Competence in spoken Maltese and Italian in local private secondary schools

Abstract

Research will be carried out so as to study to what extent Maltese secondary schools students (age group 14 -16) understand Maltese and Italian. The four private schools chosen are : St. Aloysius, St. Edward's, St. Dorothy's and the Sacred Heart. The use of a questionnaire will be made to identify the students' favourite television programme in Maltese and Italian. The text of the said programmes will serve to identify students' linguistic abilities in both languages. The results will be analysed by taking into consideration students' age, level of academic attainment and the social environment in which they live. A free-speaking test will also be administered and analysed in both languages. Other research methods will include: i) survey in schools, ii) collection of data, iii) analysis of data.