Nationwide data collection on language diversity does not take place, although regularly updated databases on language diversity could provide crucial input for policy development, as they do in other countries.

Languages offered in pre-primary education

Attending pre-primary education is optional but widespread.

The importance attached to the Dutch language by the Ministry of Education is illustrated by programmes that are offered for children at pre-primary school ‘to combat (Dutch) language deficiencies and delays in (Dutch) language development’ (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, 2011b). This is in line with a European Parliament resolution of 2009 which says that the national language in particular needs to be addressed at pre-school level.

Languages offered in primary education

Education is compulsory for children aged five to 16. However, over 95 per cent of children start primary schooling at the age of four.

As in pre-primary education, within primary education there are programmes to combat (Dutch) language delays and deficiencies (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, 2011b). 

The government stresses the importance of Dutch language and arithmetic throughout education.. Frameworks have been developed for language and for arithmetic. The frameworks specify levels of proficiency that are linked to different milestones in pupils’ educational careers, such as the end of primary education. The frameworks have been incorporated in a law that came into force in 2010, but the practical implementation of the framework levels in educational content and exams will take place in phases in the coming years (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, 2011a).

English is compulsory in the two final years of primary education.

Education in immigrant languages used to be provided for by law. Between 1974 and 2004 extra-curricular education in immigrant languages was provided at primary school level and funded by government. Funding was terminated on the grounds that education in immigrant languages ‘was in contradiction with the policy of integration of [immigrant minority] children’ (Extra & Yağmur, 2006: 55). Mastery of Dutch is seen as the basis for integration (Eerste Kamer, 2004). Nevertheless, the law still permits the auxiliary use of languages in addition to Dutch for children from non-Dutch backgrounds if that supports their start in and transition to Dutch education. 

In response to the lack of public provision for immigrant languages at (pre-)primary education level, private initiatives have been taken, and, for example, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, and Russian schools have been established that provide complementary education in the languages and cultures referred to. Those initiatives are found all over the country and are mostly community-based. 

Additionally, a mixed Dutch-Turkish foundation has been set up to develop the provision of (extracurricular) Turkish language education (Stichting TON). These private initiatives put into practice the recommendations made by the Education Council of the Netherlands to the government in 2001, regarding education of immigrant languages (Onderwijsraad, 2001). These EC proposals were not taken up by government.

Languages offered in secondary education

The framework for language (cf. primary education domain) is also used in secondary education.

Proficiency in Dutch is compulsory at all levels of secondary education and also part of all exams; so is English. Newcomers to the Netherlands first attend separate education for, on average, two years, which focuses on Dutch language skills and other essential skills. After that they enter mainstream education. Apart from English, a second foreign language is only compulsory at the highest level of secondary education; this is usually German or French and sometimes Spanish. Schools are free to offer additional foreign languages.

Turkish and Arabic can be offered as subjects and taken as an exam subject. However, schools decide if they want to offer these languages and not many do so. Moreover, the proportion of pupils taking exams in either Turkish or Arabic is low and dropped from approximately 0.28 per cent in 2002 to 0.08 per cent in 2003. It has now slightly risen again, to 0.13 per cent in 2011, but is still not at the level of 2002 (cf. for example Alberts & Erens, 2011). A possible explanation for this decrease is the abolition of government funding for education in immigrant languages mentioned above. This low uptake of Turkish and Arabic is all the more noteworthy given the increase in the number of Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch children in primary schools in urban areas. The answers given above pertain to those schools that do offer Arabic and/or Turkish.

A recent phenomenon is the increase in secondary schools offering a bilingual programme through Dutch and English (usually referred to as Content and Language Integrated Learning – CLIL). In most cases this concerns the highest level of secondary education, which prepares for university, but more recently it has also been implemented at lower levels (Europees Platform, 2011a). In addition, at pre-primary and primary school level more and more schools increase the time they spend on English language education (early foreign language learning) (Europees Platform, 2011b). These developments have raised the question as to the (language) qualifications teachers at bilingual schools should have.

