EXPLAINED: Why foreign university lecturers will soon have to learn Norwegian
Norway's government has published its action plan to protect and revive the use of Norwegian at universities, proposing, among other measures, that all foreign lecturers must reach a good level of Norwegian within three years of appointment.
What's the background to the new action plan?
Norway's government is worried by the rapid replacement of Norwegian by English as the language of instruction, research and publication at Norway's universities. It fears that this risks weakening the use of Norwegian as a professional and specialist language across the whole of society.
According to the report, the share of publications in Cristin, the national database of research publications, written in Norwegian decreased from 16 percent in 2010 to just 9 percent by 2021.
Almost no scientific or technological publications are now written in Norwegian, and only 5 percent of publications in medicine are in the language.
Even in the humanities, the share of publications written in Norwegian has fallen from 42 percent to 27 percent, while in the social sciences, the share has fallen from 33 to 24 percent.
At the same time, the share of subjects taught in Norwegian at universities has fallen from 85 percent in 2010 to 72 percent in 2021. The share taught in English has risen over the same period from 15 percent to 28 percent.
Part of the reason for this is the steady increase in the share of researchers in Norwegian higher education who have a foreign background, which has risen from 18 per cent in 2007 to 32 per cent in 2021. When it comes to science research, the share is now as high as 49 per cent.
Why is the use of English such a problem?
Norway's higher education minister Ola Borten Moe said in a press release that he feared that if nothing was done, Norwegian would cease to be a language that is used in professional and academic contexts at all.
"If we lose Norwegian as a professional language, we are losing one of the most important things we have in Norway: a common, fully-fledged language that can be used for everything," he said. "If researchers and students increasingly work, think and speak English, it will not only weaken academia, but the whole of Norwegian society."
What's the government doing about it?
The government plans on Friday to present a new Universities and Colleges Act to the Norwegian parliament. This contains a number of measures to boost the use of Norwegian in universities.
The new law gives students the right under law to write their bachelor's and master's theses in Norwegian.
It also emphasises the fact that English is not an official language of instruction in higher education in Norway, and that any decision to use it, instead of Norwegian or Sami, needs to have a good professional justification.
Finally, the act details what measures universities must take to meet new legal requirements for Norwegian professional language.
What new demands will foreigners at Norwegian universities now face?
While Norway's government recognises the value of employing foreign researchers and lecturers, it plans to increase the demands on them to be able to participate in university life in Norwegian.
The measures proposed in the action plan (although not in the proposed law) include:
- Requiring permanent employees to learn Norwegian to B2 level within three years of appointment.
- Requiring that all doctoral and postdoctoral fellows who do not know any Norwegian upon appointment must be offered Norwegian lessons, and must complete at least 15 university credits worth of study.
- Making sure that all students gain competence in the technical Norwegian used in academic and professional contexts.
How good will foreign university employees need to be at Norwegian?
They will need to reach B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages. This is upper intermediate level, so good enough to be able to interact with native speakers fluently and without effort for either party.
People at this level should be able to read and understand complex texts on concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in a field the user is specialised in. They should also be able to write clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects.
When will foreign university employees need to learn Norwegian by?
Anneline Svensen, a press officer at the Ministry of Education told The Local that the details of the language requirements, such as when they would come into force, had yet to be decided.
"The proposals you mention are not in the proposal for a new Universities and Colleges Act itself, but will be included in regulations given by the Ministry of Education and Research," she said. "Proposals for these regulations will be sent for a general hearing before they their formulation is decided upon. The hearing will most likely be held this autumn. It is not yet decided when the regulations will come into force.
The ministry is planning for the the act and accompanying regulation to come into force in August 2024.
What is the government demanding that universities do?
The government also plans to improve the system for teaching and assessing students in Norwegian, working with Universities Norway, the umbrella organisation for universities in Norway, to find ways of increasing the importance of Norwegian professional language and terminology in recruitment and assessment.
It intends to increase funding for Termportalen, an online glossary or dictionary of specialist terms in Norwegian across the finances, economics and business administration, humanities and social sciences. The site is managed and developed by the University of Bergen.
Technical journals and text books in Norwegian will also be given additional support.
