With all due respect for Malta and the Maltese language, I couldn't believe the comments of Charmaine Micallef, who complained that the compere of Swan Lake spoke in English instead of Maltese (Language Question, January 22).

Does she know how many foreigners live in Malta? Does she think that they do not watch shows? Does she know that the official languages in Malta are both English and Maltese and that to live in Malta foreigners are not required to learn Maltese (at least not yet)? And that we are also taxpayers?

I have been living here for 10 years and have a lot of Maltese friends. My children go to a Maltese school (which I pay for) and I can proudly say that they have had better results on Maltese tests than some of their Maltese friends. I also understand some Maltese and can speak it a little... but I found the comment by Ms Micallef too much.

What bothers me is that this is not the only case. When the subject of education in Malta on Xarabank was discussed, having two school children I was interested to know what they talking about. I wrote an e-mail asking them if they could speak in English for at least part of the evening but they didn't bother to reply. I know that Malta is small and has more than enough trouble with foreigners (legal or illegal), but once we are here we should have some rights too.