Analysis of Negation in the L2 English spoken production of Dutch native speakers

Abstract

Ever since the sixteenth century, the Netherlands has been a country where foreign languages were spoken and taught. French, German and English were the main ones due to their correlation with trade and migration. However, it was not until the aftermath of the Second World War that English learning was given more relevance over the other languages due to the importance of The United States and The United Kingdom after the War. In 1968 “English became the only compulsory language for all types of secondary education” (Edwards 2014: 38). At present, primary schools also teach English. Pupils start learning this language from age 10 (Wilhelm 2018) and some of them begin when they are four or six years old in other schools. As regards Dutch universities, some lessons and courses are dictated in English as well. Universities usually demand an advanced level of English for the students to be in the course. Research has shown that out of “1,632 different degree courses at the country’s 13 universities (...) 60% are now in English. When it comes to master’s degrees, just 30% are taught in Dutch and three universities only offer master’s degrees in English” (“English takes over at Dutch universities” 2016).