[lg policy] Malta: Attitudes to bilingualism

Mon Oct 17 14:47:13 UTC 2016

Attitudes to bilingualism

Malta’s bilingualism is not straightforward. A strong pro-Maltese lobby has
dominated the discussion for decades. It is good to promote Maltese, but
this has happened at the expense of English. Around six months ago, a group
of foreign experts had even recommended that Maltese schools could teach
English as a foreign language. This created a bit of an outcry.

Bilingualism is part of Maltese identity and is recognised in the
Constitution. The knowledge of English also supports our economy. It is
central to the success of our financial services, tourism, the TEFL
industry, and much more.

The Minister for Education, Evarist Bartolo, has long championed improving
standards of English. Sometimes he may feel like a lone voice in the
wilderness but I hope he does not give up because he is absolutely right.

Fortunately, Bartolo does not appear to subscribe to the emotional
pro-Maltese and anti-English discourse that sometimes gained the upper
hand with previous ministers. On the contrary, he has taken a pragmatic
approach, giving English its due importance.

As former shadow minister for education, Bartolo had even referred to the
“linguistic Taliban” in Malta – and I can guess just what he meant.
Attitudes towards bilingualism in this country tend to have unspoken
negative and confrontational undertones. Discussions on the subject can
easily degenerate into a battleground.

Promoting English is not an easy position for our politicians to take, as
the pro-Maltese lobby tends to be outspoken and hard-lined. Bartolo’s stand
is therefore not to be taken lightly. In 2014 he introduced a National
Literacy Strategy, which affirms a bilingual approach. Now he has
introduced a language policy for early education, which promotes a positive
approach to all languages. Maltese and English are to be introduced in
tandem in primary schools.

The policy even specifies, for instance, that signs, assemblies and
circulars for parents and children should be in both languages. Speaking of
signs, why were all the street signs changed into Maltese-only names some
years ago? This includes places like Sliema and St Julian’s, which are
among the most bilingual areas in Malta and most frequented by tourists.
These monolingual signs are certainly not practical, and the reasons lie
elsewhere.
Fortunately, Bartolo does not appear to subscribe to the emotional
pro-Maltese and anti-English discourse which sometimes gained the upper
hand with previous ministers

There was a time when recognition of Maltese was an ideal to be fought for.
It is sometimes necessary to adopt extreme positions to push a point
through. But this militant approach is past its sell-by date. Maltese is
fully established as the national language, and rightly so, and the large
majority of the population speak Maltese at home and at the workplace.

It is, however, also true that good competence in English is essential to
do well. Without it, people can face difficulties in furthering their
studies and careers. A media survey in 2013 indicated that 17 per cent of
university-educated respondents spoke only English at home, while 27 per
cent were bilingual at home. On a national level this was only five per
cent and 17 per cent respectively, as competency in English decreases with
lower levels of education.

Interestingly, when introducing the policy, Bartolo used the word “stigma”
to pinpoint one of the problems to be addressed. He said “we must overcome
stigma towards people who speak a different language […] The fact that
someone is from a particular locality or is part of a social group does not
matter.” He said that we should “accept the reality and tailor our efforts
to that reality”, and that Malta must not be a bilingual country only on
paper.

The policy recognises that Malta must not lose its ability to communicate
in more than one language. Apart from our bilingual identity, this also
gives the country a competitive advantage, encouraging foreign companies
and individuals to invest in Malta.

Knowledge of English is also essential to be conversant in IT and, as was
pointed out, billions of dollars are spent worldwide in the Teaching of
English as a Foreign Language “as millions of people realise that they need
a global language to participate fully in the world of the 21st century”.

If big countries need English, then just imagine how much  it is needed in
this tiny country of ours, whose language is spoken nowhere else. But I
have often met Germans, Dutch and Scandinavians who speak better English
than many Maltese, who are supposedly bilingual.

One reason why our bilingual policy has achieved limited success so far is
a persistent resistance to acknowledging the importance of English. Along
the way, heated debates about how to write English words in Maltese have
produced some truly outlandish spelling for the nation to wrestle with.

After years of being the unmentionable elephant in the room, bilingualism
in Malta would benefit from a more pragmatic and open-minded approach. This
does not mean denying or diminishing the importance of Maltese, but it does
mean taking positive and tangible steps to promote better knowledge and use
of English.

The educational system cannot do it alone – a positive and open attitude
towards bilingualism must prevail outside the classroom too.

petracdingli at gmail.com
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20161016/opinion/Attitudes-to-bilingualism.628073

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