Innovation in Language Learning

Situated in the Mediterranean, the small island of Malta boasts a rich history marked by foreign occupation and British colonisation. This colonial legacy has played a significant role in shaping both its bilingual identity and education system (Panzavecchia & Little, 2019).  Recent demographic changes have brought about rapid and unprecedented shifts, where one fifth of Malta’s population and over a quarter of Malta’s workforce are currently made up of foreign nationals. This predicament is transforming the country's linguistic landscape from bilingual to multilingual. Our schools reflect the rich tapestry of society where our classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of language and culture (Caruana, Scaglione & Vassallo Gauci, 2019; Panzavecchia, 2020, 2023).  This paper forms part of a larger, doctoral study which focuses on bilingual teachers’ identities, and how their linguistic backgrounds influence their views and pedagogical practices.  The current paper briefly examines the history of English language teaching in Malta. It subsequently explores how Maltese primary school educators perceive and approach the teaching of English within bilingual and multilingual settings. It also investigates teachers' perceptions of the current level of English proficiency among students and the potential reasons for any observed decline, examining proposed solutions for enhancing students' language competence. It also delves into how Maltese teachers naturally employ cross-linguistic strategies like codeswitching and translanguaging in their English language lessons to accommodate the needs of all students in their classrooms. Additionally, this paper examines the evolving pedagogies necessitated by Malta's shift from bilingualism to multilingualism, providing guidelines aiming to promote inclusion and social justice for every student. Data for this study was collected through an in-depth semi-structured interviewing process with nine purposively selected primary school teachers.  Thematic analysis was selected as the most appropriate methodology for this study, as it facilitated the identification of key themes and the extraction of meaning from participants' detailed narratives regarding English language teaching in Malta.  This study offers valuable perspectives into the challenges encountered by educators and children on the island, which resonate on a global scale (García, 2017). It also offers insights into English language teaching in bilingual and multilingual societies, encompassing both English as a second language and English as a foreign language contexts.