{"id":109295,"date":"2020-02-14T11:38:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T10:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=109295"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:42","slug":"campus-talk-what-do-international-students-think-about-anglicisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/02\/14\/campus-talk-what-do-international-students-think-about-anglicisation\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Talk: what do international students think about ‘anglicisation’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking around campus, it’s nearly impossible not to pick up some English conversations. This\u00a0anglicisation<\/a>\u00a0of the university is increasingly becoming a hot topic, whilst two other Dutch universities have already\u00a0introduced English as their official language<\/a>. So what do international students think? Is it difficult not being able to speak (much) Dutch? And do they think they’ll ever learn it?<\/p>\n

Kotaro Kuribayashi (20), Japan, International Business Administration<\/h2>
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\u201cI\u2019ve been living in the Netherlands for a year and a half, and I haven\u2019t tried to learn Dutch. Except for home delivery menus, I don\u2019t really need it in my daily life.\u00a0However, if I was going to stay here, I would learn the language.\u00a0In fact, I\u2019d support making Dutch lessons compulsory for international students. I\u2019ve got friends who are studying in Spain and Italy and who are required to learn Spanish and Italian in their first year. As international students, we obviously get to benefit from the Netherlands, so I feel it shows respect if you can express yourself in the language of the country you live in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zeynep (19), Turkey, International Psychology<\/h2>

\u201cFor a while I worked in a restaurant where some customers didn\u2019t want me to speak English to them. I didn\u2019t say anything at the time, and I understand that you love your language. In Turkish, I sound like Shakespeare, but I can\u2019t express myself that well in English.<\/p>\n

For me, a language must have some mystery about it to make me want to learn it. Dutch didn\u2019t, so I\u2019m now learning Japanese. If they\u2019d made free Dutch lessons compulsory, I think I would have taken them. It\u2019s still useful to be able to speak it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry (22), UK, Finance & Investment<\/h2>

\u201cI do understand why Dutch students might feel that their culture is becoming anglicised or Americanised. But the university is a special place in society. It\u2019s supposed to be a place for sharing knowledge, also internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived here for four years, and I haven\u2019t missed not speaking Dutch at all. International students know that it\u2019s difficult to be part of a social group that only speaks Dutch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martina Macrelli (23), Italy, Marketing<\/h2>
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\u201cNow that I know that I want to work in the Netherlands after I graduate, I\u2019ve started learning Dutch because I can see that it\u2019s necessary for a job in marketing. But until now, I\u2019ve never needed it. Even old ladies in the street speak good English.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong students, I\u2019ve noticed that there\u2019s a group of Dutch students who distance themselves a bit from the international students due to the language. They don\u2019t come to lectures as often, although that may be because they have jobs alongside their studies. I also think that this group formation is much worse in Italy, where people find it harder to establish contacts in English.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albandri (19), Saudi Arabia, International Psychology<\/h2>

\u201cIn Saudi Arabia, people adapt more easily if you don\u2019t speak our language. It seems that Dutch people don\u2019t want to make that much of an effort. It\u2019s easy to live here without learning the language, but more difficult to really make contact.<\/p>\n

But I think that making Dutch lessons compulsory might have the opposite effect. I personally feel a bit rebellious when I\u2019m told I have to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students didn\u2019t want their surnames mentioned. Their full names are known to the editors.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t

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