<div dir="ltr"><h2 class="gmail-articletitle" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(60,59,59);font-size:34px;line-height:normal;height:auto;font-family:"Open Sans",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">70% of educators switch between English and Maltese when speaking in class – study</h2><div class="gmail-info-container" style="margin-top:20px;float:left;margin-bottom:20px;width:630px;color:rgb(53,53,53);font-family:"Open Sans",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span class="gmail-author" style="margin:0px 25px 0px 0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;background-image:url("../img/icon-author.png");background-size:10px 11px;font-size:11px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;display:block;float:left"><span id="gmail-ctl00_ArticleDetails_TMI_lblAuthor" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;display:block;float:left">Jeremy Micallef</span></span><span class="gmail-date-published" style="margin:0px 25px 0px 0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;background-image:url("../img/icon-calendar-article.png");background-size:11px 11px;font-size:11px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;display:block;float:left">Tuesday, 16 April 2019, 14:55</span><span class="gmail-last-update" style="margin:0px 25px 0px 0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;background-image:url("../img/icon-update.png");background-size:13px 13px;font-size:11px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;display:block;float:left">Last update: about 2 hours ago</span></div><div class="gmail-image-section" style="width:630px;overflow:hidden;margin-top:10px;max-height:340px;color:rgb(53,53,53);font-family:"Open Sans",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><img src="http://www.independent.com.mt/file.aspx?f=95936&width=630&height=340" alt="" style="display: block; border: none; width: 630px;"></div><div class="gmail-text-container" style="float:left;width:630px;color:rgb(53,53,53);font-family:"Open Sans",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span class="gmail-rectangle-ad-container gmail-article-ad" style="margin:15px 0px 0px;padding:0px 0px 15px 15px;display:block;width:300px;height:250px;float:right"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Taking into account the different categories of schools available, 70% of educators switch between the Maltese and English languages as a means of mediation in the classroom, according to a study titled Language Use in Early Childhood Education Classrooms in Malta.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">The main objective of the study was to examine the various ways in which early childhood educators create a rich environment for children in which they use Maltese and/or English.</span></p><div class="gmail-video-ad-content" style="border-top:1px solid rgb(0,0,0);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(0,0,0);margin-top:41px;padding-bottom:18px"><span style="margin:0px;padding:9px 0px 0px;color:rgb(144,139,140);font-weight:600;display:block;text-transform:uppercase;width:630px;text-align:center;font-family:"Times New Roman"">ADVERTISEMENT</span><div class="gmail-image-section" id="gmail-p2Container" style="width:630px;overflow:hidden;margin-top:10px;max-height:340px"><img src="http://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/fc.php?script=deliveryLog:oxLogVast:logImpressionVast&banner_id=4371&zone_id=84&source=&vast_event=thirdquartile&r53217=53217" style="display: block; border: none; width: 0px; visibility: hidden; height: 0px;"><img src="http://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/fc.php?script=deliveryLog:oxLogVast:logImpressionVast&banner_id=4371&zone_id=84&source=&vast_event=midpoint&r24051=24051" style="display: block; border: none; width: 0px; visibility: hidden; height: 0px;"><img src="http://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/fc.php?script=deliveryLog:oxLogVast:logImpressionVast&banner_id=4371&zone_id=84&source=&vast_event=firstquartile&r18995=18995" style="display: block; border: none; width: 0px; visibility: hidden; height: 0px;"><img src="http://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/fc.php?script=deliveryLog:oxLogVast:logImpressionVast&banner_id=4371&zone_id=84&source=&vast_event=start&r56384=56384" style="display: block; border: none; width: 0px; visibility: hidden; height: 0px;"><img src="http://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=4371&campaignid=2611&zoneid=84&loc=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.com.mt%2Farticles%2F2019-04-16%2Flocal-news%2F70-of-educators-switch-between-English-and-Maltese-when-speaking-in-class-study-6736206772&cb=8c3943dc6b&r29006=29006" style="display: block; border: none; width: 0px; visibility: hidden; height: 0px;"><div id="gmail-player2" class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-default-skin gmail-responsive-video gmail-vjs-playing" width="100%" height="100%" style="background-color:rgb(0,0,0);padding:0px 0px 335.469px;font-size:10px;vertical-align:middle;overflow:hidden"><div class="gmail-vjs-text-track-display" style="text-align:center;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"></div><div class="gmail-vjs-controls gmail-vjs-fade-out" style="opacity:0;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:2.6em;color:rgb(255,255,255);border-top:1px solid rgb(0,84,143);background:none rgb(0,84,143);border-right-color:rgb(0,84,143);border-bottom-color:rgb(0,84,143);border-left-color:rgb(0,84,143)"><div class="gmail-vjs-play-control gmail-vjs-control gmail-vjs-playing" tabindex="0" style="float:left;text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:2.6em;width:5em"><div style="width:15px;height:17px;background:url("video-js.png") -25px 0px;margin:0.5em auto 0px"><span class="gmail-vjs-control-text" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(144,139,140);font-weight:600;display:block;text-transform:uppercase;width:1px;font-family:"Times New Roman";border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden"></span></div></div><div class="gmail-vjs-fullscreen-control gmail-vjs-control" tabindex="0" style="float:right;text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:2.6em;width:3.8em"><div style="width:16px;height:16px;background:url("video-js.png") -50px 0px;margin:0.5em auto 0px"><span class="gmail-vjs-control-text" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(144,139,140);font-weight:600;display:block;text-transform:uppercase;width:1px;font-family:"Times New Roman";border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden"></span></div></div><div class="gmail-vjs-current-time gmail-vjs-time-controls gmail-vjs-control" style="float:left;text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:1em;width:4.8em;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(31,31,31);border-top:1px solid