Language Education Policy Profile
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Language Education Policy Profile MALTA March 2015 Language Policy Unit Education Policy Division, Education Department / DGII Council of Europe, Strasbourg www.coe.int/lang CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 5 1.1. The origins, context and purpose of the Profile ................................. 5 1.2. Language education policy and social policy..................................... 6 1.3. Council of Europe Language Education Policies ................................. 7 1.4. The Process of preparing the Malta Profile ....................................... 9 2. AN OVERVIEW OF LANGUAGES EDUCATION IN MALTA ..........11 2.1. A complex sociolinguistic context ................................................. 11 2.2. A detailed regulatory framework .................................................. 15 2.3. A supportive education system .................................................... 18 2.4. A key role for languages education ............................................... 22 2.5. An evolving assessment regime ................................................... 24 2.6. A strong commitment to teacher education ................................... 25 3. KEY ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION .........................................28 3.1. Achievement in languages and in other subjects ............................ 29 3.2. Balanced bilingualism and the language/s) of schooling .................. 35 3.3. Teaching other (“foreign”) languages ............................................ 43 3.4. Languages and access to education for non-Maltese children (and adults) .............................................................................. 50 3.5. Teacher education ...................................................................... 54 3.6. Decision making processes and awareness raising. ......................... 56 4. LOOKING FORWARD ..............................................................59 4.1. Building on the positive ............................................................... 59 4.2. Addressing the challenges ........................................................... 60 4.3. Proposals for further action ......................................................... 62 APPENDICES ................................................................................67 Appendix 1 – Documents formulating the position of the Council of Europe on language education policy ............................................. 68 Appendix 2 – Council of Europe instruments: presentation ........................ 70 Appendix 3 – Bilingual Education and Subject Knowledge ......................... 75 Appendix 4 – Some stated goals of the National Curriculum for All ............. 78 Appendix 5 – Performance of Maltese pupils in FL2 (Italian) ..................... 81 Appendix 6 – A selective Council of Europe bibliography ........................... 83 Appendix 7 – National authorities and Council of Europe Expert Group ...... 84 Appendix 8 – List of persons met during study visits of the Council of Europe expert group in Malta, 16-20 June, 10-13 November 2014 and 16-18 February 2015 ................................................................... 85 Appendix 9 – Programme of Expert Group’s study visits ........................... 94 Language Education Policy Profile : Malta 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. The origins, context and purpose of the Profile The Language Policy Unit of the Council of Europe offers to Member states assistance in carrying out analyses of their language education policies. According to the Guidelines and Procedures2, “the aim is to offer member States (or regions or cities) the opportunity to undertake a ‘self-evaluation’ of their policy in a spirit of dialogue with Council of Europe Experts, and with a view to focusing on possible future policy developments within the country. […] This does not mean ‘external evaluation’. It is a process of reflection by the authorities and by members of civil society, and the Council of Europe Experts have the function of acting as catalysts in this process”. This activity is known as the Language Education Policy Profile, and the process leads to an agreed report, the Profile, on the current position and possible future developments in language education of all kinds. The Profile differs from other international protocols on languages in two ways: • It considers languages primarily from the viewpoint of education, both inside and outside national systems ; • It is based on the principle that language education should be viewed not in a compartmentalised but in a holistic fashion. Language teaching/learning concerns both so-called foreign or second languages (to which it is usually limited) and the national/official language(s), regional or minority languages, languages of recently established immigrant groups and so on. The process of the Profile consists of the following main phases: - the production of a Country Report3, describing the current position and raising issues which are under discussion or review; this report is presented by the authorities of the country in question - a week’s study visit to the country by a small number of Experts nominated by the Council of Europe from other Member states (the “Expert Group”) to get a fuller understanding of the situation, the potential and challenges: exchanges with authorities and a wide range of relevant interlocutors, e.g. specialists and other parties active in the field concerned or representatives of civil society chosen by the national authorities from sectors of society regarded as relevant (education officers, teachers' associations, business, media, etc.). This also includes visits to institutions and schools (individual or group discussions). 1Acknowledgements to previous Country Profiles for parts of the content of this section. 2 Document DGIV/EDU/LANG (2002) 1 Rev. 3 – the procedure described in the ‘Guidelines’ has been reviewed since, mainly in order to shorten the whole process which in certain cases extended over 2 years with the risk of political changes. 3 A ‘Country Report’ is the generic term. This activity may also be applied to a smaller entity such as a region, a local authority or a city. 5 Language Education Policy Profile : Malta - the production of a Language Education Policy Profile drawing on the Country Report and the analysis of the Expert Group, and taking account of comments and feedback provided during the study visit. The draft ‘Profile’ is discussed during a second visit of the Rapporteur and team members - the “Profile” is launched – an occasion for a national or local event The “Profile” is a report which is agreed in its final form by the Experts and the country authorities, and published by the Council of Europe4 and the country in question. This approach, which is centred on complementary joint analyses, is intended as a means of discharging the "catalyst" function of the Council of Europe as part of a national self- evaluation process, aided by analyses by outside observers. Within the area of democratic debate, its purpose is to give these questions greater immediacy, identify "good practices" and devise new approaches according to each state's educational culture. In providing comments, the Council of Europe Expert Group bears in mind both the priorities of the country in question and the policies and views of desirable practice presented in documents of the Council of Europe, in particular with respect to the promotion of plurilingual and intercultural education as formulated in documents in the project ‘Languages in Education, Languages for Education’ to be found on the ‘Platform of resources and references for Plurilingual and Intercultural Education’ (www.coe.int/lang-platform). 1.2. Language education policy and social policy The core objective of the Council of Europe is to preserve and promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law its three pillars - as was re-iterated in the Warsaw Declaration of May 2005. Within that context, the fostering of the active involvement of citizens and civil society in democracy and governance, and a European identity and unity based on respect for shared fundamental values and respect for a common heritage and cultural diversity are crucial conditions for success. As stated in the Cultural Convention - 60th anniversary celebrated in December 2014 - this requires the study of languages, history and civilisation in order to gain mutual understanding. It is only on the basis of such understanding that the particular need for political, inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue described in the Council of Europe’s ‘White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue’ of 2008 can be fostered. Language teaching and learning is therefore an essential part of social policy in Europe and the analysis of language education policy is part of the effort which all member States make to develop their social policy. The Language Education Policy Profile is a contribution to this process. 4 The Country Report and the Profile are also available online: www.coe.int/lang 6 Language Education Policy Profile : Malta 1.3. Council of Europe Language Education Policies The language education policy of the Council of Europe is founded on the key concept of the plurilingualism of the individual. This needs to be distinguished from the multilingualism of geographical regions. According to Council of Europe principles - ‘multilingualism’ refers to the presence in a geographical area, large or small, of more than one ‘variety of language’