Headwinds from the North

Abstract

This chapter looks at English-taught university courses and programs in the Netherlands, a country where English proficiency is high and the internationalization of higher education through English is longstanding and widespread. It begins with the1992 Higher Education and Research Act, which laid out parameters for using other languages and preserving Dutch in the universities. Addressing the pros and cons of English in internationalization, it continues up to the present with repeated manifestos posted by professors and students, a series of reports and public meetings, and a failed court challenge, all informing the debate. It weighs the arguments on each side, focusing on the benefits of English to student diversity and employability versus the harms to academic quality and access and to the Dutch language as a vehicle for intellectual engagement and knowledge production. It ends with pending legislative proposals to find a better balance and a national consensus among the competing interests.