One of the earliest initiatives of the English-Speaking Union of Malta, when it revived its activities locally as an NGO in 2009, was an outreach in a local community where the predominant language was Maltese.
ESU Malta is part of an international charity organisation set up by journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, with 54 members around the world and 36 branches in England and Wales.
Our goal at the time was to expose early primary school students to the English language in the context of play, since they do not start learning English formally before their fifth year of education in the state school system.
The choice fell on Żabbar Primary School A. What started as a modest programme for children in one year group, with the help of one or two volunteers, has now been expanded to expose the entire student cohort in Kinder 1, K2, Year 1 and Y2 – some 500 children – to English.
ESU Malta has dedicated, fully qualified, talented tutors, delivering classes in the school (in the last scholastic year, virtually) every day – no fewer than 34 classes a week.
Faced with the situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, when all non-essential staff were excluded from schools, ESU Malta was not discouraged. Nor did it abandon this community programme that was of such great benefit to the students amid the turmoil and uncertainty that was experienced in the education system last year.
Throughout last summer, our dynamic director of education worked with the tutor to convert all the content to live, online delivery.
Each lesson was tailormade to the class’s needs and supported what was being taught by the class teacher at any particular time.
The children can and do give feedback since lessons are fully interactive. We have devised lessons that get them involved and in which they move around the class, sing, role-play as well as join in verbally.
The content is not about English as much as it is about... lighting that spark of curiosity that fuels children’s imagination and creativity- Malcolm Naudi
There is continuous communication with all class teachers on a regular basis and they are invited to give their input so that we can help them tackle their curriculum as efficiently and smoothly as possible.
As with students of other age groups with which ESU Malta works, the content is not about English as much as it is about self-confidence, getting involved and lighting that spark of curiosity that fuels the children’s imagination and creativity.
Part of the Arm of Support programme was also ‘Speaking in English’ courses for adults – parents, grandparents and other care givers, who are taught how to support the children’s learning of English.
I am proud of ESU Malta’s consistent track record of achievement at Żabbar Primary A, as can be testified by the head of school, her assistant and all the teachers there.
As the children progress through the system, I am glad that they have a head start as they go through their primary and secondary education, which makes this programme all the more rewarding.
ESU Malta’s Arm of Support programme has been reviewed by the University of Malta and actively observed by the Department of Education. Each assessment has been stellar and points to the need for it to continue to be part of the children’s curriculum.
ESU Malta does not wish to stop here with this community programme. Given the necessary resources, we have plans in place to take this into other primary schools because we are confident this will work in other communities around Malta and Gozo among children for whom English is not spoken at home.
As Malta becomes more and more multicultural, English will continue to give our country a competitive edge and it is in the earliest years of education that we can lay these sound foundations.