Lecturers’ Job Satisfaction as a Driver for Sustaining English Medium Instruction Programs in Vietnamese Higher Education

Job satisfaction plays a crucial role in employee motivation, performance, and retention across various professions, including academia. It is commonly defined as an individual’s overall sense of fulfillment and contentment derived from their work, shaped by both motivators and hygiene factors. The present study examines the motivational factors influencing job satisfaction among 16 EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) lecturers at a Vietnamese university through the lens of Herzberg et al.’s Two-Factor Theory. Using NVivo 15 for qualitative data analysis, this study systematically identifies key motivators and hygiene factors affecting EMI lecturers’ job satisfaction. The findings reveal that important drivers include students’ progress, recognition from colleagues and institutions, and opportunities for professional growth. These elements enhance lecturers’ commitment to teaching and their overall job satisfaction. Conversely, several hygiene factors negatively impact job satisfaction, including excessive workload, insufficient professional development training, mentoring and program assessment, low compensation, lack of collegial collaboration, and inadequate working conditions. This study highlights that while motivators foster engagement and teaching effectiveness, the presence of demotivating hygiene factors undermines lecturers’ long-term job satisfaction and retention. Consequently, the study underscores the need for universities, particularly in Vietnam and other non-native English-speaking countries of similar contexts, to foster a more supportive work environment by mitigating workload pressures, implementing well-designed professional development programs, aligning compensation with job demands, enhancing collegial collaboration, providing good working conditions. The findings offer some valuable implications for policymakers, institutional leaders, and EMI practitioners in sustaining and improving the quality of EMI programs.