The Netherlands is often held up an example of a ‘success story’ in terms of practices and research regarding the teaching and learning of subject content in a second language (de Graaff & van Wilgenburg, 2015; Pérez-Cañado, 2012). Nearly 30 years after its initial beginnings, bilingual secondary education in the Netherlands continues to thrive and to evolve in fitting with educational demands, as does the research associated with it. This Special Issue includes contributions addressing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) as a pedagogical approach in the context of bilingual education as a curricular paradigm, both specifically within the Dutch context. The issue contains six research articles from different perspectives, supported by discussions both from an international research standpoint and from the educational field. It is hoped that the publication of this issue will not only indicate a next stage for bilingual education policy and practice, but also give impetus to new areas for research.
Article outline
Context of this special issue
Language and secondary education in the Netherlands
Bilingual secondary education and CLIL in the Netherlands
Quality control
CLIL in the Netherlands: Curriculum organisation and pedagogical approach?
CLIL and bilingual education research in the Netherlands
Dutch CLIL and bilingual education through the eyes of this issue
Admiraal, W., Westhoff, G., & De Bot, K. (2006). Evaluation of bilingual secondary education in the Netherlands: Students’ language proficiency in English 1. Educational Research and Evaluation, 12(1), 75–93.
Algemeen Secretariaat Nederlandse Taalunie. (2017). Iedereen taalcompetent! Visie op de rol, de positie en de inhoud van het onderwijs Nederlands in de 21ste eeuw. Retrieved from <[URL]>
Anéla. (2018). Symposium: Processes and outcomes of content and language integrated learning in the Netherlands. Presented at the Anéla Applied Linguistics Conference 2018, Egmond-aan-Zee.
Centraal Bureau voor Statistiek. (2018, 2July 2018). Bevolking; leeftijd, migratieachtergrond, geslacht en regio. Retrieved from <[URL]>
Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
De Graaff, R., & Van Wilgenburg, O. (2015). The Netherlands: Quality control as a driving force in bilingual education. In P. Mehisto & F. Genesee (Eds.), Building bilingual education systems: Forces, mechanisms and counterweights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Denman, J., Tanner, R., & De Graaff, R. (2013). CLIL in junior vocational secondary education: Challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16(3), 285–300.
Edwards, A. (2014). English in the Netherlands: Functions, forms and attitudes (Unpublished PhD dissertation). King’s College, University of Cambridge. Retrieved from <[URL]>
European Platform. (2012). Standard for Bilingual Education – havo/vwo. Haarlem: European Platform.
Koster, A., & Van Putten, L. (2014). Passie voor tweetalig onderwijs: Een geschiedenis van 25 jaar succesvol onderwijs vernieuwen. Utrecht: Europees Platform.
Maljers, A. (2007). The Netherlands. In A. Maljers, D. Marsh, & D. Wolff (Eds.), Windows on CLIL (pp. 130–138). The Hague: European Platform for Dutch Education.
Mearns, T., De Graaff, R., & Coyle, D. (2017). Motivation for or from bilingual education? A comparative study of learner views in the Netherlands. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.
Nuffic. (2018, 18–12–2017). Tto-scholen. Retrieved from <[URL]>
Pérez-Cañado, M. L. (2012). CLIL research in Europe: Past, present, and future. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 15(3), 315–341.
Schuitemaker-King, J. (2013). Giving corrective feedback in CLIL and EFL classes. Levende Talen Tijdschrift, 14(2), 3–10.
Sieben, I., & Van Ginderen, N. (2014). De keuze voor tweetalig onderwijs. Mens en Maatschappij, 89(3), 233–255.
Verspoor, M., De Bot, K., & Van Rein, E. M. J. (2010). Binnen- en buitenschools taalcontact en het leren van Engels. Levende Talen Tijdschrift, 11(4), 14–19.
Verspoor, M., & Edelenbos, P. (2009). Tweetalig onderwijs: Beter geschoolde leerlingen in 2024. In R. de Graaff & D. Tuin (Eds.), De toekomst van het talenonderwijs: Nodig? Anders? Beter? (pp. 147–163). Utrecht; Enschede: IVLOS, Universiteit Utrecht; NaB-MVT.
Verspoor, M., Schuitemaker-King, J., Van Rein, E. M. J., De Bot, K., & Edelenbos, P. (2010). Tweetalig onderwijs: vormgeving en prestaties. Retrieved from <[URL]>
Weenink, D. (2005). Upper middle-class resources of power in the education arena. Dutch elite schools in an age of globalization (Unpublished PhD dissertation). University of Amsterdam.
Cited by (6)
Cited by six other publications
Schat, Esther, Ewout van der Knaap & Rick de Graaff
2023. Key principles for an integrated intercultural literary pedagogy: An educational design research project on arts integration for intercultural competence. Language Teaching Research 27:2 ► pp. 332 ff.
Schat, Esther, Ewout van der Knaap & Rick de Graaff
2023. Implementation of an integrated intercultural literary pedagogy intervention in Spanish-as-a-foreign-language classrooms in the Netherlands: An effect study at the secondary level. Language Teaching Research► pp. 136216882311563 ff.
Oattes, Huub, Arie Wilschut, Ron Oostdam, Ruben Fukkink & Rick de Graaff
2022. Practical solution or missed opportunity? The impact of language of instruction on Dutch history teachers’ application of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Teaching and Teacher Education 115 ► pp. 103721 ff.
2021. Exploring teacher support for a content and language integrated modern languages curriculum. Language, Culture and Curriculum 34:3 ► pp. 207 ff.
Michel, Marije, Christine Vidon, Rick de Graaff & Wander Lowie
2021. Language Learning beyond English in the Netherlands: A fragile future?. European Journal of Applied Linguistics 9:1 ► pp. 159 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 august 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
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