"I Want to Be a Part of the Conversation": A Qualitative Study on Americans' Use of English and Dutch in the Netherlands

Abstract

This thesis explores how English-speaking Americans who grew up monolingual experience language when living in the Netherlands. Addressing a gap in research on Americans’ linguistic experiences abroad, this study investigates how Americans interact with a host population that is known for being bilingual with high English proficiency. Using qualitative data collected from 10 semi-structured interviews, this study investigates two particular language phenomena. The first is Americans’ motivation to learn Dutch, and the second is their evaluations of interactions with Dutch interlocutors. Participants’ stories are discussed through the framework of complexity in intercultural communication, supported by ideas concerning language learning motivation and accommodation strategies, as well as Schumann’s (1986) Acculturation Model of second language acquisition. The results indicate that participants are highly motivated to learn Dutch through a variety of internal and external factors, and they have varying opinions on what constitutes over- and under-accommodation. Americans’ intentions to use either English or Dutch depend on their communicative goals, which may change from one interaction to another. Communication between Americans and Dutch people is complex, because the meanings that Americans interpret from their interactions depend on their perceptions of themselves and their interlocutors, as well as their interlocutors’ perceptions of them.