This article reports on an investigation of Dutch and German subtitles of the American reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. The analysis mainly focuses on whether the verbal humor is preserved in the translated subtitles. Furthermore, co-occurrence patterns between types of verbal humor, translation strategies, and differences between Dutch and German subtitles have been analyzed. The analysis covers 113 instances of verbal humor and their subtitles across three selected episodes. The results reveal that verbal humor is lost in more than half of the cases. Specific translation patterns emerged, such as the neutralization of paronyms and literal translation of polysemes. Additionally, in the Dutch subtitles, more expressions from the source text (borrowing) were retained than in the German ones. This study not only confirms that verbal humor often gets lost in subtitles, but also highlights the specific challenges subtitlers face depending on the type of verbal humor in the source text.
Reading skills and motivation in Dutch adolescents are rapidly declining, but reading interventions typically focus solely on the school language, neglecting multilingual students' heritage languages. This study examines the impact of a multilingual book club intervention, where 12- to 13-year-old students read and discussed books in their heritage language during Dutch language classes. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed how students perceived the book clubs and reading in their heritage language, and whether the (multilingual) book clubs led to increased intrinsic reading motivation and more positive reading attitudes. While quantitative results show no improvements in reading motivation or attitudes, qualitative findings highlight the value of social interaction and acknowledging students’ multilingual literacy. The study suggests that integrating multilingual literacy in education may foster student engagement, inclusivity and awareness of linguistic diversity.
In this contribution, we argue that our research should matter to the people we collect data from. This requires us to consider how we publish our results, how we educate scholars within our community, and how we sample from various populations.
With their self-reflective article and vignettes, Shepperd and Dalderop provide valuable insights into their personal quest for ethical and reflexive research and make an important contribution to research ethics in applied linguistics. In our viewpoint, we would like to elaborate on their reflections on informed consent and voluntary participation by providing our thoughts on potential gate-openers/ gate-opening in LESLLA research. Their article considers three core areas of ethical care (consent, participation and minimising harm while optimising beneficence) to be exercised in LESLLA research and frames these as “layers of vulnerability” (see Luna, 2019). Similarly to Shepperd and Dalderop, we navigated these layers of vulnerability in our individual LESLLA research contexts in Norway (Live), Australia (Skye and Jemima) and Finland (Eva) through various institutional and research gatekeepers and will discuss relevant personal and contextualized reflections of our own in this viewpoint.
In Shepperd and Dalderop (forthcoming)’s viewpoint Why should I care? Research ethics in the field of adult L2 Literacy, the authors make three important assertions regarding research ethics with so called vulnerable participants. This response considers the tensions explored by the authors, in light of my experience conducting a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project with refugee women in the Netherlands.
This is a reflection on a paper by Shepperd and Dalderop, ‘Why Should I Care? Research Ethics in the Field of Adult L2 Literacy.’ I agree with their analysis that there is often a 'gap' between formal ethics procedures and actual 'good research' as it is understood in practice. I think this 'gap' extends more generally and I offer some brief thoughts on possible reconceptualizations of 'autonomy', 'informed consent' and 'virtue' that might be relevant for research ethics.
There are increasing interests around research ethics which are reflected through the ongoing dedicated conferences, edited volumes and journal special issues. While there is no shortage of “formal” guidance, e.g. the Singapore Statement on Research Integrity (2010; Resnik and Shamoo, 2011), the British Educational Research Association’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (BERA, 2024), and the British Association for Applied Linguistics’ Recommendations on Good Practice in Applied Linguistics (BAAL, 2021), the article “Why should I care? Research ethics in the field of adult L2 literacy” by Shepperd and Dalderop serves as a solemn reminder that the current ethics and governance structure in the “Global North” context is far from perfect. In this response piece, I discuss some of the issues highlighted by the vignettes shared by Shepperd and Dalderop. I echo and extend their call for the practice of ethics of care, and the importance of raising awareness among researchers, ethics reviewing committee, as well as gatekeepers including editors and reviewers at the publication of end of research cycle.
