Early language education in Malta

Abstract

This chapter presents the historical and social ramifications of early childhood education (ECE) in Malta and their impact on early language education (ages 0 to 5). The sociolinguistic situation in Malta is one of plurilingual repertoires with languages at different points on the bilingual continuum. In countries like Malta, it is the whole school population that receives some form of bilingual education in Maltese and English. Bilingualism is at the level of social organization and beyond the individual or nuclear family. The languages of schooling are available in the wider out-of-school environment and learners are in contact with both languages from a very young age. Due to the importance of bilingual education within the Maltese education system, the chapter pays particular attention to issues and challenges surrounding early language education in both Maltese and English. Official policy documents published over the years which relate to early language education in Malta are referred to and compared. The findings from a number of recent studies and their implications for early language education are presented. These studies show how the two official languages Maltese and English are introduced simultaneously early on in kindergarten classes. The strategies adopted by educators are influenced by their ideologies, the extent of teacher agency and the parental and school management expectations involved. The impact on early language education brought about by multilingual classrooms is elaborated upon. The chapter ends by making a case for future research to consolidate further early language education in a context characterized by societal bilingualism.