In this semester, Professor Van Rijnsoever of Utrecht University of the Netherlands is to teach “Dutch Culture in the World”, in English.
The language is the university’s choice. Actually sixty percent of masters’ programs at Utrecht University are in English. At higher degrees' level, no courses are taught in Dutch at all.
Utrecht is not alone.
The University of Eindhoven has even completely kicked the Dutch language out of its campus. Even the sandwiches in the stores there are sold as cheese rather than with the Dutch word “kaas”.
As a result, the Netherlands has one of the world’s highest levels of English proficiency （流利）among non-native speaking countries, second only to Sweden.
But not everyone is happy with that .
“I don't mind. Most of the literature is in English,” says Professor Van Rijnsoever. “As a teacher it’s not that much of a problem because we also do research in English. For the students, you see they are struggling to express themselves properly.”
He added “We aren’t as good at English as they think we are. We shouldn’t use a weaker language in education. If we use just English in higher education, Dutch will get worse. We add a bit of English and we lose a bit of Dutch. We cannot master Dutch and English at the same time.”
Actually, English is so widely used in Dutch universities that a group of lecturers are worried about a possible “linguicide” and demanded that the universities stop creating more courses in English until an official research has been carried out.
“Dutch is our mother tongue. Our culture is based on Dutch,” says Annette de Groot, a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam. “What would happen to our identity（身份）if our mother tongue is no longer the main language of higher education?”
“It is high time for an honest debate.” said a teacher from the University of Erasmus.
【小题1】Which university teaches all its courses in English?| A．Utrecht. | B．Eindhoven. | C．Amsterdam. | D．Erasmus. |
| A．The highest level of English proficiency in the Netherlands. |
| B．The teaching of “Dutch Culture in the World" in English. |
| C．The kick out of the Dutch language from all schools. |
| D．The widespread use of English in the Dutch universities. |
| A．The all- English courses might weaken the mastery of Dutch. |
| B．Students can learn two languages equally well at the same time. |
| C．The stress on English can help the spread of Dutch culture. |
| D．The students of Utrecht are happy with the all-English courses. |
| A．The birth of a language. | B．The loss of one’s cultural identity. |
| C．The war between cultures. | D．The popularity of a language. |
