Effecten van Engels als voertaal in het hoger onderwijs: leeromgeving, leerprocessen, leeropbrengsten

Abstract

In the Netherlands, English is increasingly being used as a medium of instruction in higher education, but concerns about this have been raised by politicians and in society at large. In Dutch universities, 28% of all Bachelor’s programmes and in 76% of all Master’s programmes use English as medium of instruction (EMI); in universities of applied sciences, this is true of 6% of all Bachelor’s programmes and 24% of all Master’s programmes (2018). The Dutch Ministry of Education have made it clear that EMI should not have a negative effect on the quality of education. However, no systematic study has been undertaken to investigate any effects of EMI on subject knowledge development, nor of any positive or negative factors affecting the teaching-learning environment. Moreover, little is known about the way in which EMI programmes in the Netherlands have been designed, implemented and facilitated. The present study entails a systematic review of any effects of EMI on students’ subject knowledge development in higher education (sub-study 1). These findings have been used to structure the data presented in sub-study 2, which aimed to make an inventory of EMI in Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. This is illustrated by four case study descriptions of Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes from different universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands (sub-study 3). The study provides recommendations for EMI policy and practice in the Netherlands, and may contribute to a discussion on risks and opportunities EMI in higher education, and to further policy development.