not only manifest in the general public’sperceptions of higher education, but also in the way educational institutionstransform themselves into business and service providers, which can be seen in theparticipants’ accounts:

I read about the scholarship opportunities of the Circular 23 program online,and that was the marketing of the university… I also remember listening tothe “ambassadors'' [the university student representatives that came to theirformer high school to give consulting advice] (Cuong)

I put a lot of hope in this program, like having some extra-curricularcourses, etc, that was what my university advertised back then I rememberreading it on the webpage [of the university] Also the principal mentioned

it in the Facebook livestream (Van)

The data unveil the reality where the discourse and practices of businesshas permeated the higher educational settings in Vietnam, evidently in the variety

of ways (e.g website, Facebook livestream, ambassadors) the university employed

to promote their new program to prospective learners, similar to how businessescompete for customers in the market However these practices appeared inimplementation, the participants clearly recognized the business mechanismbehind, since they specifically use the words “advertised,” “marketing” - thelanguage of business - to refer to them

4.1.2 The resignification of language: language as a measurable skill and tied with economic benefits

With education being increasingly subjected to neoliberal rationales,language is also being re-conceptualized, being increasingly treated as acommodity Such association can be seen when looking back at the reasons given

to why one should and should not choose English as the first option to study atuniversity:

They [her parents and cousin] told me that I should study Business atuniversity, if I want to learn English further, I could easily learn at Englishcenters to take some proficiency tests like IELTS, then it would beenough… (Chi)

Usually people say English is a tool [ ] They say that the companies willtrain you for the job skills, yet they wouldn’t train you English; therefore

we should know English first, other skills we could learn later (Hoa)

In these answers, English is regarded as a skill, valuable not in terms ofbeing a marker of identity, but of how it contributes to one’s human capital, ascommunication skill - proficiency in foreign languages - is now an importantindex of an ideal employee When constructing the value of English, manyparticipants gave priority to the instrumental view of the language, like howEnglish facilitates them greatly if they want to have an easier land on a job, tohave a better salary (Ha, Hoa), to work in multinational companies (Trung) Chieven claimed that for her, English meant money, because that was the value of auniversity degree on English for her If not directly related to economic benefits,English is tied to opportunities, such as the chance to study abroad like pursuing aMaster's degree overseas (Uyen, Trung, Phuong, Van), or to travel overseas easily(Chi) This viewpoint is not exclusive to English but also to other languages Chiand Ha shared the goals of becoming multilingual speakers, but mainly for theiremployment prospects, as Chi specifically mentioned English - Korean interpreter

as a job with a high salary that her teacher recommended

Another point emerging from the data is the increasing interest ofmetricization of acquired competence like language competence As Chi recalledher family’s belief: “I could easily learn at English centers to take someproficiency tests like IELTS,” it was clear that language ability being equated to alanguage proficiency test score is quite a popular view Even the participantsthemselves, who clearly cared about improving their English competence, showedthat their preoccupation with its symbolic representation - the score - seemed to be

as equally profound After mentioning some general goals like improving skills orknowledge areas (speaking, vocabulary), seven participants specified their Englishlearning goals in terms of score, like a high GPA score (A or A+), or a high IELTSband score Uyen stressed out its significance: “If you say you are good atSpeaking, you cannot just say so, but have to show with your Speaking score,”while Tra expressed her doubt “not even a 9.0 IELTS band would mean much for