It’s 2020. A sign saying ‘Department of Mathematics’ shows you the way to said department. By means of iris recognition, you are granted access to a lecture brought to you in impeccable English by the lecturer. The cafeteria lady greets you with a ‘good afternoon’, and a fellow student wants to know ‘if you had a nice weekend’. A realistic scenario? Desired? Feasible? English is supposed to become the second language at TU/e, according to Strategic plan 2020. A previous version even mentioned English should become the official language instead of Dutch. But according to executive board member mr. Jo van Ham, that would ‘not yet fit TU/e’, he says by e-mail. “We still have a long way to go, especially when it comes to the internationalization of education. Research is international by definition, which is why its lingua franca is English. Yet in education, we’ve only started actively recruiting international students after the introduction of the bachelor-master system, which is also when we started offering master’s curricula in English. I expect the discussion on introducing English as official language to surface once again, perhaps in light of the redesign of the bachelor’s curriculum.”

It’s a missed opportunity to make English the second language instead of the official one, says Willem van Hoorn. At the Department for Personnel & Organization, he familiarizes international staff with the university. He’s also a member of the International Community team, most members of which are from the International Relations Office, and some from DPO. “More and more, we have to recruit supra-regionally, and this would have been a unique selling point for that.” Still, Van Hoorn also believes TU/e should ‘promote and facilitate’ the opportunity for international students and staff to learn Dutch. “We shouldn’t force anyone, though. That would be taking it too far.”

Vincent Merk is coordinator of TU/e’s Center for Languages & International Communication (CLIC), as well as member of the International Community team. He strongly advocates communicating in English as well as Dutch. “We need both. I like to say it takes two to tango. An international university needs both sides to make an effort. We need to incite students and staff to improve either their English or their Dutch, as well as provide them with the proper tools to do so. English should be a means to an end, not a goal in itself.” It also showed from the debate on English at TU/e organized by Studium Generale last March that learning English or Dutch should never be mandatory, yet should be properly supported. The idea was aptly illustrated by a female student: “No one’s ever died of speaking too many languages.”

CLIC provides classes for students and staff in English and Dutch, offers courses in intercultural communication, has a translation desk and administers language tests. According to Desiree Breedt and Astri Keizer, two of five English teachers at CLIC, TU/e people turn to them for different reasons, and demand fluctuates. “English became more important in the early nineties, when the borders opened. Between 2000 and 2003, money for classes dwindled. Today, competition between scientists is increasing, especially internationally, which is why most of them primarily want to polish their writing and presentation skills.”

The teachers also encounter many students who want to brush up on their English, because they’ll be studying abroad, are about to do an international internship, or want to check whether their command of the language is good enough to embark on a Master’s.

It’s hard to generalize, but the teachers do see recurrent, ‘typical’ errors from their course members, who are mostly Dutch, but include international staff and students as well. “English is fairly strict when it comes to tenses, whereas the Dutch apply those more freely. All in all, the teachers are pleased with the overall level of English at TU/e. “Students are often worried most about their Dutch accent, but foreigners usually don’t have problems with it and anyway, pronunciation is not the most important thing.

The teachers focus on ‘effective communication’. “We like to stress it’s not necessary or even desirable to speak the Queen’s English. Just make sure to present your message well and be consistent. The choice for British or American speech is personal preference, as long as you’re consistent. Much more important is that your message is well-structured and well-argued, and at a proper academic level of English.”
According to Breedt en Keizer, the quality of written communication at TU/e varies. “I wonder if everyone calls in official translators. It would be wise to set standards for the desired level.” They occasionally find fault with the English translations in Cursor as well. “I’ve used translations as course material before, and asked students to correct them.”

For some departments, study associations, and divisions, communicating in English may be only natural, but for others it may make more sense to have discussions, newsletters, and other types of communication in Dutch. If we zoom in on education, we see that since the 2009/2010 academic year, almost all master courses at TU/e have been in English, barring some courses at Architecture, Building & Planning. Courses that have no international students are occasionally taught in Dutch as well.

The question whether bachelor’s courses should be in English as well proves to be a controversial issue at TU/e, which also showed at Studium Generale’s debate held in March. Advocates say it’s advantageous to the university to be at the forefront of this development, and they expect it to attract more international students. On top of that, it prevents students from the ‘sudden’ switch from Dutch bachelors to English masters, they argue. Opponents fear for the quality of education, and think Dutch students will avoid TU/e owing to its English. They’d also be disappointed if Dutch were to fade into the background.

