It seems to me that the natural progression for the teaching of Maltese would indeed be the development of particularised programmes focused on Maltese as a foreign language. This in view of the fact that the language has extended its tentacles way beyond its expected reach due principally to the mass migrations of yesteryear’s Maltese stock to Australia and to a lesser extent to Canada, with the added relatively recent movement from Malta to Luxembourg and Brussels.

Such innovative works as, for example, the recent publications by Daniel Saliba, of didactical works specifically aimed at the Italian consumer, constitute a direct response to a perceived interest from the Italian sphere in our language.

But this recent admirable effort is not unique in catering for a foreign captive audience. Prior to this venture there have been a number of other singular publications such as Joseph Aquilina’s Teach Yourself Maltese (1965) aimed at an English audience, May Butcher’s Grammar of the Maltese Language (1938), Edmund Sutcliffe’s A Grammar of the Maltese Language (1938), as well as other much earlier works by Panzavecchia (1845) in Italian and Francis Vella (1831 and 1845), both in English.

More recent efforts in the same vein include Lydia Sciriha’s Beginning Maltese (1997) and at least three other works intended for the Australian consumer. These included Victor Vella’s Australia oriented works, my unpublished series of lessons for the first ever Maltese language school outside of Malta of 1968 vintage, as well as some other contributions I vaguely recall by G. Grech of Queensland and other efforts emanating from the Canadian Maltese diaspora.

Somewhere in my mind’s archives I have tucked away that there were even other Maltese grammatical works prepared by foreign enthusiasts specifically with a non-Maltese readership in mind. The few I have cited here suffice merely to illustrate the several attempts from the past at satisfying an overseas curiosity regarding our ancient tongue.

With Malta’s ethnically diverse standing population, it is a bonus for all those among us who cherish the spread of our ancient culture through the spoken idiom of its originators.

The proposal by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo deserves high commendation for its innovative approach and its foresightedness, both of which stand to benefit the further dissemination of Maltese along with the resultant potentially exciting development of our mother tongue. Full marks to this healthy proposition and here’s wishing the complete success such a brilliant idea deserves.