A new digital station with entertaining children’s programmes in Maltese has launched to help today’s youngsters learn their native language the way older generations learnt Italian when they were young – by watching TV.
The project is based on teachers’ feedback from focus groups about children not knowing how to speak Maltese anymore – “it is like a foreign language to an alarming number of them”.
So, Justin Farrugia and Steven Dalli from Sharp Shoot Media embarked on the creation of Perlina TV, which should be “as good and engaging as YouTube and Netflix, because the biggest culprit behind this problem is that kids only want to watch American content”.
The producers ‒ one a father who has experienced this issue first-hand ‒ were motivated by the fact that “on a digital platform and in the television world, content for children in the Maltese language is lacking, especially for the very young”.
Children are having to resort to English content and, as a result, are more familiar with English.
Their concerns are echoed by teacher of Maltese Marlene Gravina, who agrees that many children are finding Maltese very difficult to learn.
“It is a daily struggle as many students do not understand basic instructions, and it is also very difficult for them to, for example, follow and listen to a simple story in Maltese,” she acknowledged, adding that they need to be exposed to the language at home too.
From her experience, Gravina maintains that exposure through TV programmes does work.
“Like many people my age, when I was young, I used to watch Italian cartoons and series and now I can understand and speak the language quite well, even though I never studied it at school.
“Personally, I am not a big fan of screentime – especially for children under three. However, the reality is that, nowadays, everybody watches television, and so long as the programmes have good Maltese, this could actually be very beneficial for them and another fun way to increase exposure,” Gravina said.
This has been the most effective form of interaction between kids and the Maltese language that they have seen in a long time- Media Exclusive director Ben Camille
Keeping Maltese digitally alive
Perlina TV, aimed at children under 10, is among other initiatives to tackle this problem.
In September, the popular animated series Peppa Pig made its debut in homes – in Maltese – in collaboration with Ċentru tal-Ilsien Malti. And in May 2023, the first children’s educational app entirely in Maltese, Nina u Ninu, was launched to help toddlers learn the language through monthly fun games on different subjects.
This November, a new and free mobile app, Kuċċarina, also designed to make learning Maltese accessible and enjoyable, was launched.
The minds behind these initiatives all speak about positive feedback, highlighting the need to save the Maltese language and keep it alive, digitally.
This latest platform, also in collaboration with Ċentru tal-Ilsien Malti, Arts Council Malta and Rupture, a virtual production studio, will be accessible to the public as an online website and app from the App Store and Google Play.
It was created in the context of an internet that has no audiovisual material in Maltese good enough to compete with the likes of YouTube and Netflix, which children watch nowadays.
The aim of Perlina TV is to “immerse children in a colourful world, with heroes speaking in Maltese, legends about princesses, adventures with animals, information on new toys and magical stories,” the producers said.
Living up to popular content on digital platforms like Netflix and Disney, and luring kids away from these, is a tall order and a big act to follow.
But the production company behind Perlina TV has said “the focus will be on quality, so children will not feel they are seeing something inferior to what they are used to on foreign platforms”.
The idea is to be exposed to the language while having fun, and for children to have a safe space to enjoy following audiovisual material while learning.
Linu Perlinu will take children on an “educational and entertaining” journey around the islands to learn about their history and culture, while kids can follow the animated series of the book Id-Denfil.
In Għidli li Trid, TV personality Keith Demicoli will connect with the platform through an “innovative” podcast with children – the first of its type in Malta – where young guests will have the opportunity to say what they feel about various topics.
Viewers pay a subscription each month and have access to several shows and series, be it animated, with real actors, or even puppets, and Perlina TV also has an original soundtrack, sung by a 20-strong kids’ choir.
Steven Dalli and Justin Farrugia, the people behind Perlina TV.'Great feedback' for Peppa Pig bil-Malti
On Facebook, the Perlina TV page already has 3.9K followers, while similar tried-and-tested projects are also experiencing success.
The Maltese version of the globally loved Peppa Pig, which hit Maltese TV screens three months ago, has also received “fantastic feedback” from parents and educators.
“They have said this has been the most effective form of interaction between kids and the Maltese language that they have seen in a long time,” said Media Exclusive director Ben Camille.
He welcomed the launch of the new digital station with the same aim – “to save the Maltese language” – but questioned how local productions could compete with children’s “access to the world at the touch of a button”.
Camille said this means that “if we want to produce something locally and want people to watch it, it has to be as good or better than the platforms that invest billions in kids’ entertainment.