The aim of research ethics is to ensure that research is conducted responsibly, with respect for the rights, dignity and wellbeing of participants. This viewpoint paper describes ethical challenges that can arise when conducting research with adult migrants who are learning an additional language (L2), while also acquiring literacy for the first time. Anchored in our own experiences, we reflect on how an ethics of care perspective corresponds to the relational and contextual realities of our research. Through this lens, we advocate for deeper consideration of the responsibilities and responsiveness of researchers and ethics committees when assessing and addressing the potential vulnerabilities of participants. In this paper we offer the following viewpoints for consideration: • Standard institutional (macro) research ethics procedures are often inappropriate when involving adult L2 literacy learners in research. • Ethics procedures do not prepare you for the reflexive, micro-ethical decision-making that is usually required when conducting research with these learners, and can create barriers for inclusive research practices. • Ethical procedures and practices should embrace an ethics of care framework, encouraging caring conduct throughout the research process and in consideration of all involved.
This mixed-method study identified the English language needs of Royal Netherlands Army sergeants to define language tasks and proficiency requirements. Participants for the Needs Analysis consisted of 62 former infantry sergeants and 11 subject matter experts. Data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire, and analyzed using a combination of open coding and descriptive statistics. Results detail when, where, and how soldiers use English. Twenty-six language tasks were identified, with a focus on military missions and multinational training exercises where using English was critical. Participants consider English essential in more senior roles, while experts recommend B1-level reading and listening, and A2-level speaking, with a focus on issuing orders. These results informed the proficiency requirements and the redesign of the English curriculum. This study serves as a model for needs analyses in specialized work environments.
This study investigates the predictive value of an academic vocabulary size screening test in Dutch for early academic achievement in higher education, in a context where Dutch is the predominant L1 of instruction. The research compares the performance of an academic vocabulary size screening test with a general vocabulary counterpart, revealing that the academic test exhibits slightly stronger reliability and similar associations with personal and educational characteristics, often with more pronounced effect sizes. Regression analyses demonstrate that academic vocabulary size significantly contributes to predicting Grade Point Average (GPA) and Cumulative Study Efficiency (CSE). However, prior secondary education remains the most critical predictor of academic achievement. The findings suggest that an academic vocabulary size screening test can be a valuable tool for supporting the initial success of incoming higher education students.
This study investigates the predictive value of an academic vocabulary size screening test in Dutch for early academic achievement in higher education, in a context where Dutch is the predominant L1 of instruction. The research compares the performance of an academic vocabulary size screening test with a general vocabulary counterpart, revealing that the academic test exhibits slightly stronger reliability and similar associations with personal and educational characteristics, often with more pronounced effect sizes. Regression analyses demonstrate that academic vocabulary size significantly contributes to predicting Grade Point Average (GPA) and Cumulative Study Efficiency (CSE). However, prior secondary education remains the most critical predictor of academic achievement. The findings suggest that an academic vocabulary size screening test can be a valuable tool for supporting the initial success of incoming higher education students.
The number of verb-spelling errors decreases as students' education level increases (Borsten & Jongenelen, 2012). However, even for the best students in Dutch secondary education, the spelling of homophonic verbs before reduced pronoun je'you/your' remains a problem, as the pronoun maybe either the reduced form of personal pronoun jij 'you' or of the possessive pronoun jouw 'your'. Consequently, the spelling of the verb preceding je depends on this difference: it gets a final -t or not. For this contribution, we analysed the legal framework in which Dutch language proficiency is described, we compared teaching methods, and we performed quantitative analyses on a large set of students' spellings of verbs to test possible associations between spelling errors in homophonic verbs and the two functions of the reduced pronoun je, taking into account education level, and education stage. The results show that homophonic verbs preceding je'you/your' indeed contain significantly more spelling errors than other homophonic verbs. Accordingly, we formulate recommendations for the legal framework and methods of Dutch language education.
This paper looks at weather phraseology in Dutch dialects in Flanders from a CxG perspective. In this regard, our paper is situated at the interface between CxG research into phraseology, on the one hand, and CxG research into specialised discourse, on the other. More concretely, we will check the productivity of phraseological patterns across different dialects and consider which specialised needs these patterns fulfil. Results show that three phraseological patterns appear across the three main dialect groups: weather-vp + direct object ('t rint oude wuvn), weather-vp + comp + vp ('t rint da't zikt) and impersonal-vp + np ('t is kerremesse in d'helle). Since these patterns (i) share an intensifying function and (ii) concern 'bad' or 'unpleasant' weather situations, we conclude that there is a specialised need for intensification.
