Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) is sounding the alarm over a worrying evolution in the language development of toddlers in Belgium. Brussels remains the region with the greatest language deficit.
Children in Belgium can attend nursery school from the age of 2.5 years, which almost all toddlers do. School attendance is compulsory from the age of five. The most recent KOALA language test among children of this age has shown not all toddlers master the same language skills.
The results from the screening administered to pre-schoolers born in 2019 in November 2024 showed that more than 15% of toddlers do not speak Dutch well enough to advance to the first year of primary school without issues.
"These results once again demonstrate how important it is to continue working on Dutch outside school," Demir said. "It is very clear that children who do not master the language also score lower in school. This jeopardises the rest of their school career and their future life. All children are important. Full stop."
Non-Dutch-speaking homes
Almost 85% of toddlers in Dutch-speaking schools are in the so-called "green zone", meaning they will have no problems transitioning into the first year of primary education. This figure marks a 1.1 percentage point drop compared to 2023.
Meanwhile, 11.1% ended in the orange zone, meaning they may need support, while 4.2% are in the red zone, meaning they need intensive help. This figure increased from 3.77% in 2023.
"The largest decrease in the green zone is seen in schools where toddlers do not speak Dutch at home," Demir said. Tests taken among older children have also shown native Dutch speakers score better, not only in literacy but also in numeracy, than non-native speakers in the region.
Brussels, which is by far the most multicultural region in Belgium, scores the worst, Demir said. Last year, just 63.3% of Flemish toddlers were in the green zone. During the first KOALA test in 2021, this figure was still 68.5%.
"The gap is also widening in the Vlaamse Rand [the 19 Flemish municipalities that border Brussels] and cities such as Antwerp and Ghent [13.1% and 9.7% here require extra help]," Demir noted. The share of international families is higher in these places.
Measures being discussed
Demir says this evolution in the language development of toddlers is worrying and advocates a targeted and structural approach to better prepare children for primary school. She has previously proposed introducing minimum standards for vocabulary and listening skills in nursery schools.
"The €425 million we are investing to improve knowledge of Dutch will mainly go to pre-school and primary education. The details of these measures are currently being worked out by a panel of experts."
The political debate on how to deal with children with insufficient language skills is ongoing. The Flemish nationalist party N-VA argues that they should repeat their final year of nursery school, while Christian Democrats CD&V prefer to leave the decision to teachers. The government is expected to reach an agreement on the new measures this week.
