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Article published In:
Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 9:1/2 (2020) ► pp.60–78

Does study language (Dutch versus English) influence study success of Dutch and German students in the Netherlands?

| Radboud Universiteit | International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences
| Radboud Universiteit
| Radboud Universiteit

We investigated whether the language of instruction (Dutch or English) influenced the study success of 614 Dutch and German first-year psychology students in the Netherlands. The Dutch students who were instructed in Dutch studied in their native language (L1), the other students in a second language (L2). In addition, only the Dutch students studied in their home country. Both these variables could potentially influence study success, operationalised as the number of European Credits (ECs) the students obtained, their grades, and drop-out rates. The L1 group outperformed the three L2 groups with respect to grades, but there were no significant differences in ECs and drop-out rates (although descriptively, the L1 group still performed best). In conclusion, this study shows an advantage of studying in the L1 when it comes to grades, and thereby contributes to the current debate in the Dutch media regarding the desirability of offering degrees taught in English.

Keywords: English-medium education, Dutch-medium education, higher education, study language, second language acquisition, study success, academic achievement, content learning
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Studying in a second language
    • 1.2Studying abroad
    • 1.3The present study
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Data
    • 2.3Analysis
      • 2.3.1Investigating pre-existing group differences
      • 2.3.2Predicting ECs and grades
      • 2.3.3Predicting drop-out rates
      • 2.3.4Controlling Type-I error rates
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Question 1: Do the better Dutch students opt for the L2 track?
    • 3.2Question 2: Do study language and nationality affect study success?
      • 3.2.1Data set
      • 3.2.2Alpha
      • 3.2.3ECs
      • 3.2.4Grades
      • 3.2.5Drop-out
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Do the better Dutch students opt for the L2 track?
    • 4.2Do study language and nationality affect study success?
      • 4.2.1ECs
      • 4.2.2Grades
      • 4.2.3Drop-out
      • 4.2.4No effect of studying abroad
  • 5.Summary and conclusions
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 3 July 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.19008.dev
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