rgb(34,34,34);font-size:1em;line-height:1em;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:initial"><div class="gmail-vjs-current-time-display"></div></div><div class="gmail-vjs-remaining-time gmail-vjs-time-controls gmail-vjs-control" style="float:left;text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:1em;width:4.8em;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(31,31,31);border-top:1px solid rgb(34,34,34);font-size:1em;line-height:1em;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:initial"><div class="gmail-vjs-remaining-time-display"></div></div><div class="gmail-vjs-volume-control gmail-vjs-control" style="float:right;text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:2.6em;width:5em"><div tabindex="0" class="gmail-vjs-volume-bar" style="width:5em;height:0.6em;margin:1em auto 0px;border-radius:0.3em;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:initial"><div class="gmail-vjs-volume-level" style="height:0.6em;border-radius:0.3em;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:initial;width:45px"><span class="gmail-vjs-control-text" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(144,139,140);font-weight:600;display:block;text-transform:uppercase;width:1px;font-family:"Times New Roman";border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden"></span></div><div class="gmail-vjs-volume-handle" style="width:0.8em;height:0.8em;background:rgb(204,204,204);border:1px solid rgb(255,255,255);border-radius:0.6em"><span class="gmail-vjs-control-text" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(144,139,140);font-weight:600;display:block;text-transform:uppercase;width:1px;font-family:"Times New Roman";border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden"></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-vjs-mute-control gmail-vjs-control gmail-vjs-vol-0" tabindex="0" style="float:right;text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:2.6em;width:3.8em"><div style="width:22px;height:16px;background:url("video-js.png") 0px -25px;margin:0.5em auto 0px"><span class="gmail-vjs-control-text" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(144,139,140);font-weight:600;display:block;text-transform:uppercase;width:1px;font-family:"Times New Roman";border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden"></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-vjs-skip-button gmail-vjs-fade-out" tabindex="0" style="background:rgb(51,51,51);height:28px;width:80px;color:white;font-size:12px;font-weight:bolder;line-height:28px;text-transform:uppercase;text-align:center;border-radius:5px 0px 0px 5px;opacity:0.5"></div><div class="gmail-vjs-link" style="width:630px;height:335.469px;overflow:hidden"><a href="http://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=4371__zoneid=84__cb=8c3943dc6b__oadest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D0xKUjB8bCCI" target="_blank" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration-line:none;display:block;font-size:240px;width:630px;height:335.469px;line-height:240px;color:rgb(0,84,143)"></a></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">It was authored by Lara Ann Vella, a Bilingual Research Officer at the language Policy in Education Unit of the National Literacy Agency of Malta; Charles L. Mifsud, the Director of the Centre for Literacy at the University of Malta; and David Muscat, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Literacy Agency of Malta.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Data for the study was collected using a questionnaire with 440 early childhood educators in State and in Church Schools, observation sessions in five class rooms (in State, Church, and Independent Schools) and in-depth interviews with the early childhood educators.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Speaking at the presentation of the study, Minister for Education Evarist Bartolo said that the strengthening of bilingualism is crucial.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">“We must strengthen the use of Maltese and English between us – we should have an Official Language Act.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Other countries which have a form of an “Official Language Act” have guidelines on how to properly use their respective official language(s).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Bartolo also raised the issue of the Maltese language being a digitally endangered language, maintaining that if we do not strengthen the digital presence of Maltese, then this will be the century in which we prepare for the Maltese language to die.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">A study to see what is going on at childcare centers is of similar importance, the Education Minister suggested, going on to insist that we also need more children studying a third language.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Separation of Church and State</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">The main differences in language use between State and Church schools lie in the pre-writing activities, where educators in State Schools focus on Maltese and those in Church chools focus on English.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">The results were then gathered from two separate studies – one Qualitative study that used the data collected from 440 early childhood educators, and one Quantitative study that used classroom observations and interviews.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">The Quantitative study found that most educators organize activities in Maltese and in English to ensure that children are exposed to both languages, with the switching between languages used as a means of mediation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">It was also noted that there are notable differences in language use in State schools based on the percentage of migrant learners present.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">The Qualitative study found that all educators believe in the importance of bilingual development in young children, and that they adopt different models of bilingual education, which is further influenced by a range of factors.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Vella explained that bilingualism has positive effects on children’s linguistic and educational development, as they develop more flexibility in their thinking as a result of processing information through two different languages.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding:1px 0px 0px;font-size:15px;line-height:22px;border-bottom:0px"><span lang="EN-US" style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Offering conclusions in the study, it was suggested that early childhood educators need to reflect critically on their language use and consider all activities in their classrooms to be language-learning opportunities for children.</span></p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>