[WATCH] Education minister Evarist Bartolo: ‘Bilingualism part of Maltese identity’

Education minister says exposure to two languages helps children's development • Video by Chris Mangion

A language policy for the early years in a child's life was launched this morning by Education minister Evarist Bartolo.

At an event to celebrate different languages Bartolo said the country still has a lot of work left to do in strengthening the levels of both English and Maltese and even more work to do when it comes to young people learning a third language. 

Bartolo rubbished the outdated notion that exposure to more than one language at a young age confuses children and cited a number of studies which have in fact shown that this sort of exposure actually helps cognitive development and children's overall learning abilities.

The policy is intended to provide national guidelines for bilingual education at a young age by fostering a positive attitude towards both English and Maltese. It includes recommendations and guidelines for parents and teachers, childcare administrators as well as those training educators.

Bartolo spoke of how both English and Maltese are a part of the country’s identity and how both are crucial to the country’s success. He said that we must overcome stigma towards people who speak a different language adding that whether or not Maltese is a person’s first language is irrelevant because we are not a bilingual country simply on paper.

"The fact that someone is from a particular locality or is part of a social group does not matter. At the end of the day we need to accept the reality and tailor our efforts to that reality," said the minister.

Bartolo explained how it would be a shame if Malta were to lose its ability to communicate in more than one language and stressed that the fact that most people can speak English gives the country a competitive advantage and is a part of the reason foreign companies choose to invest in Malta.

Among the guidelines in the policy are fostering positive attitudes towards multilingualism, consistently exposing children to Maltese and English and working with educators to identify appropriate strategies and resources for bilingual language use in schools.