Linguistic Landscapes in ING and the Municipality in Maastricht

Grace and I investigated linguistic landscapes in ING and the Municipality in Maastricht to see how both employ languages in their communication with customers. What message can we deduce from their language policy behaviour? Well, please follow our journey . . .

Linguistic Landscape at the Drielandenpunt

Last week Lia, Luca and me went to the Drielandenpunt in Vaals, where the borders of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium coincide. We looked at the linguistic landscape and wanted to find out what languages are used in signs, maps, cafes, and the like. This video shows what we discovered. Enjoy it!

BLOG ASSIGNMENT 2: MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION

Hello to you! How is your day going so far?! How are your thoughts about English as a medium instruction? Want to know mine? Come check it out!

Continue reading BLOG ASSIGNMENT 2: MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION

English Medium Instruction at UM

‘Waarom ga je in godsnaam naar Maastricht?’

Dit was een veel voorkomende reactie toen ik mijn vrienden op de middelbare school vertelde dat ik na de zomer naar de andere kant van het land zou verhuizen. Aan de studie zelf kon het toch niet liggen, want European studies kon je toch ook gewoon in Amsterdam en Leiden studeren? Klopt. Het verschil is alleen dat Maastricht de enige was die de studie helemaal Engelstalig aanbood.

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Excuse me, onde ist thuis?

Hey, my name is Nik. I am 23 years old and just like everyone else in the “After Babbel” course I am studying European Studies in Maastricht. In my view, language, culture and identity are deeply connected to each other and you can’t talk about the one without naming the others. So instead of starting out which languages I speak, let’s begin with where I am from. Continue reading Excuse me, onde ist thuis?

Language background

My name is Milan and I’m born in Amsterdam and grew up in Utrecht, the Netherlands. I am multi linguistic in a strict sense, as are most Dutch, as I speak Dutch and English. However for me it does not feel as if I am multi linguistic. Dutch is spoken in a very limited part of the world and without any other language it is difficult to interact in my daily life as I am confronted with many different nationalities every day. I believe that English is crucial as common knowledge for Dutch citizens. This is the reason why I believe that English is identifying character of the Dutch society as well. The strong links the Netherlands has with the American and English culture shows the structure of our own society as well.  Continue reading Language background

My international background

My name is Boudewijn, I’m a 24 year old Dutch student living in Maastricht and this is my story, come check it out! Continue reading My international background

Duck-tales: the protagonist

Ente gut- Alles gut,

 

 

a commonly used proverb in the German language describes not only the end but in this case also the beginning, hoffentlich. I am Lucas, a German-Italian student from Maastricht and language has always played an important part in my life not only communication-wise. Having had the beautiful opportunity to have spent actual time of residence in various countries around the world I was able to pick up some foreign languages along the way:

Continue reading Duck-tales: the protagonist