Malta

When my father told me at the age of seven that we were moving to Malta, I ran excitedly to my room and fetched my globe. I knew that Malta was located somewhere under Italy. My eyes found Sicily.
“Further down,” said dad.
My eyes swept over miles of Mediterranean in a second. I hesitated, frowned, and then:
“Africa?”
“Somewhere in between.“Oh dear. We were, apparently, going to live in the middle of the sea. I still remember looking out of the window as the airplane swooped around in preparation for landing and seeing the entire island, from top to tail, spread out beneath me. I wondered where we would fit. This was definitely not good.
Twenty-six years later, not only am I still here but I also have no intention of ever leaving. A lot of factors have kept me here – a Maltese wife, my own house, my friends and family. And the simple fact that I love my job.
–Danny Coleiro

The job that Danny Coleiro loves so much is teaching English, and in this issue of iT’s for Teachers we go to Malta to meet Danny and other teachers who work and live there to find out what is so special about the place.

Malta is a group of islands in the Mediterranean Sea, between Tunisia and Sicily (just under Italy). With English and Maltese as official languages, it is one of the world’s few truly bilingual countries.

Apart from being a popular British and European tourist destination, Malta has grown over the past five years to become one of the most popular destinations for ELT students. It might be the smallest country in the European Union, but in 2004, the year it joined the EU, more than 56,000 students chose to study English in Malta. That’s nearly double the total of 10 years ago.

In this feature you can find out why teachers and students enjoy working and studying in Malta so much. There’s also a picture activity to use with your students.

The Mini Malta quiz Find out how much you know about Malta in this quiz. You can use this activity with your students in class. Go to page	Picture quiz Look at the pictures of Malta and describe what you see. This is another activity you can use in class. Download the quiz in PDF format
Being a teacher in Malta Destinations talks to six teachers living and working in Malta. Go to page	Being a student in Malta What’s it like being a student in Malta? Thirteen students from five different schools tell us in their own words. Go to page
Useful Contacts & Credits A list of useful organisations and Internet sites. Plus a list of people who helped compile this feature. Go to page

Photos of Malta courtesy of the Malta Tourism Authority
www.visitmalta.com