Talking Point

Several years ago, the English-language MSc program was introduced at TU Delft. This transition hasn’t been completely smooth: The English proficiency of both students and teachers must still become much better. It’s necessary to take measures at this time, because poor English leads to a devaluation of the education at TU Delft. And this, ultimately, will result in a drop in the number of foreign students enrolling at the TU.

The transition from Dutch to English hasn’t been easy for all instructors. I’ll illustrate this with an example. A teacher is able to formulate a question in English during a lecture. (Which may be called a miracle in itself). A foreign student almost gives the correct answer to this question. If the Dutch teacher then replies, translating literally from Dutch, “you’re in the neighbourhood”, I feel sadness and shame that such exchanges can occur at TU Delft.

Many TU students will recall the ‘Worst Teacher Award’, awarded by the VSSD (TU Delft Student Union) to the teacher who used the most horrible English sentence. Some of the candidates for victory included: “You have to screw up the number”, and, “The results are in battle with the theory”. You might think that such ‘bad English’ is an exception, or that to err is only human, but reality shows that such linguistic blunders are uttered frequently.

Too few TU instructors have mastered the English language. Formulating sentences is already for some teachers a huge problem, let alone pronunciation. Some teachers’ pronunciation of English is so poor that it’s impossible for foreign students to understand them. Unfortunately, not only is spoken English a problem, but also for many teachers formulating examination questions and writing professional lecture notes is an impossible task. That examination questions are literally translated from Dutch isn’t the biggest problem. The real problem is the teachers’ inability to express themselves in English. If Dutch students have enough time to study the examination questions, they’re usually able to figure out the meaning, because the teacher has literally translated the questions from Dutch. But for foreign students, unused to ‘Dunglish’ grammatical constructions, this generates additional problems. Why are such problems allowed to occur at all at such a rich and famous institution like TU Delft?

The sudden transition from Dutch to English is part of the current problem. Students are barely confronted with English in the Bachelor’s phase, and then in the Master’s phase they’re suddenly confronted with English and expected to speak and write English fluently. The only solution for this problem is to practice it or to speak in ‘TU-language’: Learning by doing.

The TU must be held responsible for familiarising students English during the Bachelor’s phase of their studies. Why not making writing some reports and giving some presentations in English mandatory? The TU must be stricter towards its teachers. At present, a teacher can be advised by the dean to follow an English course. But if the teacher refuses to follow the course, nothing changes, and the teacher’s poor English-language usage continues to disadvantage fee-paying students. This isn’t a professional or responsible approach. Instead, this is what the TU must do: Teachers must be forced to take an exam, in which their English proficiency is determined. During this exam, both their spoken and written English are tested. Teachers must score at least 7.5 to pass the exam, and if they don’t, they’re obliged to follow an English course, until the desired level is reached. Moreover, all lecture notes and exams must be proof-read and corrected by a translation bureau, which the TU must set up. In this way students are ensured of receiving comprehensible lecture notes and exams.

If instructors fail to master English, the TU will become a less attractive place for Dutch and foreign students. Students expect the best from TU Delft, an institution that prides itself on its academic excellence and international character. The English proficiency of all TU staff members must therefore be excellent. No excuses.

Roeland van Hof,

Aag Party member of the Central Student Council, TU Delft

Do you agree with the writer? If so, why? If not, why not? Email your 300 word max. reaction to this column to d.mcmullin@tudelft.nl and we’ll publish your opinion on our letter’s page. Please include your name (or Anonymous), nationality and TU program/position. Emails may be edited for reasons of length and clarity.

Poor English makes the TU less attractive to foreign students. TU Delft must raise the level of English-language proficiency of its teachers and it must set up a translation bureau for the translation of lecture notes and exams. Several years ago, the English-language MSc program was introduced at TU Delft. This transition hasn’t been completely smooth: The English proficiency of both students and teachers must still become much better. It’s necessary to take measures at this time, because poor English leads to a devaluation of the education at TU Delft. And this, ultimately, will result in a drop in the number of foreign students enrolling at the TU.

The transition from Dutch to English hasn’t been easy for all instructors. I’ll illustrate this with an example. A teacher is able to formulate a question in English during a lecture. (Which may be called a miracle in itself). A foreign student almost gives the correct answer to this question. If the Dutch teacher then replies, translating literally from Dutch, “you’re in the neighbourhood”, I feel sadness and shame that such exchanges can occur at TU Delft.

Many TU students will recall the ‘Worst Teacher Award’, awarded by the VSSD (TU Delft Student Union) to the teacher who used the most horrible English sentence. Some of the candidates for victory included: “You have to screw up the number”, and, “The results are in battle with the theory”. You might think that such ‘bad English’ is an exception, or that to err is only human, but reality shows that such linguistic blunders are uttered frequently.

Too few TU instructors have mastered the English language. Formulating sentences is already for some teachers a huge problem, let alone pronunciation. Some teachers’ pronunciation of English is so poor that it’s impossible for foreign students to understand them. Unfortunately, not only is spoken English a problem, but also for many teachers formulating examination questions and writing professional lecture notes is an impossible task. That examination questions are literally translated from Dutch isn’t the biggest problem. The real problem is the teachers’ inability to express themselves in English. If Dutch students have enough time to study the examination questions, they’re usually able to figure out the meaning, because the teacher has literally translated the questions from Dutch. But for foreign students, unused to ‘Dunglish’ grammatical constructions, this generates additional problems. Why are such problems allowed to occur at all at such a rich and famous institution like TU Delft?

The sudden transition from Dutch to English is part of the current problem. Students are barely confronted with English in the Bachelor’s phase, and then in the Master’s phase they’re suddenly confronted with English and expected to speak and write English fluently. The only solution for this problem is to practice it or to speak in ‘TU-language’: Learning by doing.

The TU must be held responsible for familiarising students English during the Bachelor’s phase of their studies. Why not making writing some reports and giving some presentations in English mandatory? The TU must be stricter towards its teachers. At present, a teacher can be advised by the dean to follow an English course. But if the teacher refuses to follow the course, nothing changes, and the teacher’s poor English-language usage continues to disadvantage fee-paying students. This isn’t a professional or responsible approach. Instead, this is what the TU must do: Teachers must be forced to take an exam, in which their English proficiency is determined. During this exam, both their spoken and written English are tested. Teachers must score at least 7.5 to pass the exam, and if they don’t, they’re obliged to follow an English course, until the desired level is reached. Moreover, all lecture notes and exams must be proof-read and corrected by a translation bureau, which the TU must set up. In this way students are ensured of receiving comprehensible lecture notes and exams.

If instructors fail to master English, the TU will become a less attractive place for Dutch and foreign students. Students expect the best from TU Delft, an institution that prides itself on its academic excellence and international character. The English proficiency of all TU staff members must therefore be excellent. No excuses.

Roeland van Hof,

Aag Party member of the Central Student Council, TU Delft

Do you agree with the writer? If so, why? If not, why not? Email your 300 word max. reaction to this column to d.mcmullin@tudelft.nl and we’ll publish your opinion on our letter’s page. Please include your name (or Anonymous), nationality and TU program/position. Emails may be edited for reasons of length and clarity.