Malta : bilingual education for self-preservation and global fitness

Abstract

Bilingual education in Malta operates on a national level from kindergarten through to and including post-secondary education. The use of Maltese and English as media of instruction is a result of historical circumstances (Brincat 2011). As a consequence of British colonisation (1800-1964), English took over from Italian as an official language that played a key role alongside the local language, Maltese. Previously, during the time of the Knights of St John in Malta (1535-1798), Italian had been the language of culture and education. After 1800 and prior to 1999, the issue of bilingual education was not discussed. It was officially assumed that the medium of instruction in Malta was English. [excerpt from Introduction]