Through their eyes and with their words : an exploration of the immigrant students in Malta and their perceptions of Malta’s two official languages

Abstract

In various countries in Europe, immigrant students settle into a new school – a process fraught with difficulties and challenges as they struggle to make sense of their new surroundings and new ways of being, mediated through what is often a foreign language. For such students in Malta the task is doubled as they need to cope with two languages – Maltese and English – both present in the educational setup and essential for the transition into Maltese school life. This article reports on part of a multiple case study that explored immigrant students’ experiences and perceptions of the two languages in Maltese state secondary education. Through a process of trust building and interviews, the immigrant students were invited to express their feelings verbally and through drawings to better communicate what they were going through. The result is a touching wakeup call to the particular hardships faced by these students as they attempt to cope with two linguistic codes in a context that is not always supportive.