Culturele apartheid in leergangen Nederlands als vreemde taal

Abstract

This article looks at the way culture is represented in 3 commonly used course books of Dutch as a foreign language. According to the author, everyday culture of the regions where Dutch is spoken, is presented from a nationalistic point of view, i.e. it is limited to either cultural, historical and social aspects of The Netherlands or cultural, historical and social aspects of the Flemish Community in Belgium. The existence of the other region or country where the same language is spoken is not only ignored but at times even portrayed wrongfully which has its logically negative effect upon the students" interpretation and can lead to prejudice and the teachers using those course books.