[lg policy] Bilingualism, part of our Maltese identity

Wed Oct 5 14:57:47 UTC 2016

Bilingualism, part of our Maltese identity

We should have the courage to offer programmes and accreditation to those
students born in Malta to Maltese parents but whose first language at home
is English
[image: evarist_bartolo]
Evarist Bartolo
5 October 2016, 9:08am
Print Version <http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/printversion/70162/>
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/70162/bilingualism_part_of_our_maltese_identity#>
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<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/70162/bilingualism_part_of_our_maltese_identity#>
[image: The University of Malta must send a strong message to students that
foreign languages are important and not only for students following courses
in humanities but also those taking up sciences]
The University of Malta must send a strong message to students that foreign
languages are important and not only for students following courses in
humanities but also those taking up sciences
6
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/70162/bilingualism_part_of_our_maltese_identity#>
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Maltese and English are part of our country’s identity and both are crucial
for our country’s success. We need to recognise our linguistic reality,
cherish it and even celebrate it. Three years ago we set in motion a
collaborative exercise involving parents, educators and experts in the
field to discuss and draw up a series of language policies in education for
Malta and Gozo. We have recently launched the first ever language policy
for the early years. Other policies for the later years will follow.

These policies are intended to offer opportunities for an informed debate
about how we can enhance language abilities and to offer direction based on
research and experience of effective good practice. The policy is intended
to provide national guidelines for bilingual education at a young age by
fostering a positive attitude towards Maltese and English. It includes
recommendations and guidelines for parents and teachers, childcare
administrators, and for those training educators.

We now recognise fully that exposing children to more than one language
helps cognitive development and children’s overall learning abilities.
Among the guidelines in the policy are fostering positive attitudes towards
multilingualism, consistently exposing children to Maltese and English and
working with educators to identify appropriate strategies and resources for
bilingual language use in schools. We need more of our students to become
more proficient in Maltese and English.

We should have the courage to offer programmes and accreditation to those
students born in Malta to Maltese parents but whose first language at home
is English. We need to develop programmes and pedagogy to reach these
students through Maltese as an additional language. I call on those who
really love the Maltese language and would like to see it flourish to help
us make more of our students more proficient in Maltese. Even here a one
size fits all approach does not work.

We still have a lot of work left to do to strengthen the levels of both
English and Maltese and even more work to do when it comes to young people
learning a third language. Half of our students are leaving compulsory
schooling without even studying a third language. We have started reversing
this worrying trend by managing to attract more students to take up foreign
languages by launching new programmes in Italian, French, Spanish and
German by offering programmes that develop the skills of talking,
listening, reading and writing and placing language use in the context of
daily life.

In the May session of this year of the MATSEC A level, only 6.7% of the
students sat for a foreign language. Out of 4,025 candidates we had in
Arabic, 4; in French, 57; in German, 17; in Italian, 152; in Russian, 5;
and in Spanish, 36. Even fewer students sat for the September session and
these would have included re-sits.

These numbers are certainly not sufficient and we need to strive for more.
The University of Malta must send a strong message to students that foreign
languages are important and not only for students following courses in
humanities but also those taking up sciences.

It would be a shame for Malta to lose its ability to communicate in more
than one language. The fact that most people can speak English gives us a
competitive advantage and is a part of the reason foreign companies choose
to invest in Malta. We need to have increased language learning
opportunities in our schools and beyond as the knowledge of languages opens
windows of career opportunities and increased levels of understanding,
tolerance and communication.

As I said we have already registered some success through the Subject
Proficiency Assessment (SPA) programme which seeks to present language
learning in a more communicative and functional manner in applied
situations. We shall intensify these efforts in the coming weeks and
months.

*Evarist Bartolo is minister for education and employment*
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/70162/bilingualism_part_of_our_maltese_identity#.V_UUPCT7e-c
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