Volume 3 Issue 3 | 2026 | View PDF
Paper Id: IJMSM-V3I3P109
doi: 10.71141/30485037/V3I3P109

The IELTS Ceiling in EMI: Washback, Instrumental Motivation, and Sustained Idle among Non-English-Majors

Thuc Yen Ho, Linh Hoang Phuong Nguyen

Citation:
Thuc Yen Ho, Linh Hoang Phuong Nguyen, "The IELTS Ceiling in EMI: Washback, Instrumental Motivation, and Sustained Idle among Non-English-Majors" International Journal of Multidisciplinary on Science and Management, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 105-112, 2026.

Abstract:
Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) is frequently positioned to extend learner autonomy, particularly in English-Medium Instruction (EMI) contexts where students use English to access disciplinary knowledge. However, students’ engagement with IDLE may be shaped by the perceived utility of English after institutional benchmarks are met. This qualitative case study examines how non-English-major students at a Vietnamese EMI university construe English learning and IDLE after achieving a proficiency threshold in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). An initial screening survey of 182 students was used to identify potential interview participants who had met the institutional English requirement, continued to regard English as important, but reported limited current investment in deliberate English learning. The primary qualitative data consisted of semi-structured interviews with nine students who met the screening criteria and two EMI lecturers. The findings reveal that while students did not cease using English, their deliberate language-learning investment shifted. Specifically, some participants interpreted IELTS certification as a point of sufficient English for their immediate purposes, after which further learning was postponed, selectively pursued, or reclassified as content study. This study conceptualises this pattern as the "IELTS Ceiling," a possible post-threshold washback process in which some learners interpret achieving the required IELTS score as the completion of English learning. The conclusion emphasises that passing a proficiency benchmark does not guarantee sustained academic literacy. The study offers implications for EMI curriculum design and assessment practices that position English as an ongoing academic and professional resource.

Keywords: EMI, IDLE, IELTS, Instrumental Motivation, Learner Agency, Washback.

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