World renowned Cambridge University has been engaged by the government to come up with recommendations on how to improve English language proficiency in schools.
This comes in the wake of concerns that 16-year-olds are ending up with a poor command of Malta’s second language in spite of 10 years of schooling. A two-year agreement signed yesterday between the Education Ministry and Cambridge English – a department within Cambridge University specialising in training and assessing English language – aims to reverse this trend.
This educational institution is based in 130 countries and boasts a network of 27 offices in various locations around the world. Over five million Cambridge English exams are taken each year and over 20,000 universities, employers, government ministries and other organisations rely on their certification as proof of English language ability.
The programme will involve a benchmarking exercise across the board including in Church and independent schools to be able to gauge the level of English in Malta compared with other countries. This exercise will then pave the way for a strategy aimed to address areas of concern through a holistic approach. The recommendations could also include teacher training in the UK.
A report on the performance of candidates who sat for the Matsec English language O level examinations in May last year had flagged inadequate levels of grammatical accuracy, spelling and punctuation. The report expressed “great concern” that students were leaving secondary schools with a poor command of the English language.
Addressing a news conference following the signing of the agreement at Auberge de Castille, in Valletta, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat remarked that Malta’s second language was crucial to give the country a competitive edge over its rivals.
He described the agreement as another milestone in the government’s quest to make Malta an education hub following the recent agreement for the setting up of a Barts campus in Gozo and the American University of Malta.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo noted that, last year, more than 77,000 foreigners came to Malta to study English.
Martin Robinson, assistant director, assessment and operation group of Cambridge English, told Times of Malta their work in Malta would involve testing students for language proficiency at primary and secondary level. “This will allow us to compare the level of English in Malta to international standards to identify potential gaps and areas for improvement,” he said.
He said the recommendations would be made in an integrated manner because a piecemeal approach would not yield the desired results.