Angela Scerri insists on the use of English by teachers in schools (The Sunday Times, July 9). She says that children would benefit greatly if the government were to employ English expatriate teachers to teach diction and improve the quality of the language in schools.

That's true. I agree that children who attend state schools have the right to learn better English. English is very important for everyone to have better career prospects.

Our native tongue is not being used correctly either, and the situation is by far worse than that of English. Just take a look at the traffic signs where not even the names of villages are correct. Everyone writes Maltese as they feel like, ignoring correct Maltese spelling. This even applies to journalists.

Whereas with English there are many facilities and opportunities to improve on one's diction and syntax by even reading, watching TV or listening to the radio, the same, sadly, cannot be said for Maltese.

We watch Maltese television where a mixture of Maltese, English and Italian is spoken by presenters, journalists, and especially by guests. Is this helpful for the students who need to pass their Maltese test? Is this fair on those like myself who like to write and read mostly in Maltese?

What about the newspapers which are supposed to be in Maltese? Some words are sometimes spelled in a manner, whereas, at other times, the identical words are spelled in another! For example, the word 'champion' is written in English, sometimes it is in inverted commas, and at other times without, while yet another newspaper prints it as campjin. This is ridiculous!

There are several other words. Just to mention a few: mowbajl, cermen or cerpersin. If these are official words, why aren't they always written in the same manner?