It is a popular conception that standards of spoken and written English in Malta have been deteriorating since at least the mid-1970s. Successive ministers of education have failed to stop the rot and, in some cases, by their action – or, invariably, their inaction – precipitated the process of falling standards. No real concerted effort to raise standards of English speaking in Malta has been made in 40 years.
The present Education Minister, Evarist Bartolo, has long spoken of the need to tackle the issue. A review commissioned by the Education Ministry into Maltese students’ English language proficiency has just reported. It found that, overall, Maltese youths had a good level of language proficiency but highlighted particular gaps in their abilities, the way they were being taught and the assessment models being used in exams.
The study was conducted by Cambridge University experts, who have recommended a series of changes to teaching methods, including increased focus on pair work and task-based learning, which are the same methods used in schools teaching English as a foreign language. The main thrust of their recommendations is that English language classes and examinations could become similar to those used when teaching English to foreign students at all Malta’s TEFL schools.
The Cambridge English Language Assessment would split language proficiency into students’ ability to read, write, speak and listen in English, which are exactly the same four criteria used in TEFL courses, a model the report feels would give a clearer picture of students’ abilities.
The Cambridge University report, which was written by its examinations body, an entity well known for its commercial interests in the ‘English as a Foreign Language (EFL)’ industry, has received mixed reactions. Perhaps the most noteworthy of these came from the Department of English at the University of Malta, which felt strongly that demoting English, as they saw it, to foreign language status would spell bad news for Malta.
The Department of English warned that introducing teaching and assessment methods normally used for foreign language teaching would be likely to have “a serious negative impact on the local economy and on the job prospects of future generations”. The repercussions of the proposed shift towards teaching Maltese students English as a foreign language would have an impact on both the TEFL industry in Malta and, possibly more importantly, the financial services industry, as well as on the tourism industry.
The crux of the issue, however, is perhaps even more deep-seated. Malta has been a bilingual country for about 70 years. Maltese and English have been embedded in the Independence Constitution for over 50 years as our two official languages. English has contributed massively to Malta’s commercial attraction in the region, as well as in its exercise of soft power.
As the academics of the Department of English rightly put it: “In the spirit of the Constitution, we believe in an educational system that aims at, and fosters, bilingualism… Simply lowering the assessment bar… would risk firing the pistol for a short-sighted race to the bottom.”
These are powerful words and the Ministry of Education would be wise to take them firmly on board. The ability of the Maltese to speak and write English well is a pearl without price.
There are no quick-fix silver bullets to the problem of raising standards. Quality standards are set by having high quality teachers of English, not by lowering the bar for teaching and assessing English by demoting it to foreign language status.