Launch of New Interactive "Maltese for Beginners" Courses

[EN]

On Wednesday, 24 June 2026, at 19:00, at the University of Malta Valletta Campus, the Rector, Prof. Alfred J. Vella, will launch two independent study courses for Maltese as a Foreign Language: Maltese for Beginners A0-A1 and A1-A2. These courses were developed by the company Verbivore in partnership with the University's Department of Maltese.

The launch event, conducted in both Maltese and English, will feature a variety of activities involving all attendees.

These are the first two courses designed for independent online Maltese language learners. They feature lessons, exercises, activities, games, interactive videos, audio recordings, images, and various other resources. The games Tombla (Tombola) and In-Naffar (Scarecrow), which are already online, are accessible to everyone free of charge.

The courses were designed through the initiative and dedication of Iona Douglas, a qualified English teacher with years of experience teaching students from around the globe. She holds a Master’s degree in Translation from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and a Diploma in Bilingual Education from the International University of Catalonia. Douglas runs a digital learning platform called Verbivore, which offers professional language courses via online lessons, allowing students to study independently at their own pace. Beyond teaching languages, she designs resources that enable students to learn through gamification and other interactive digital media.

Although Iona Douglas is British, she shares a deep connection with the Maltese islands; her grandmother and great-grandmother were Maltese, and she has been living in Gozo for many years. When she began studying Maltese herself, she realized there was a lack of up-to-date, accessible, and professionally structured resources built on sound pedagogical principles for those wishing to learn Maltese as a Foreign Language through self-study.

In April 2025, she reached out to the Department of Maltese within the Faculty of Arts to collaboratively develop two Maltese for Beginners courses utilizing, among other methods, the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodology. In July 2025, Verbivore and the University of Malta signed an official agreement. Today, one year later, the first two courses are ready. Students enrolled in Verbivore's courses will directly benefit from them. Additionally, parts of the material will be used in the Maltese as a Foreign Language courses offered by the Department of Maltese and will also be accessible for free on the Department's portal.

The Maltese team of experts is led by Prof. George Farrugia and includes lecturers Paul Abdilla, Theresa Tabone Abdilla, and Thomas Pace. The voiceovers heard in the Maltese and English recordings feature actors Simone Spiteri and Mark Mifsud.

Those wishing to attend this interactive launch event must fill out this online form, as seating is limited.

[MT]

Nhar l-Erbgħa 24 ta' Ġunju 2026, fis-19.00, fil-bini tal-Università ta' Malta l-Belt, ir-Rettur, il-Prof. Alfred J. Vella, se jniedi żewġ korsijiet ta' studju indipendenti tal-Malti bħala Lsien Barrani, Maltese for Beginners A0-A1 u A1-A2, mibnijin mill-kumpanija Verbivore bi sħab mad-Dipartiment tal-Malti tal-Università.

Fit-tnedija, bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż, se jkun hemm għadd ta’ attivitajiet li fihom jieħdu sehem dawk kollha preżenti. Dawn huma l-ewwel żewġ korsijiet għal dawk li jridu jitgħallmu l-Malti waħedhom online, permezz ta' lezzjonijiet, taħriġ, attivitajiet, logħob, filmati interattivi, recordings, stampi, u riżorsi oħrajn.

Il-korsijiet tfasslu bl-inizjattiva u t-tħabrik ta' Iona Douglas, għalliema kwalifikata tal-Ingliż b’ħafna snin ta’ esperjenza tgħallem studenti minn madwar id-dinja. Għandha Masters fit-Traduzzjoni mill-Universitat Pompeu Fabra f’Barċellona, u Diploma fl-Edukazzjoni Bilingwi mill-Università Internazzjonali tal-Cataluña. Douglas tmexxi pjattaforma ta' tagħlim diġitali bl-isem ta’ Verbivore li toffri korsijiet professjonali tal-lingwa permezz ta' lezzjonijiet online biex l-istudenti jistudjaw b’mod indipendenti u bil-pass tagħhom. Għalhekk mhux biss tgħallem il-lingwi imma toħloq riżorsi biex l-istudenti jitgħallmu permezz tal-logħob u materjal diġitali interattiv ieħor.

Iona Douglas hija Ingliża imma għandha rabta kbira mal-gżejjer Maltin għax in-nanna u l-bużnanna tagħha kienu Maltin u issa ilha tgħix Għawdex ħafna snin. Meta bdiet tistudja l-Malti, indunat li kien hawn nuqqas ta’ riżorsi professjonali aġġornati, aċċessibbli u mibnijin fuq prinċipji pedagoġiċi sodi għal dawk li jixtiequ jistudjaw il-Malti bħala Lsien Barrani (MbLB) waħedhom.

F’April tal-2025 bdiet il-kuntatti mad-Dipartiment tal-Malti fil-Fakultà tal-Arti biex flimkien jiżviluppaw żewġ korsijiet ta’ Maltese for Beginners bl-użu, fost l-oħrajn, tal-metodoloġija CLIL, “Content and Language Integrated Learning”. F’Lulju tal-2025, Verbivore u L-Università ta’ Malta ffirmaw ftehim uffiċjali u llum, sena wara, għandna f’idejna l-ewwel żewġ korsijiet. Minnhom se jibbenefikaw dawk li jinkitbu għall-korsijiet ta’ Verbivore. Parti mill-materjal se jintużaw fil-korsijiet tal-MbLB li joffri d-Dipartiment tal-Malti u se jkun ukoll aċċessibbli b’xejn fuq il-portal tad-Dipartiment.

Il-logħbiet Tombla (Tombola) u In-Naffar (Scarecrow), li diġà jinsabu online, huma aċċessibbli b’xejn għal kulħadd.

It-tim ta’ esperti min-naħa tal-Malti tmexxa mill-Prof. George Farrugia u kien jinkludi lil-letturi Paul Abdilla, Theresa Tabone Abdilla u Thomas Pace. Il-vuċijiet li jinstemgħu fir-recordings bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż huma tal-atturi Simone Spiteri u Mark Mifsud.

Dawk li jixtieq jieħdu sehem fit-tnedija interattiva jridu jimlew din il-formola għax il-postijiet huma limitati.