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in the Netherlands

Languages offered across 2 higher education institutions in the Netherlands

The framework for language (cf. primary education domain) is also used in Vocational Education and Training (VET).

In Higher Education the Anglo-Saxon education system (Bachelor-Master) was introduced from 2002 onwards. It was part of the process to create a European Higher Education Area (Bologna process). As a result of these changes as well as an increased focus on internationalisation in general, to attract international students, Dutch higher education is now increasingly offering many Master courses through English. This has fuelled a discussion about the use of English versus Dutch in university education and about the quality of education in terms of proficiency in English of both university teachers and students.

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in the Netherlands

The common practice of subtitling television programmes in languages other than Dutch means that from an early age children are exposed to a range of different languages. This is in line with the European Parliament resolution on Multilingualism (2009). However, the large majority of foreign programmes offered on Dutch television is in English, so viewers are mainly exposed to British and American-English language and culture. Children’s programmes, cartoons in particular, are often dubbed. 

In Fryslân, the main regional radio and television broadcaster uses Frisian most of the time and some Dutch. Thus, Frisian audiovisual media in particular are in line with COE and EU recommendations in that they show the language variation in the province.

The range of languages other than Dutch offered on Dutch television is limited.

Languages offered in public services and public spaces across 3 cities in the Netherlands (N ≥ 2)

The range of languages that are used in public services and spaces (in the cities studied) is limited. Dutch is standard and only occasionally are Turkish and Arabic used, but otherwise the language offered is mostly English. In Fryslân, people are allowed to use Frisian for communication with public services. However, written information from those services is often available in Dutch only.

A service that can be used for all kinds of public affairs is a phone interpreter service (‘tolkentelefoon’). The service is most often used in health care. It used to be paid for by government, but this funding ended on 1 January 2012. It is now considered to be the patient’s own responsibility to be able to speak Dutch or to arrange and pay for their own interpreter (Rijksoverheid, 2011).

Languages other than English offered in business across 24 companies in the Netherlands (N ≥ 2)

Export accounts for over 70 per cent of the GDP (CBS, 2011b). This importance is not reflected in the Netherlands’ profile of languages in business, although not all four company types investigated (banks, hotels, supermarkets, and construction companies) are necessarily company types that focus on international business. In particular, local and regional companies will not be internationally oriented. Overall, the role of language in businesses is not explicit. Businesses could be made more aware of the value of multilingualism.

In Frisian companies, the Frisian language is mostly used informally and written Frisian does not play a role at all.

At a time of increasing language diversity, the Dutch government emphasises the Dutch language. This is in line with European Commission (EC) /Council of Europe (CoE) policy. On the other hand, EC/CoE policy also stresses the inclusion of minority, foreign and immigrant languages within education and in other sectors of society. Especially with regard to immigrant languages, Dutch policy could be aligned better with European policy.

Nevertheless, there are various initiatives that recognise the value of multilingualism and study or use multilingualism and its benefits. For example, there are several private schools that provide additional education in immigrant languages, and, within secondary education in particular, teaching subjects through English (CLIL) is becoming more widespread.

The ‘mother tongue + 2‘ objective is not fully met, but English being compulsory at secondary school means that most pupils will learn at least one foreign language.

An interesting innovative project as an example of good practice is carried out in the city of Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Utrecht describes itself as a ’multilingual hotspot‘(City of Utrecht, 2009: 1). A large part of the population is able to speak three or more languages; the link with European policy is explicitly made in the project and the goal of ‘mother tongue + 2’ is promoted. Furthermore, the city hosts many international companies and Utrecht’s university attracts many foreign students. The city wants to take this characteristic as a starting point towards the development of Utrecht as a ‘laboratory for multilingualism’ (ibidem: 1). Various studies around multilingualism have been launched, and multilingual projects set up (ibidem). In 2011 a report was published as part of the project: ‘The Dutch City of Utrecht as a European Hotspot and Laboratory for Multilingualism’ (Martinovic, 2011).

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