Innovation in Language Learning

Malta’s economy is dependent on human resources and foreign trade, driven by financial services and tourism. Mastery in foreign languages is considered, in today’s world, not just an excellent tool to bridge gaps between people coming from different countries and to create strong sentimental and professional relationships, but above all an instrument that enables workers to considerably improve their career prospects. The Business Forum for Multilingualism established by the European Commission (2008: 8) states that “A significant percentage of European SMEs lose business every year as a direct result of linguistic and intercultural weaknesses. Although it appears certain that English will keep its leading role as the world business language, it is other languages that will make the difference between mainstream and excellence and provide a competitive edge” [1]. Even the CBI/Pearson education and skills survey, Changing the Pace (2013: 7) states that “Seven in ten (70%) businesses value foreign language skills among their employees, particularly in helping build relations with clients, customers and suppliers” [2]. Indeed multilingualism is today considered to be one of the key elements for a modern Europe, given that learning foreign languages permits citizens to enrich their lives, to grasp new ideas and to benefit from the European cultural diversity. Yet, the number of school leavers in Malta who have no accredited certification in foreign language skills is on the increase. The paper will analyse the reasons as to why young people quit languages at school and prefer to study other subjects like IT and sciences and will discuss new initiatives that are being implemented on a national scale to remedy this situation, rendering the teaching & learning process more personal and relevant to the students’ needs with particular attention targeted at the level, motivation and ability of acquisition of the different language skills.

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/languages-mean-usiness/doc1460_it. Htm 

[2] http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/2119176/education_and_skills_survey_2013.pdf