UM Academics Deliver Training to French Teachers on Developing Writing Skills

On Friday 31 October, a professional development session for teachers of French was held at the University of Malta Valletta Campus. The training was led by two University of Malta academics — Prof. Anne-Marie Bezzina Busuttil, Head of the Department of French within the Faculty of Arts, and Ms Anna Scicluna, Coordinator of the French subject area within the Faculty of Education’s Department of Languages and Humanities.

Prof. Bezzina Busuttil delivered a presentation followed by an interactive workshop focusing on equitable and well-structured writing instructions and assessment. Her session encouraged participants to reflect on classroom practices that can guide learners throughout the different steps required to complete a writing task, promoting clarity and fairness in written expression.

Ms Scicluna offered a step-by-step illustration of an effective writing process, designed to guide both teachers and students towards greater learner autonomy. Her approach emphasised practical classroom strategies that can scaffold the writing process and gradually empower students to write independently in French.

The UM academics’ interventions took place at the invitation of Ms Doreen Farrugia, French Education Officer within the Ministry for Education, in response to growing concern over the difficulties encountered by secondary-level learners when tackling writing tasks. To shed light on these challenges, Ms Ruth Bonello, Head of Department of French at two public colleges and a PhD student at UM, presented data and interpretations highlighting persistently low SEC results in French writing, which have further declined since the introduction of the Learning Outcomes Programme.

Ms Farrugia coordinated workshops and discussions on assessment practices of learner writings, which complemented the presentations by the UM academics.

The training session was well attended and warmly received, with teachers actively engaging in discussion and hands-on activities. Participants expressed appreciation for the relevance and practicality of the ideas and resources shared, in what has turned out to be a solid example of collaboration between the UM and the Ministry of Education, with the aim to improve teaching and learning practices.