The bachelor’s curriculum at Industrial Design has been in English ever since ID’s foundation. The department says that’s because of the relatively large number of foreign staff members, and the fact that many students will end up in an international working environment. Computer Science will make the switch next year, hoping to attract more international students. Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences ‘are planning’ a switch, but the departments haven’t come to a decision yet. Prof.dr.ir. Bart Smolders, Education manager at Electrical Engineering, says: “Bilingual education is a trend at vwo (pre-university secondary education), which is why it’s strange for TU/e departments to continue to offer their curricula in Dutch. The university is welcoming ever more international PhD candidates and lecturers, but I can’t use them for our bachelor education. And in high-tech industries, nearly all communication is in English.” Education manager Lex Lemmens of IE&IS says: “Seventy per cent of high-school students indicated they think it’s an advantage rather than a disadvantage for bachelor curricula to be in English.”

Other departments haven’t decided yet, or don’t see the point in switching. “We have a fairly steady influx and expect to be welcoming more Dutch students with the introduction of the redesign bachelor,” says Education manager dr.ir. Marcel van Genderen of Biomedical Engineering. Education manager prof.dr.ir. Henk van Tilborg (Mathematics) intends to wait for the results at Computer Science. “Will it attract more students than it may cost us? I hope and expect that most secondary-school students will realize that in our line of work, at some point they’ll have to properly familiarize themselves with the English language. Sooner rather than later. I know of department members who strongly regret the change. They feel the position of Dutch in our society is deteriorating because of it.” Education manager dr.ir. Faas moonen of Architecture, Building & Planning expects the implementation of English as the official language will have a negative effect on both the influx and the bachelor’s complexity. “Besides, it’s important for the Architecture, Building & Planning bachelor to cover local and cultural topics. Since the department can hardly apply for any of TU/e’s grants, the influx of foreign students is limited. English is only used for courses foreign students are enrolled in. Should the percentage of foreign students increase, it would make more sense to offer English-only education.” For now, Mechanical Engineering will use English as official language only for projects that are currently in English already.

Prof.dr. Ton van Leeuwen, Education manager at Applied Physics, says: “Currently, we don’t intend to change our bachelor’s curriculum to English, although it’s something we might consider for the future. For Dutch students, English-language education during the early stages of their academic career often proves to be a handicap. After all, they’re asked to focus on brand-new, very difficult subject matter, as well as on another language.”

At Chemical Engineering there’s much talk about a possible implementation. Education manager ir. Peter Janssens: “If we switch, it has to be because of influx. Still, it remains to be seen if it won’t scare away other students. Everyone’s offering more and more English-language courses. It seems to be only a matter of time.”

After deciding to offer all master’s courses in English, in 2008 it was stipulated that all lecturers had to do a language test (written and oral). The idea was to have all lecturers pass that test in three years’ time, but the project’s been slightly delayed, says Vincent Merk of CLIC. “From an organizational point of view, our initial goal turned out to be too ambitious. I expect all lecturers to have passed the test by the end of 2012.” Merk understands that some lecturers aren’t too happy about having to teach their classes in English. “Those from the senior generation especially haven’t always enjoyed proper English instruction. Certain expressions and jokes are just hard to translate.”

It’s not just education that’s struggling with languages. Leaflets, newsletters, and web texts are partly in English and partly in Dutch. Indurstrial Design is the only department offering nearly all communication in English. It’s usually the target audience that determines the language. It makes sense for researchers to speak and write in English, but it may not be that obvious for others. Study associations usually decide whether or not activities are suitable and/or meant for international students. A number of international students currently feel there’s too little information provided in English.

Jorge Vieyra, PhD candidate at Applied Physics: “I generally feel the English information provided at TU/e is the bare minimum (and occasionally, slightly less than that), and often seems to be an afterthought rather than an initial consideration. However, Dutch people will usually try to be helpful and explain what a poster, leaflet, flyer, e-mail or announcement means once you ask.”

According to Willem van Hoorn, a good command of English is an important foundation for any international university. “It’s a conditio sine qua non, or in other words: if it’s missing, forget about it. Apart from that, it’s a mindset. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if staff and students were to switch to English upon emerging from the Dommel underpass and entering campus? We’d have to continue to develop new activities as well, though. Keep university open 24/7, organize a fair with snacks from all over the world, include calendars with multicultural holidays in our Christmas gift baskets, anything. And keep in mind cultural differences when recruiting.”

Vincent Merk: “It’s part policy, part personal. We have to realize foreigners won’t understand everything in Dutch. At the same time, international staff and students staying for an extended period of time have to be willing to learn Dutch. It’s all about tolerance, respect, and empathy.”

Jo van Ham reports there are plans ‘for developing TU/e to the point where international staff and students will actually be part of our community. We have to feel we’re an international community.’ “Take the Common Room in the Bunker, for example. Other projects are in the pipeline, such as the on-campus signposting. Whether we need extra means and manpower to reach our goal remains to be seen.” Van Ham says it’s very important for Dutch students to prepare themselves for the ‘globalizing society they’ll come to work in’, too. “Future engineers will have to be able to collaborate, communicate and operate within the complexity of globalization.”

Illustratie | David Ernst

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