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Article published In:
Journal of English-Medium Instruction
Vol. 2:1 (2023) ► pp.50–78

A multi-layered comparative analysis of English-medium instruction in the Netherlands

The language ideological debate

| NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences
ORCID logo | NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences | University of Groningen

The rise of English in Dutch higher education has been accompanied by a language ideological debate that affects students’ and lecturers’ lives at the micro level, policy and planning at the meso (institutional) level and is related to the macro perspective (national political agenda). This study explores how language ideologies and attitudes play a role in this debate by comparing lecturers’ perceptions of the use of English in higher education to general language ideologies reflected in the Dutch printed press. A thematic analysis was conducted, including a three-dimensional investigation incorporating a vertical approach (macro, meso, micro) combined with a horizontal approach focusing on ideological themes present at the vertical level. Our data consist of 151 news items and 20 interviews with lecturers in higher education. Results show that monolingual language ideologies are the norm in both the perceptions of teaching staff and the Dutch media. Lecturers were generally more positive towards the exclusive use of English than the printed media. The study suggests that the Dutch/English dichotomy and accompanying persistence of a monolingual language ideology contrast with the reality of the Netherlands as a multilingual community. Implications for language policy and practice within EMI are presented.

Keywords: language ideology, language attitudes, higher education, English-medium instruction
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • (Language) ideology and language attitudes in HE
    • Language ideologies in the media
    • Language ideologies in EMI
  • Methodology
    • Methods of data collection and sample
    • Data analysis
  • Results
    • Language ideologies in the Dutch printed press
      • Status and solidarity
      • Language ideologies at the micro level: The personal dimension
      • Language ideologies at the meso level: The educational dimension
      • Language ideologies and attitudes at the macro level: The national dimension
    • Language ideologies in the perceptions of teaching staff
      • Status and solidarity
      • Language ideologies and attitudes at the micro level: The personal dimension
      • Language ideologies and attitudes at the meso level: The educational dimension
      • Language ideologies and attitudes at the macro level: The national dimension
    • Overlap between language ideologies and attitudes
      • Status and solidarity
  • Discussion
    • Language ideologies in the media
    • Language ideologies in the perceptions of teaching staff
    • The ideological disparities between the printed press and teaching staff
  • Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 12 December 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.21028.van
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