ABSTRACT
The unprecedented emphasis on English language education has moved research beyond documenting the effectiveness of language education reforms to uncover the role of English in development across disciplines and countries (Bruthiaux, 2002; Coleman, 2011; Erling & Seargeant, 2013; Phillipson, 2012). Current Vietnamese English language policies (ELP) promote English as a competitive strength for Vietnamese students in the service of the nation’s socio-economic development. Using Bourdieu’s social reproduction theories and a mixed methods approach, this chapter reports on a study that scrutinised the roles of English in university students’ employability, one of key indicators of development (Erling, 2014; Hamid, 2015) in four major universities in North Vietnam, involving 527 Vietnamese tertiary students and 12 lecturers. Students reported a remarkably high level of uncertainty in both their English and career skills performed in English, which corresponded to their insufficient English for employability purposes. Over 75% of the student participants expressed their uncertainty about seeking employment that required English. The relationship between English and development is highly complex, worrisome, and contested while potentially damaging students’ socio-economic, educational, and linguistic capital and the state’s development in the long run. This chapter provides recommendations for improving pedagogies, policies, and practices to promote English as one of vital employability skills for multifaceted development.
