Multilingualism in Europe

The Netherlands is a multilingual hotspot! Time and time again, the Dutch come out on top when it comes to speaking a foreign language, and English is rapidly becoming a second language used in both public and private life. But being multilingual is much more than being able to speak English. As in many other countries in Europe, many citizens in the Netherlands grow up with more than one mother tongue, and many more use a second language – not only English – to communicate at work. In this minor, we’ll investigate what it means to be bilingual, in education and at work, at both the level of the individual and community. You will discover the added value of multilingualism for our knowledge economy and our daily lives, and learn how to utilise the wealth of knowledge possessed by those who speak other languages. In this minor, you will practice performing independent social and linguistic research and you will gain insight into the process of drafting multilingual policies for companies, schools, governments and other institutions.

Key question: What are the opportunities and challenges presented by a multilingual society?
Coordinator: Dr. Nathan Vandeweerd (nathan.vandeweerd@ru.nl)

Fixed components

Read more about the think tank, an individual internship at a company or organisation and a research internship.

Electives (20 EC)

In addition to the fixed components, you'll also enroll in courses for a total 20 EC. You can choose between two options:

1. You can choose a disciplinary package. In this package you can choose courses of one degree programme for a total of 20 EC. More information on the disciplinary packages can be found here.
2. You can choose courses from the interdisciplinary package of the minor Multilingualism in Europe for a total of 20 EC. In this package you will find courses from the Faculty of Arts that allow you to focus on specific aspects of multilingualism.

Please note:

• If you want to include a course in the elective space of the minor which is not included in the package or want to take a minor elsewhere (at another faculty or university), you must send a substantiated request to the Examination Board at least six weeks before the start of the course. If you want to include a different course in your interdisciplinary package, the Examination Board will check whether this course is indeed related to the theme of the minor and in case of (a change in) a disciplinary package, whether there is disciplinary coherence.
• The courses marked with ^LUISTERTAAL are also open to Lingua Receptiva students (“luistertaal”). Lingua Receptiva means that students who have sufficient receptive knowledge of German/French/Spanish to be able to read texts and follow lectures, but whose speaking and writing skills might not be good enough, are given the opportunity to do the assignments, presentations and (oral) exams in Dutch or English. If you are interested and think you have sufficient receptive skills, please contact the coordinator of the course. Click here for a receptive skills test German and here for a receptive skills test French and here for a receptive skills test Spanish.
• It is not possible to account for each student’s timetable when scheduling the courses for the disciplinary and interdisciplinary packages. This means you will only be able to take a course if your timetable permits. If you encounter any difficulties planning which minor courses to take, please consult you study advisor.

* You cannot choose both courses marked with * Furthermore, you are only allowed to register for this course once a semester. If you register for this course in period 3, you are not allowed to register again in period 4 of the same academic year.