This mixed-method study identified the English language needs of Royal Netherlands Army sergeants to define language tasks and proficiency requirements. Participants for the Needs Analysis consisted of 62 former infantry sergeants and 11 subject matter experts. Data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire, and analyzed using a combination of open coding and descriptive statistics. Results detail when, where, and how soldiers use English. Twenty-six language tasks were identified, with a focus on military missions and multinational training exercises where using English was critical. Participants consider English essential in more senior roles, while experts recommend B1-level reading and listening, and A2-level speaking, with a focus on issuing orders. These results informed the proficiency requirements and the redesign of the English curriculum. This study serves as a model for needs analyses in specialized work environments.
Second person pronouns have both generalizing and personalizing functions, corresponding to their generic and deictic readings. Netherlandic Dutch distinguishes three types of address pronouns: a weak informal pronoun, a strong informal pronoun, and a formal pronoun. The latter two seem more suitable for personalization thanks to their predominant deictic reading, while the former easily obtains a generic reading and is therefore best suited for generalization. An online experiment tested four hypotheses about the effects of these pronouns in service ads. The results show that hedonic service ads generally receive better evaluations (attitudes, purchase intention) than utilitarian ones. The pronoun type only makes a difference in hedonic service ads, where the highest scores are obtained with the weak informal pronoun and the lowest with the formal pronoun. For ratings on the lower end of the scale, the effect is reversed: the use of a formal pronoun actually improves the scores.
In content and language integrated learning (CLIL), the goal is to support learning of both subject content and (subject-related) language, through an integrated approach. Based on the principle of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996), it is logical to assume that such integration carries through to assessment. This study explores the extent to which this is the case in the context of bilingual secondary education in the Netherlands. Drawing on quantitative, self-report data from a teacher questionnaire, and qualitative analysis of assessment materials, we explore the relative roles of language and content, the use of accommodations and translanguaging as support, and the cognitive and linguistic demands posed by assessments. In line with previous research, it appears that assessment practices do not always align with the integrated goals of CLIL. Implications for practice are discussed, as is the need for more attention for this aspect of CLIL in research and teacher education.
The number of verb-spelling errors decreases as students’ education level increases (Borsten & Jongenelen, 2012). However, even for the best students in Dutch secondary education, the spelling of homophonic verbs before reduced pronoun je ‘you/your’ remains a problem, as the pronoun may be either the reduced form of personal pronoun jij ‘you’ or the possessive pronoun jouw ‘your’. This affects the spelling of the preceding verb: it gets a final –t or not. In this contribution, we analysed the legal framework, compared teaching methods, and performed quantitative analyses on a large set of students’ spellings of verbs to test possible associations between spelling errors in homophonic verbs and the two functions of the reduced pronoun je, taking into account education level, and education stage. The results show that homophonic verbs preceding je indeed contain significantly more spelling errors than other homophonic verbs. Accordingly, we formulate recommendations for Dutch language education.
In content and language integrated learning (CLIL), the goal is to support learning of both subject content and (subject-related) language, through an integrated approach. Based on the principle of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996), it is logical to assume that such integration carries through to assessment. This study explores the extent to which this is the case in the context of bilingual secondary education in the Netherlands. Drawing on quantitative, self-report data from a teacher questionnaire, and qualitative analysis of assessment materials, we explore the relative roles of language and content, the use of accommodations and translanguaging as support, and the cognitive and linguistic demands posed by assessments. In line with previous research, it appears that assessment practices do not always align with the integrated goals of CLIL. Implications for practice are discussed, as is the need for more attention for this aspect of CLIL in research and teacher education.
When Newly Arrived Migrant Students (NAMS) enter their country of arrival, they are expected to get familiarized with the new educational system, while simultaneously acquiring the language of instruction. Within this context, comprehensible input and meaningful interaction are needed to effectively acquire a second language. While educational systems worldwide switched to Emergency Remote Teaching due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, such online learning environments often fail to meet these language learning conditions adequately. We investigated NAMS’ perceptions of second language learning conditions during online learning through six semi-structured focus groups with 23 NAMS. Results show that participants encountered greater difficulties in understanding their teachers’ input in online classes. Although alternative input channels, such as video recordings, reportedly did not entirely compensate the lack of interaction in the online environment, participants believed that processing alternative sources of input enabled them to maintain their Dutch proficiency through Emergency Remote Teaching.
