OAR@UM Collection:https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1315152026-04-28T21:16:49Z2026-04-28T21:16:49ZIndirectness in a Maltese school settinghttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1385092025-08-29T10:54:01Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Indirectness in a Maltese school setting
Abstract: This dissertation investigates the role of indirectness in a Maltese educational setting,
focusing on its use among female and male educators to determine who is more indirect. The
study also explores how indirectness is perceived by both educators and learners: as a sign of
power or weakness? Additionally, it categorises the types of indirect speech acts used in the
classroom, identifying the most common uses according to gender.
The research was conducted in an independent school in Malta where students follow the
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP). A mixed-methods approach was
employed, involving a self-administered questionnaire completed by participants, followed by
lesson observations. In the final stage, a focus group with educators was conducted. Both the
lesson observations and the focus group were recorded and transcribed to identify the direct
and indirect linguistic strategies used by both genders.
Contrary to many previous studies positing that women’s language is more characterised
by indirect forms, this study found that female educators were generally more direct than their
male counterparts. However, the findings also indicated that gender is just one of many factors
that contribute to the choice of indirect strategies in the classroom.
Description: M.A.(Melit.)2025-01-01T00:00:00ZThe impact of COVID-19 restrictions on linguistic development in children as seen in educational settings, with a specific focus on the mask mandate and nation-wide lockdownshttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1384912025-08-28T11:17:02Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on linguistic development in children as seen in educational settings, with a specific focus on the mask mandate and nation-wide lockdowns
Abstract: Child language acquisition is a multimodal process aided by several factors. These include
interlocutor variability, exposure to new environments, and the opportunity for children to be
exposed to as much speech as possible. School offers a linguistically stimulating environment
where children are provided with the necessary tools for linguistic development. However,
this changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, resulting in the implementation of various
restrictions and remote education. This research seeks to explore if restrictions like social
distancing, distant learning, and the mask mandate resulted in any regressions when it comes
to child language acquisition. The following research questions will be examined within this
study: (i) How was children’s linguistic development affected by COVID-19 restrictions? (ii) Do
teachers believe that mask-wearing created a more difficult environment for children to learn
and progress linguistically in the classroom? A qualitative approach was employed by means
of semi-structured interviews to seek to address the set research questions.
Through the chosen research instrument, it was established that COVID-19 restrictions had
critical effects on students’ language development within classroom settings. Vocabulary
development, bilingualism, pronunciation, and written language regressed during the
pandemic, with some difficulties still being prevalent after restrictions were lifted.
Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.)2025-01-01T00:00:00ZInvestigating motivation in two groups of English language learners : migrant workers and foreign students in Maltahttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1384902025-08-28T11:11:33Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Investigating motivation in two groups of English language learners : migrant workers and foreign students in Malta
Abstract: This dissertation investigates motivation in two groups of English language learners,
that is, migrant workers and foreign students in Malta, in relation to the research question:
‘What are the Similarities and Variances Between the Motivation of Migrant Workers and
Foreign Students in Malta?’. This study adopts a qualitative approach, collecting data
through the research instrument of semi-structured interviews from five foreign students and
four migrant workers. As it is a qualitative approach, the interviews elicited rich data and
were semi-structured to encourage more in-depth responses. The data collected suggests that
despite the different categorisations, migrant workers and foreign students share a lot of
similarities when learning a foreign language. Data also found that there are a few differences
between migrants and foreign students, usually directly related to the different contexts the
participants found themselves in. In conclusion, motivation clearly plays a major role in
learning a language. Although some variances were mentioned among the two sets of
language learners, there were mainly similarities. This seems to suggest that learning a
language is not so much based on the category of the learner, as there will always be
individual differences, but more so on the language chosen to be learnt. English is a
globalised language and so is recognised universally for its importance.
Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.)2025-01-01T00:00:00ZSinging inside the gap : the orphic motif in Don Paterson's poetryhttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1384882025-08-28T11:09:27Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Singing inside the gap : the orphic motif in Don Paterson's poetry
Abstract: The figure of Orpheus—the mythical poet and musician who descends into the underworld to
retrieve his beloved Eurydice—has long served as an archetype for literary and artistic
figures in their engagement with mortality and existence. Orpheus’s journey comes to
represent the poet’s attempt to transcend the boundaries of life and death, to articulate the
ineffable, and to cultivate existential meaning. In contemporary poetry, few writers engage
with the Orphic myth as profoundly as Scottish poet Don Paterson, whose work concerns the
existential anxieties, limitations of humanity, and the potential of poetry and music to
reconcile these issues. This dissertation examines this potential of poetry to reconcile the
overarching tensions between the infinite and finite, absence and presence, and death and life.
This work demonstrates how Paterson’s oeuvre transforms the Orphic myth into a framework
for confronting the modern existential condition, where the poem becomes both a failed
redemption [the lost Eurydice] and a fleeting consoling act. This dissertation also explores
how Paterson’s engagement with the Orphic myth addresses the most pressing existential
anxieties of contemporary times and offers ways of coming to terms with them.
Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.)2025-01-01T00:00:00Z