Finally, the governments plans to take action to support researchers in Norwegian linguistics to ensure that it remains a sustainable discipline.
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What's the background to the new action plan?
Norway's government is worried by the rapid replacement of Norwegian by English as the language of instruction, research and publication at Norway's universities. It fears that this risks weakening the use of Norwegian as a professional and specialist language across the whole of society.
According to the report, the share of publications in Cristin, the national database of research publications, written in Norwegian decreased from 16 percent in 2010 to just 9 percent by 2021.
Almost no scientific or technological publications are now written in Norwegian, and only 5 percent of publications in medicine are in the language.
Even in the humanities, the share of publications written in Norwegian has fallen from 42 percent to 27 percent, while in the social sciences, the share has fallen from 33 to 24 percent.
At the same time, the share of subjects taught in Norwegian at universities has fallen from 85 percent in 2010 to 72 percent in 2021. The share taught in English has risen over the same period from 15 percent to 28 percent.
Part of the reason for this is the steady increase in the share of researchers in Norwegian higher education who have a foreign background, which has risen from 18 per cent in 2007 to 32 per cent in 2021. When it comes to science research, the share is now as high as 49 per cent.
Why is the use of English such a problem?
Norway's higher education minister Ola Borten Moe said in a press release that he feared that if nothing was done, Norwegian would cease to be a language that is used in professional and academic contexts at all.
"If we lose Norwegian as a professional language, we are losing one of the most important things we have in Norway: a common, fully-fledged language that can be used for everything," he said. "If researchers and students increasingly work, think and speak English, it will not only weaken academia, but the whole of Norwegian society."
What's the government doing about it?
The government plans on Friday to present a new Universities and Colleges Act to the Norwegian parliament. This contains a number of measures to boost the use of Norwegian in universities.
The new law gives students the right under law to write their bachelor's and master's theses in Norwegian.
It also emphasises the fact that English is not an official language of instruction in higher education in Norway, and that any decision to use it, instead of Norwegian or Sami, needs to have a good professional justification.
Finally, the act details what measures universities must take to meet new legal requirements for Norwegian professional language.
What new demands will foreigners at Norwegian universities now face?
While Norway's government recognises the value of employing foreign researchers and lecturers, it plans to increase the demands on them to be able to participate in university life in Norwegian.
The measures proposed in the action plan (although not in the proposed law) include:
- Requiring permanent employees to learn Norwegian to B2 level within three years of appointment.
- Requiring that all doctoral and postdoctoral fellows who do not know any Norwegian upon appointment must be offered Norwegian lessons, and must complete at least 15 university credits worth of study.
- Making sure that all students gain competence in the technical Norwegian used in academic and professional contexts.
How good will foreign university employees need to be at Norwegian?
They will need to reach B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages. This is upper intermediate level, so good enough to be able to interact with native speakers fluently and without effort for either party.
People at this level should be able to read and understand complex texts on concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in a field the user is specialised in. They should also be able to write clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects.
When will foreign university employees need to learn Norwegian by?
Anneline Svensen, a press officer at the Ministry of Education told The Local that the details of the language requirements, such as when they would come into force, had yet to be decided.
"The proposals you mention are not in the proposal for a new Universities and Colleges Act itself, but will be included in regulations given by the Ministry of Education and Research," she said. "Proposals for these regulations will be sent for a general hearing before they their formulation is decided upon. The hearing will most likely be held this autumn. It is not yet decided when the regulations will come into force.
The ministry is planning for the the act and accompanying regulation to come into force in August 2024.
What is the government demanding that universities do?
The government also plans to improve the system for teaching and assessing students in Norwegian, working with Universities Norway, the umbrella organisation for universities in Norway, to find ways of increasing the importance of Norwegian professional language and terminology in recruitment and assessment.
It intends to increase funding for Termportalen, an online glossary or dictionary of specialist terms in Norwegian across the finances, economics and business administration, humanities and social sciences. The site is managed and developed by the University of Bergen.
Technical journals and text books in Norwegian will also be given additional support.
Finally, the governments plans to take action to support researchers in Norwegian linguistics to ensure that it remains a sustainable discipline.
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