Children with only one non-Maltese parent or guardian should be expected to learn Maltese as a native language rather than the new Maltese as a foreign language (MFL) qualification, 12 language bodies said on Sunday.  

In a statement on Sunday, the organisations referred to the document “The National Policy for the Teaching of Maltese as a Foreign Language in the Framework of Bilingualism and Plurilingualism 2019”, published by the Ministry for Education and Employment.

The bodies - including the National Council for the Maltese Language, and the University and Junior College departments of Maltese and English - said they did not agree that migrant children, or children who had one parent in possession of a foreign ID card, should be assessed, before entering the third year of primary school, to determine whether they required lessons in MFL or in Maltese.

Students living in Malta with only one Maltese parent or custodian were in an ideal situation to learn Maltese and to study it as a native language, thereby achieving integrated bilingualism with adequate knowledge of both languages, they said.

'Exams should not have same standing'

They noted that while the document mentioned the SEC examination in MFL, it gave no indication whatsoever on whether this SEC in MFL and “the Maltese language exam” would be rated at the same MQF level.

“We cannot agree that these two exams should have the same rating because, of their very nature, they cannot have the same degree of knowledge. Moreover, the document does not indicate whether a student with an O level in MFL would be allowed to continue with the study of Maltese at Intermediate and Advanced level on the strength of this qualification. This is another point we disagree with.”

The organisations said there was no doubt that if the proposal was placed in the local context as a whole, it could give rise to negative applications which would have to be forestalled at the outset. 

So it was not right that a student with a qualification in MFL should be allowed to join the University and even to register for courses which had Maltese as a prerequisite.

Nor was it right to come up with alternative exams in Maltese for entry into university. This would result in a lowering of the level of Maltese at ordinary level and as a prerequisite for entry into the highest academic institution of the country.

They hoped that given that this national linguistic policy was essentially positive and one which should lead to the integration of Maltese and foreign students in Malta, it would be revised to do away with the negative factors which stood out in it.

In opposition to the thrust of the document in general, these factors gave the impression that Maltese should be accorded secondary importance in the presence of another language, they said.

The statement was also signed by the university’s Institute of Linguistics and Language Technology, the Akkademja tal-Malti, the university’s Għaqda tal-Malti, the Għaqda tal-Qarrejja tal-Provi tal-Malti, the Għaqda tal-Għalliema tal-Malti, Inizjamed and the Għaqda Poeti Maltin.