Articles

Critical reading is widely recognized as an essential skill in both general education and foreign language learning; however, its actual practice among students remains limited. This study investigates undergraduate students’ use of Critical reading strategies in English reading at a Vietnamese university. A mixed-methods design was adopted, combining the Survey of Critical Reading Strategies (SOCRS) administered to 799 students with semi-structured interviews conducted with 16 participants. The questionnaire collected demographic data and Likert-scale responses on pre-, while-, and post-reading strategies, while interviews provided deeper insights into students’ perceptions and challenges. The findings reveal a clear hierarchy in strategy use: at the category level, pre-reading strategies were used most frequently (M = 3.18, SD = 1.07), followed by while-reading strategies (M = 3.09, SD = 1.08), whereas post-reading strategies were least frequently employed (M = 2.83, SD = 1.07). Meanwhile, at the individual strategy level, several while-reading strategies received the highest mean scores, particularly checking unfamiliar vocabulary (M = 3.45, SD = 1.14) and guessing meaning from context (M = 3.36, SD = 1.12). In contrast, higher-order post-reading strategies such as comparing texts (M = 2.75, SD = 1.09), analysing and interpreting texts (M = 2.78, SD = 1.06), and questioning textual content (M = 2.79, SD = 1.07) were used less frequently. These results suggest that although students acknowledge the importance of Critical reading, their engagement with deeper analytical practices is insufficient. The study highlights the need for explicit instruction, structured scaffolding, and targeted training to enhance higher-order Critical reading skills, particularly in post-reading stages, thereby supporting the development of Critical literacy in EFL contexts.

Grounded in the growing need to align language education with global sustainability goals, this study examines teachers’ and students’ perceptions of integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction through Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). Conducted in a Vietnamese multidisciplinary university, the intervention embedded SDG-oriented tasks across six units of a twelve-week course. Participants included six teachers and 346 first-year students. Data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations, and teaching diaries. Findings indicate that students perceived significant gains in sustainability consciousness across cognitive, affective, and behavioural dimensions, while also reporting positive impacts on language development, particularly in speaking and vocabulary. The intervention was perceived to foster transversal skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. Both teachers and students reported positive perceptions of the SDG-embedded TBLT approach, emphasizing its capacity to engage learners with authentic, real-world issues while supporting language learning. Nevertheless, challenges related to time constraints, limited resources, and teacher readiness were identified. The findings support the pedagogical value of SDG oriented TBLT as a practical and scalable approach to embedding sustainability education within EFL contexts. Implications for curriculum design, teacher education, and future research are discussed.

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into daily life necessitates an understanding of AI literacy. This article presents a scoping review of review studies to examine how AI literacy has been conceptualized and developed across existing review literature. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA) framework, this study screened fifteen review articles on AI literacy published between 2020 and 2025 in the SCOPUS database, of which eight met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. The review examines methodological approaches employed in previous reviews and the key findings related to AI literacy, including its conceptualizations, frameworks, and pedagogical development. The findings reveal that previous reviews employed diverse yet systematic methodologies, commonly guided by PRISMA frameworks and multiple academic databases. The review indicates the complexity in defining AI literacy with diversified frameworks. The review also shows that AI literacy is a dynamic and multidimensional construct with no universally agreed definition. Existing frameworks increasingly move beyond technical competencies to include ethical awareness, critical engagement, social responsibility, and human-AI interaction. In addition, the reviewed studies highlight experiential, participatory, and learner-centred approaches to developing AI literacy across educational contexts. Overall, the findings indicate a shift in AI literacy research from a primarily technical focus toward more critical, human-centred, and socially responsive perspectives. The study provides implications for future AI literacy research, curriculum design, and educational practice.

In the context of ongoing educational reform in Vietnam, there is increasing emphasis on sustainability, internationalization, and digital transformation in language education. For medical students, English proficiency is essential for accessing global knowledge, engaging in research, and participating in professional communication. However, existing resources such as printed bilingual dictionaries and static glossaries remain insufficient, as they often lack contextual accuracy, pronunciation support, and learner-friendly explanations. This study adopts an exploratory cross-sectional design to investigate medical students’ needs and perceptions regarding English medical terminology and to inform the conceptual development of an AI-assisted English English-Vietnamese (EEV) medical dictionary. Data was collected from 235 second-year medical students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City using a structured questionnaire. The findings indicate a high frequency of dictionary use alongside substantial difficulties related to unclear definitions, unreliable sources, and fragmented learning processes. Students expressed strong demand for simplified definitions, IPA-based pronunciation, and contextualized usage examples. Based on these findings, the study conceptually proposes a chatbot-based EEV medical dictionary that would integrate AI-generated content with human validation. While the proposed tool is not empirically evaluated in this study, it should be regarded as a preliminary conceptual direction rather than a validated educational intervention. Therefore, claims regarding educational effectiveness, institutional value, and broader applicability remain tentative and require future empirical investigation. The study provides preliminary learner-centered insights and suggests possible directions for the future development and empirical evaluation of AI-assisted language resources in medical education.