Editorial [Malta Review of Educational Research, 15(2)]

Abstract

The three papers in this special issue on languages in education share a number of similarities. In all there is a strong presence of academics working within a faculty of Education, specifically within a department dedicated to the humanities and the teaching and learning of languages in Malta. It is no surprise therefore, that issues relating to pedagogy run through the three papers and the authors’ close relationship to the subject is evident. Another similarity is the stimulus that prompted the research. All are grounded in the local educational context and the authors respond to a felt need in their respective areas as their research addresses issues that call for study, analysis, and evaluation. In recent years, the linguistic landscape in Malta has changed considerably and several schools now have a range of nationalities on their roll call. Malta has practised bilingual education, albeit not consistently successfully across the board, but that practice and the usefulness of models of bilingualism are now in question as the contextual features that typify bilingual education no longer hold. Teachers can bear testimony to the challenges of teaching linguistically diverse groups of learners; which challenges are not only pedagogical but also social and cultural. [excerpt]