According to Katja Hunfeld, Head of the UT Language Centre, it is particularly striking that high language levels on the language ladder are becoming more popular. 'The number of participants for the B1 level of Dutch increased from 36 to 110 participants. C1 is the highest and most difficult level we offer. That number went from zero to 23 students in 2023-2024. This academic year, the increase may increase further,' says Hunfeld. Registrations are also pouring in at lower levels, such as A1 and A2.
The reason
Hunfeld thinks she knows the reason for the strong influx at the courses. 'The language debate around the university's policy and the 'Balanced Internationalisation Act' play a major role. Many employees hear the rumour that more universities are introducing a language requirement. That goes around with colleagues and people are sensitive to that. UT lecturers are not waiting for that to happen. They are already preparing themselves by taking their Dutch language to a higher level. There is a chance that the UT will soon offer more bachelor's programmes in Dutch.'
'Teacher's quest'
In order to meet the many applications, the language centre is busy finalising the timetable of language teachers. 'At first, we organised the courses in the evening. We are expanding this offer to daytime activities. UT employees can take a language course during working hours. It's a puzzle to complete everything, but so far we've managed to knit the roster together. Language teachers are scarce and hard to find. That's why we make a lot of use of freelancers. We even end up with Dutch teachers who live abroad. They teach online to about fifteen students. Of course, we also teach in the classroom.'
'We are considering renaming the compulsory introductory course into a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). This is an open online course that is open to everyone.
Then it doesn't cost us money to hire teachers. In this way, we are working on making it more efficient.' The fact that Hunfeld is mainly dependent on external hiring worries her. 'Now the UT is cutting back on external hiring, an acute problem arises.'
The online and self-study courses are additional services of the Language Centre, but they do not directly lead to better results. 'We introduce them because people want to learn a language in their own time and at their own pace. At the same time, this group has the highest number of dropouts. People find it hard and tough to learn a language on their own. Especially if you're doing a PhD.' With every level someone goes up, two hundred hours of extra load are added. 'We would like to meet as many wishes as possible, but unfortunately the dropout rate of participants is high. That's why a 'good old' teacher works best', says Hunfeld.
Language levels
UT Language Centre offers language courses at different levels. At the A1 level, someone is a beginner. He or she is a beginner and can make himself understood with simple words and short sentences. The B1 level stands for simple Dutch. A foreign student or staff member will then be able to follow a Dutch conversation, but it is still difficult to get involved in a conversation. Level C1 means that a person can express themselves on an academic and professional level.