“How can a local production company convince kids to watch their new animation when competing with a brand like Peppa Pig, for example, whose sales amount to over €1.5 billion in just one year?
“How can we compete with a brand that has its own line of toys, merchandise, accessories and theme parks. It is like trying to gather some of my friends to play a five-a-side football match vs a team of Real Madrid players. Very challenging!”
The solution, for Camille, was collaboration: Media Exclusive invested private money, bought the rights of the franchise and used Maltese talent to “make it our own”.
The results have been “phenomenal”, he claimed, but the challenges are there, the biggest struggle being funding.
“Unfortunately, kids have no spending power, so income from advertising is not easy. Unless the government decides to support and invest in this, it will be hard to continue.”
Speaking from his own experience as a father of three, Camille said the younger kids watched Peppa Pig in Maltese – “no questions asked”.
However, if left too late, once they are over the age of three/four, then it becomes a challenge.
There's an app for that
Smartphone app Ninu u Nina has also been “exceptionally well-received” over the last 1.5 years, according to its founder Francesca Mifsud, who said the results highlighted a strong demand for quality Maltese-language educational content.
The founder of Magic Games Factory, which created the app, she was aware that it was competing for children’s attention.
Developing an app and games is a significant investment, especially for a small team, Mifsud said, adding that, despite limited resources, the results have been rewarding.
The app works on tablets and mobile phones and can be downloaded at a cost, which some users did initially hesitate to pay for. However, she believed “our commitment to quality, safety and child-friendly design justifies the investment”.
To ensure a distraction-free and secure environment for children, there are no adverts, while the app avoids overstimulating designs seen in some popular children’s content.
More initiatives
Encouraging feedback from parents and educators has inspired Mifsud to develop a school-friendly version of Nina u Ninu and she is working on integrating its games and activities into classroom settings to make learning interactive, fun and Maltese-focused, offering a fresh take on circle time and other activities.
“We are actively building the right infrastructure and exploring potential investment opportunities to scale our offerings and reach more children,” she said, adding that a Spotify channel is coming soon.
Within less than three weeks of going public, over 700 people have downloaded the Kuċċarina app so far, said Dieter Pace, who created it to “preserve our beautiful language while helping locals, expats and kids embrace Maltese in a fun and engaging way”.
While most users are from Malta, a significant number are from the US, Italy, UK and India.
The app features four unique game modes that challenge users to master spelling and sentence structure, while a monthly leaderboard shows the top learners.
Subscribers also unlock access to a special game mode where users can listen to real-life conversations and practise understanding spoken Maltese, while a list of songs and podcasts in Maltese offers another entertaining way to learn.
“Kuċċarina is more than an app; it is my way of giving back to Malta by ensuring our language thrives for generations to come. I truly believe it can make a difference,” Pace said.
Maximum exposure
One mother of three, Anjelica Camilleri de Marco, who shares these concerns about the Maltese language, said she fully supported increasing children’s exposure to it through Maltese TV programmes, and praised initiatives to this effect.
“However, on their own, I feel this will have limited impact if our children rarely use the language in their daily lives,” she said.
“The Maltese educational system needs to acknowledge the reality that, whether we agree with it or not, Maltese is not the primary language spoken at home for everyone,” Camilleri de Marco pointed out.
In her view, children who do not consider Maltese their mother tongue would benefit from learning the language at a slower pace to ensure they develop a proper understanding and a genuine appreciation for it.
“There is little value in having them read lengthy texts with complex vocabulary before they have a strong foundation in basic vocabulary and verb conjugation,” she said.
“If we are to give Maltese the importance it truly deserves, we must ensure its use is encouraged across all segments of society, including the expat community, and that its teaching is adapted to meet diverse needs.”
From a teacher’s perspective, Gravina maintains parents and primary caregivers need to make the effort to speak to their children in Maltese too.
“I understand this is not always possible,” she acknowledged, listing other options to increase exposure.
She suggested that when enrolling children in extracurricular activities, they should try to opt for sessions in Maltese.
Parents could also allocate some designated time every day for a fun activity in Maltese, such as storytelling, outdoor play, or a craft, Gravina said, stressing on the importance of making learning the language fun and exciting, so children do not see it as a chore.
“Most importantly, when it comes to Maltese, my main aim as an educator is to instil the love for our beautiful and so very precious language. When this happens, learning becomes much easier.
“I strongly believe it is our duty as educators and parents to make sure future generations learn to love and treasure it too.”