Newcomers to Belgium’s Flemish Region are required to undergo a standardised Dutch language test, the European Commission has confirmed through a statement.
The New changes are applied to newcomers participating in a civil integration program, whether voluntarily or mandatorily, after it has various implications in their life in Belgium, including the speed at which they can acquire Belgian nationality or access social housing.
At present, nearly 26,000 people are registered in Dutch language courses throughout the country, where each educational centre previously administers its own course and test. In September this year, a uniform mandatory standardised Dutch test was introduced for foreign language learners.
The Flemish government introduced similar initiatives previously, while in May 2019, the Flemish government made significant changes to the integration of migrants.
In 2021, a ten-year residency requirement for social housing eligibility was introduced, as well as an obligation for NGOs seeking subsidies in order to use Dutch in public communications. Besides, a paid integration exam was also established in the same year.
A paid integration exam was also established in Flanders in June 2021 that migrants must undertake upon successfully completing a series of stages involving language learning, achieving economic independence with VDAB (public employment agency), understanding the Flemish society and values, and participating in a 40-hour tandem-team program pairing candidates with Flemish citizens.
According to the statement of the European Commission, the first test was organised in Antwerp, and it evaluates basic Dutch proficiency at the A2 level.
The Flemish Education Minister, Ben Weyts, has stressed that standardised tests for all learners will help address disparities that exist between students through different tests and training and also ensure language proficiency for students.
In 2021, Belgium’s Flemish government introduced a language test for Dutch-speaking preschools, called the Koala test, to be taken during pupils’ third and final year.
The test was created by the Centre for Language Education of the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL).
Children will be asked by their teachers to enact seven different tasks from different spheres of everyday life, with the aim of identifying those children experiencing difficulty with understanding Dutch. These children will then be further monitored in order to ensure that any issues are resolved.
The Vice Minister-President of Education, Ben Weyts, considered that the test presents the opportunity to intervene in a child’s language competencies and overall progress.
