Suchergebnisse

The present linguistic situation in Malta is a reflection of historical and political permutations of the past. The simultaneous presence of two languages in Malta – generally described as a bilingual situation, but which in fact includes a number of features which can be defined more appropriately through diglossia – gives rise to a context wherein language contact is extremely frequent: this occurs through both inter- and intrasentential code-switching as well as through the constant integration of foreign terms, mainly from Italian and English, into Maltese. Language policies in Malta are frequently caught in the midst of these dynamic diachronic and synchronic linguistic processes and often operate on two fronts: on the one hand internal changes inherent to the Maltese language must be taken into consideration, on the other hand language use, characterized by the presence of both English and Maltese, also must be accounted for. ; peer-reviewed

Maltese is an official language in the European Union and it is used to translate documentation and to interpret parliamentary sessions. The "Europeanisation" of Maltese is discussed by referring to three sources: EU documentation available online in Maltese, EU news in local newspapers and on television. Focus is placed mainly on the extent to which terms of Italian origin are used to translate EU texts into Maltese and whether these terms are divulged in the local media. Results indicate that the presence of words of Italian origin is higher in EU-related websites and newspaper reports than it is in other sources. As a variety which includes terms from different sectorial languages, EU Maltese possesses features which make it quite unique in the local sociolinguistic scene. ; peer-reviewed

A Malta, come in molti altri Paesi dell'Europa meridionale, i flussi migratori degli ultimi anni hanno reso le scuole molto più multietniche e multilingui rispetto a quanto lo erano in passato. La presenza dei migrant learners richiede l'impiego di misure didattiche inclusive e di politiche linguistiche che possano facilitarne l'integrazione e far sì che la scuola valorizzi le loro esperienze personali, anche a beneficio dei discenti di nazionalità maltese. In questo lavoro si prende in considerazione il caso specifico della scuola maltese, prendendo spunto anche da esperienze di altri paesi del bacino mediterraneo. Si constata che il numero crescente di migrant learners ha stimolato uno sforzo notevole da parte delle autorità educative locali per migliorare il quadro normativo delle politiche di integrazione a favore degli alunni migranti e delle loro famiglie. Tuttavia, sono necessarie ulteriori misure pratiche e utili per la scuola, sia per portare ad una conoscenza più approfondita del fenomeno e dei vantaggi che se ne possono trarre, sia per migliorare la preparazione di presidi e di insegnanti e i rapporti che essi instaurano con i genitori dei migrant learners. ; peer-reviewed

This book foregrounds the ideas of an important European pedagogue whose writings provide insights for a critical social justice oriented approach to education. Lorenzo Milani has all the credentials to be regarded as potentially a key source of inspiration for critical pedagogy. Milani's approach to education for social justice gives importance to a number of issues, notably social class issues, race issues especially with his critique of North-South relations and cultural/technological transfer, the collective dimension of learning and action (emphasis is placed on reading and writing the word and the world collectively), student-teachers and teacher-students (a remarkable form of peer tutoring), reading and responding critically to the media (newspapers), the existential basis of one's learning (from the occasional to the profound motive) and the fusion of academic and technical knowledge. There is also an anti-war pedagogy that emerges from his defence of the right to 'conscientious objection' with its process of reading/teaching history against the grain

In Malta, as in many other southern European countries, school populations have become much more multi-ethnic and multilingual due to the migratory fluxes of recent years. The presence of migrant learners requires inclusive didactic measures and linguistic policies which can facilitate integration and ensure that the educational set-up enhances personal experiences, to the benefit of all learners. In this study, we focus on Maltese schools while briefly referring to cases found in other countries in Southern Europe, especially those that participate in an EU Project entitled MERIDIUM. The increasing number of migrant learners has stimulated local educators and the educational authorities to improve the regulatory framework of the integration policies in favour of migrant pupils and their families. However, schools need more practical and useful measures in order to better understand this phenomenon and its advantages as well as to improve professional skills of the administrative and teaching staff, and the relationships that these could create with migrant learners, parents and communities. ; peer-reviewed

This paper provides an overview of initial education in Malta, setting the programme in its national context and indicating the various social, economic, political and demographic forces that shaped the development of education and ITE in the past. ; peer-reviewed

Uno dei compiti fondamentali dell'educazione linguistica è valorizzare la diversità, non solamente perché ci si trova spesso dinanzi ad apprendenti di nazionalità diverse, ma anche perché vari sono i motivi per cui si apprendono le lingue oggi, sovente determinati da esigenze di integrazione sociale e di opportunità lavorative. Tramite il multilinguismo si valorizzano competenze linguistiche e si creano opportunità di comunicazione interculturale. Nel contempo le politiche linguistiche vanno valutate e rinnovate in continuazione. Questi temi vengono affrontati in questo volume grazie a contributi che si diversificano sia sul piano delle lingue oggetto di studio sia quello teorico-concettuale, pur avendo in comune l'interesse per la linguistica applicata e per l'educazione linguistica. ; peer-reviewed