Malta’s accession to the EU, and the recognition of the Maltese language as an official language of the EU, has increased the interest in learning the Maltese language for different reasons.
This has led to a demand for Maltese-language courses and resources for foreigners to learn Maltese. For this reason, Charles Daniel Saliba has, between 2013 and 2017, published a Maltese-English book series entitled Maltese for Foreigners, consisting of 14 books, three syllabi and audio files.
In 2018, Saliba translated Level A1 of the series into a Maltese-Italian version entitled Maltese per Stranieri.
Since Maltese is a Semitic language, it has been taught in German universities for comparative purposes. A case in point is at the Malta Centre at the University of Bremen, headed by Prof. Thomas Stolz, which has been offering practical Maltese language courses since 2014.
For this reason, Saliba has translated Level A1 of the Maltese for Foreigners series into a Maltese-German version entitled Maltesisch für Ausländer.
The three books in this level (Anfänger–Grundstufe) are Meine ersten 750 Wörter auf Maltesisch, Grundlagen der maltesischen Grammatik im Kontext 1 and Maltesisch sprechen 1.
The resources may also be helpful to organise Maltese-language courses in other German-speaking countries
They are ideal for beginners and suitable for individuals, groups or in schools. The resources may also be a helpful tool to organise Maltese-language courses in other German-speaking countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Saliba obtained a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Sheffield in 2015, specialising in teaching Maltese as a foreign language.
His study was sponsored by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme Grant (MGSS).
For more information about the book series, visit the websites below.