Impacts of Learning Environment on Students’ Approaches to English Learning in Higher Education in Vietnam

Abstract

Given the importance of English learning in globalization and modernization, the study aimed to examine the relationship between the learning environment and students’ approaches to English learning in tertiary education in Vietnam. A survey with a 52-item questionnaire measuring the students’ approaches to English learning as a non-major subject and their perceptions of the learning context was distributed to 720 students at four universities. The data was analyzed using crosstabulation and regression analyses. Firstly, the results showed a close relationship between the students’ approaches to English learning and their perceptions of the learning environment. The positive perceptions were associated with the deep and strategic approaches, whereas the negative perceptions were related to the surface approach. Secondly, the workload was the most significant positive predictor of the strategic approach but the strongest negative predictor of the surface approach. Meanwhile, the development of generic skills became the most significant positive predictor of the deep approach. These findings should be helpful for English lecturers and administrators to enhance English teaching and learning practice in higher education in Vietnam.