Chapter 7. Reflections on a Medium of Instruction Policy for Mathematics in Malta

Farrugia, Marie Therese

doi:10.21832/9781847692061-009

Cited by 19 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Different stakeholders, including teachers, might overzealously adopt a stance in favour of either one of these two languages while dismissing the significance of the other. In line with Farrugia (2009a, 2009b), Camilleri Grima (2013) states that an English-only policy in Maltese classrooms is “not the most educationally beneficial” (p. 555). For Camilleri Grima (2013, p. 565), “the contention [is] whether it is fair and practical to enforce an English-only policy across the curriculum or whether it would be better and sufficient to review the teaching of English as a subject”.…”

Section: Language-in-education Policiesmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Both Farrugia (2009a, 2009b) and Camilleri Grima (2013) believe that codeswitching is a resource for teachers and learners in Maltese classrooms. However, the issue is further problematized by the fact that Malta’s performance on recent international studies leaves much to be desired in terms of young people’s attainment in both Maltese and English.…”

Section: Language-in-education Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching and learning English in a multicultural classroom: strategies and opportunities

Xerri

2016

JME

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Purpose This paper aims to explore the beliefs and experiences of a group of teachers endeavouring to enhance their students’ learning of English while adapting to a multicultural classroom reality. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the results of a case study involving a number of semi-structured interviews. Findings The paper illustrates how the teachers and their learners adopted a number of strategies to make the most of the opportunities of learning English within a multilingual context. Originality/value This paper underscores the role that language-in-education policies can play in enhancing the teaching and learning of English in a multicultural classroom.

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Section: Language-in-education Policiesmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Language-in-education Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching and learning English in a multicultural classroom: strategies and opportunities

Xerri

2016

JME

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“…Studies on multilingual mathematics classrooms in various parts of the world like South Africa (Adler, 2021), Catalonia, Spain (Planas, 2018), Malta (Farrugia, 2009), or California, United States (Moschkovich, 2008) illustrate the value of language as resource for meaning-making. They show teachers and learners using their spoken language and the language of instruction to engage meaningfully in classroom interaction.…”

Section: Language As Resource For Meaning-making During Trouble Spotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They show teachers and learners using their spoken language and the language of instruction to engage meaningfully in classroom interaction. Code-switching, or multilinguals moving between languages during a conversation or at the level of an utterance (Farrugia, 2009), is valued as a strategic resource for meaning-making and to deal with challenges resulting from using various languages. Adler (2001) and El Mouhayar (2021) report teachers resorting to codeswitching as a skillful and deliberate mode of instruction.…”

Section: Language As Resource For Meaning-making During Trouble Spotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ use of language in multilingual mathematics classrooms during trouble-spots

Mouhayar

2021

AIEM

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Mathematics teaching in a foreign language may lead to discrimination for some learners specifically during trouble-spots that require the construction of shared-understanding. This research compares teacher-learner interaction in two classrooms of Lebanon where mathematics is taught in a foreign language. Eighteen lessons were recorded and transcribed, and utterances of teacher and learners were coded at the levels of: school; session; interlocutor; language use; move and function. Quantitative analysis of language use and qualitative illustrations of representative sequences are reported. The triadic dialogue as the dominant mode of interaction and the multilingual nature of language were found unique aspects of classroom teacher talk. Differences in the roles of language as a resource for meaning-making were also identified. Findings are discussed within sociocultural and ethnomethodological views of language as a medium to achieve mathematics teaching and learning.

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“…For those subjects where English is the intended formal medium of instruction, in most Maltese school contexts "there is continual interaction between the written text in English as the basic point of reference, and the oral discussion in Maltese (with codeswitching) [through which] participants reason out problems for themselves, and find their ways to the solutions required" (2013, p. 4). Through a review of some studies (Sollars 1988, Ventura 1991, Farrell and Ventura 1998, Farrugia 2009) focusing on the Maltese bilingual classroom mostly for scientific subjects where the formally intended medium is English, Camilleri Grima 2013shows that there is a clear orientation in the significance of their results: resorting to Maltese alleviates difficulties of understanding, readability, and written performance, especially in the case of lower achieving students. On the contrary, imposing an English-only policy equates to silencing the students, who refrain from expressing their needs.…”

Section: Studies On Cs In Maltese Fl Lessonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sociolinguistic Perspective of Codeswitching in French as a Foreign Language Class in Malta and its Implications for Learning

Bezzina

Gauci²

2018

Current Research in Bilingualism and Bilingual Education

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Codeswitching (CS) between Maltese L1, English L2 and French as the target language (TL) in the French as a Foreign language (FFL) classroom in bilingual Malta is known to be a widespread reality, despite many French teachers' claims that ideally lessons should be delivered in French only (Bezzina 2016). The aim of this study is to evaluate, on the basis of corpus analysis, whether a wise use of previously known languages in the Foreign Language (FL) classroom can support the learning of the FL. Recordings of sixteen FFL lessons delivered at two different learning levels by two teachers in Maltese secondary schools give indications as to the quantitative extent of the use of the L1, L2 and French L3 in these contexts. A qualitative analysis is carried out of the functions fulfilled in the teachers' discourse by each of the three languages involved in the Maltese FFL context. The corpus analysis takes into account the structural manifestation of language juxtaposition. Interviews with the two teachers involved in the sampling exercise provide participants' feedback on the analysis results. These results endorse literature attesting that L1 use in FL classrooms allows better content management and transmission, and helps establish a generally positive classroom ambiance. An interpretation is attempted of the social meaning of the observed switching in the context of the societal factors that mark language use in bilingual Malta, and the relationship between the macro-and micro-sociolinguistic dimensions of CS in the FL classroom is investigated.

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Chapter 7. Reflections on a Medium of Instruction Policy for Mathematics in Malta

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Teaching and learning English in a multicultural classroom: strategies and opportunities

Teaching and learning English in a multicultural classroom: strategies and opportunities

Teachers’ use of language in multilingual mathematics classrooms during trouble-spots

A Sociolinguistic Perspective of Codeswitching in French as a Foreign Language Class in Malta and its Implications for Learning

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