Bid to raise standards in English

Ninety years after it was founded, the English-Speaking Union (ESU), a worldwide educational charity, is branching into Malta to promote the language here and raise its spoken and written standards.

Malta is the only English-speaking country in the central Mediterranean - a "huge advantage and competitive edge" also in terms of business and commerce, said Martin Scicluna, the chairman of the steering committee that met for the first time yesterday.

"In this globalised world, it is a dowry and a legacy beyond price."

Malta is finally joining the organisation's network of 52 countries, he said, highlighting his "astonishment" that it has taken so long to establish the Malta branch. English being one of the two official languages in Malta, he would have expected the union to be set up at the start of the country's independence in 1964.

"But rather like we have taken our cultural heritage for granted, so too have we taken English speaking," he said.

Mr Scicluna maintained that two generations of Maltese are not fluent in English: from 50 downwards, they speak "a sort of broken Maltese-English".

In the last 30 to 40 years, English has been pushed aside, and as a result, not only is it not spoken well but it is also not taught well - the crux of the issue, according to Mr Scicluna.

"Even what is written in the English-speaking press is really quite appalling at times - to the extent that it has to be translated back into Maltese to be understood."

Aware of the resistance from certain local fronts to English, Mr Scicluna responds by emphasising "the absolute importance of the language to our lives, our success as a country and its economic development, and the fact that it is not a question of either Maltese or English - it can and should be both!"

He quotes the fluent bilingualism in Sweden and the Dutch model, where both mother tongue and English are spoken well. "That is what we should be aiming for."

A culture change would be required but Mr Scicluna has not lost hope. "We should concentrate on the upcoming generations," he maintained.

Mr Scicluna said the ESU was based on "absolute respect for the autonomy of Maltese" and said the encouragement of good spoken and written English posed no threat to it.

He was encouraged by the fact that both political parties were convinced of the need to improve English, and said the union would be working on that.

The ESU has "terrific" facilities, including scholarships, exchanges for teachers, and debating and essay competitions, which Malta and its schools could tap into.

Mr Scicluna is advocating a practical approach, claiming proper debating societies in and between schools would help raise interest in better spoken English.

The Malta branch of the ESU is the initiative of Maltese High Commissioner in the UK, Michael Refalo, with the support of Education Minister Dolores Cristina. Its aim is to promote English in international public speaking and encourage its enjoyment and constructive use.

The ESU is being officially launched tomorrow. It plans to organise exchanges and conferences, working closely with schools and the university.

Factbox

• English is spoken as a second language by around 375 million worldwide.

• It has official or special status in at least 75 countries, with a total population of over two billion.

• Around 750 million speak English as a foreign language.

• A quarter of the world's population speak English.