We will showcase the development of modern foreign language (MFL) teaching in the Netherlands since 1945, by evaluating how changes in national policy might have affected the variety and proficiency of MFL knowledge of the Dutch. In essence, we ask what is left of the long tradition of Dutch multilingualism.
The Netherlands is a fairly small country with a long tradition of modern foreign language (MFL) teaching. French, German and English are compulsory subjects at secondary school since 1945. Over the decades, MFL have experienced a number of major reforms. Each of them had an influence on the level of MFL proficiency of the Dutch. The so-called Mammoetwet (1968), followed by the Basisvorming (1993), the Tweede fase (1998) and the introduction of the CEFR (2001) all had consequences on the choices made by different parties implicated in shaping the Dutch MFL education panorama: publishers, teacher educators and teachers. And as we speak, a new program proposition is coming up: curriculum.nu which will again effect not only the way we teach MFL but also what we teach. How does that reflect on the MFL curricula in primary and secondary schools, in teacher education programs, teaching approaches, textbooks and ultimately on how proficient the Dutch are today (or feel they are) in the languages they learn? The Eurobarometer (2012) shows that 90% of the Dutch report to be able to hold a conversation in English, 71% in German and 29% in French. English enjoys a steady growth of attention and is omnipresent in Dutch society and media. A sign of this popularity is the growing number of primary and secondary schools offering CLIL (Content and Language Integrated) programs. Similarly, 70% of MA programs at university level are offered in English. In contrast, pupil and student numbers in other MFL courses show a steady decline. May the Dutch be at risk of losing their multilingual tradition to an hegemony of English only?
