[lg policy] ‘Bilingualism part of Maltese identity'

[Harold Schiffman]

[WATCH] Education minister Evarist Bartolo: ‘Bilingualism part of Maltese
identity’

Education minister says that exposure to two languages helps children's
development and is at the core of Malta's economic success
Yannick Pace
28 September 2016, 10:26am
Print Version <http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/printversion/70024/>
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
14
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
[image: Minister Bartolo at the Language Policy launch • Photo by Chris
Mangion]
Minister Bartolo at the Language Policy launch • Photo by Chris Mangion
14
<http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#>
Share
Education minister says exposure to two languages helps children's
development • Video by Chris Mangion
<http://95.131.238.125/url/get/76805/1998>
A language policy for the early years in a child's life was launched this
morning by Education minister Evarist Bartolo.

At an event to celebrate different languages Bartolo said the country still
has a lot of work left to do in strengthening the levels of both English
and Maltese and even more work to do when it comes to young people learning
a third language.

Bartolo rubbished the outdated notion that exposure to more than one
language at a young age confuses children and cited a number of studies
which have in fact shown that this sort of exposure actually helps
cognitive development and children's overall learning abilities.

The policy is intended to provide national guidelines for bilingual
education at a young age by fostering a positive attitude towards both
English and Maltese. It includes recommendations and guidelines for parents
and teachers, childcare administrators as well as those training educators.

Bartolo spoke of how both English and Maltese are a part of the country’s
identity and how both are crucial to the country’s success. He said that we
must overcome stigma towards people who speak a different language adding
that whether or not Maltese is a person’s first language is irrelevant
because we are not a bilingual country simply on paper.

"The fact that someone is from a particular locality or is part of a social
group does not matter. At the end of the day we need to accept the reality
and tailor our efforts to that reality," said the minister.

Bartolo explained how it would be a shame if Malta were to lose its ability
to communicate in more than one language and stressed that the fact that
most people can speak English gives the country a competitive advantage and
is a part of the reason foreign companies choose to invest in Malta.

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.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/70024/bartolo_bilingualism_is_a_part_of_our_identity#.V-vWrK37e-c

-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its
members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or
sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write
directly to the original sender of any offensive message.  A copy of this
may be forwarded to this list as well.  (H. Schiffman, Moderator)

For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to
https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/
listinfo/lgpolicy-list
*******************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20160928/2cf99361/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list