Corps du texte: Internationalisation Tensions and Institutional Support
Statutory language caps on English-Medium Instruction (EMI) in Flemish universities constitute a necessary safeguard for linguistic equity and the vitality of Dutch in tertiary education. Proponents of rapid EMI expansion contend that strict legislative thresholds impede global competitiveness, hinder international student recruitment, and limit institutional prestige within the European Higher Education Area (Higher Education in Flanders, 2021). From this perspective, top-down quotas restrict curricular flexibility and prevent faculties from fully engaging with transnational research networks where English operates as the default lingua franca (Language Ideologies Regarding English-Medium Instruction in European Higher Education, 2016). However, this counterargument underestimates the structural consequences of unregulated linguistic liberalisation. Unchecked EMI adoption creates sociolinguistic asymmetries that disadvantage local students lacking advanced secondary language preparation, thereby transforming public higher education into an exclusionary environment. Furthermore, comparative analyses demonstrate that EMI implementation without statutory boundaries often leads to domain loss for national languages and compromises pedagogical depth when instructors and students operate without adequate institutional language support (Adopting English as a Medium of Instruction in Brazil and Flanders, 2020). By enforcing balanced language quotas, Flemish policy ensures that internationalisation remains pedagogically sustainable rather than purely market-driven. Consequently, language caps do not stifle institutional development; rather, they compel universities to integrate structured bilingual frameworks and pedagogical scaffolding that maintain educational quality while preserving Dutch as an academic medium.