Resistance to EMI in the Netherlands

Abstract

Internationalization policies, as a response to globalization, have led many universities to offer English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes. Yet the introduction of EMI programmes is controversial. This chapter documents a public controversy about EMI programmes in the Netherlands. Specifically, we consider two issues, the quality of education offered through EMI and the effect of EMI on cultural identity. We relate the opinions concerning quality and identity to the perceptions gained from one crucial group of stakeholders, EMI students themselves. The public debate and the students tend to diverge on the issue of quality but converge on cultural identity. We argue that neither group is harmonious but each contains various subgroups with contrasting opinions. Moreover, language is only one among many factors affecting both quality and identity.