Dutch language less and less self-evident at university
The trend is continuing: the Dutch language is increasingly being supplanted by English at universities. Less than a third of the students indicate that their study is entirely Dutch.
Image: Pixabay
Dat concludes the Dutch Language Union in the research report The State of Dutch. Half of the surveyed Dutch-speaking students (48,5 percent) use both Dutch and English in their studies. 14,3 percent follow fully English-language education and less than a third (28,1 percent) do everything in Dutch.
English language
The advance of English in higher education can be seen in various areas, according to the Taalunie. Lessons are increasingly taught in English and more and more study material is in English. Communication with teachers and fellow students is also less and less often in Dutch compared to 2016.
Lessons are increasingly taught in English and more and more study material is in English.
No problem
Dutch students don't seem to mind. A majority (61 percent) finds it no problem that languages other than Dutch are used in non-language subjects. In Friesland, an even larger majority (76 percent) is in favor of this, although they will also have Frisian in mind there.
According to the Taalunie, these 'governing positive attitudes towards other languages in higher education' will contribute to the rise of English in higher education in the Netherlands.
HBO
A different picture can be seen at universities of applied sciences: a majority of students (68 percent) follow a fully Dutch-language study programme. But because the sample of HBO students was small, the Taalunie itself has reservations about this percentage.
In Suriname, too, Dutch retains a “reasonably strong position” in higher education. A majority of 64 percent of students state that it is the only language they need in their studies.
Discussie
The anglicisation of higher education has been the subject of some heated discussions for some time now. There is now a bill for approval in the Senate that forces educational institutions to demonstrate the added value of English-language education. If they do not succeed, they would have to switch to Dutch again. The bill will only be discussed when a new cabinet is in place.
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