<![CDATA[Dictionary Words of the Year and related contemporary expressions increasingly reflect public concerns about digital culture, artificial intelligence, misinformation, online manipulation, and changing patterns of English use. However, limited empirical attention has examined how EFL teachers evaluate such items as classroom resources. This qualitative exploratory study investigated Vietnamese EFL teachers’ perceptions of their value for vocabulary teaching and critical digital literacy. From March to June 2026, asynchronous email-based semi-structured interviews were completed by 18 teachers with 2–21 years of experience across university, secondary-school, private-center, IELTS/EAP, adult, vocational, and online teaching settings. The 22-question interview form included a 12-item stimulus list combining dictionary Words of the Year with a related shortlisted contemporary expression. The approximately 12,200-word dataset was coded by the researcher in QualCoder 3.8.2 and analyzed through theoretically informed reflexive thematic analysis, combining predominantly inductive semantic coding with later interpretation through concepts from teacher cognition, vocabulary pedagogy, lexical change, and critical digital literacy. Teachers viewed the items as potentially valuable but conditional resources. Their reported judgments emphasized learner proficiency and age, register, instructional objectives, cultural sensitivity, curricular relevance, and risk of misuse. They also differentiated possible roles for productive use, guided discussion, receptive or cultural awareness, and caution-only treatment. These categories represent teachers’ professional judgments rather than tested classifications or observed learning outcomes. The study therefore proposes a preliminary tiered selection framework for materials development and future classroom validation, rather than evidence of successful classroom integration. ]]>
