its-teachers

Being a teacher in Malta

Destinations talks to six teachers living and working in Malta. The six teachers are Jean Sciberras, assistant director of studies and teacher trainer at NSTS English Language Institute; Catherine Pace from the Institute of English Language Studies (LAL); Rebecca Brincat of B.E.L.S.; Ana Hyzler of Linguatime; Alan McTeer of International House Gozo; and Danny Coleiro of EC – European Centre of English Language Studies.

iT’s: How did you come to be teaching in Malta?

Jean Sciberras: I am Maltese. Malta is my home. I got my CELTA and DELTA at IH London some 18 years ago and took up TEFL teaching as my career. In those days I was a rare species in Malta, and even now local DELTA teachers can still be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Catherine Pace: After a few years living in Gozo I finally decided I needed to start working, so I got married and began teaching at the only EFL school which existed then on the island.

Ana Hyzler: Teaching is a profession I have always been interested in. I enjoy meeting foreign students and it is so rewarding when you see long-term students come into your class as complete beginners and leave speaking English fluently.

Danny Coleiro: I’m not entirely sure how I actually got into teaching EFL. It was either a happy accident or through the clever conspiring of my father and my wife. Whichever it was, two minutes after stepping into my first classroom and waiting for the shakes to subside, I knew that I was in the right place. I’ve never looked back.

Alan McTeer: I saw the opportunity to fulfil two of my long-felt ambitions: become a teacher of English and live in the idyllic island of Gozo. I achieved my CELTA, probably the most difficult thing that I have ever done, and I now work at International House.

iT’s: What’s it like being a teacher in Malta? Any different than other places you have taught?

D.C.: Being a teacher in Malta, I should imagine, is pretty much the same as being a teacher anywhere else in the world, with one fundamental difference – it’s Malta. There’s no driving for hours to get to work, no sitting in traffic jams, none of the stress or tension that come as part of the package in many places. As a result, you get to work virtually stress-free. Walk into any classroom with that kind of attitude, and it’s contagious – your students pick it up too – and it makes the learning process that much easier. When you enjoy what you’re doing, so do others.

Rebecca Brincat: I taught in the U.K. for a short while and it is quite different here. The student population is more diverse here, providing a plethora of opinions, ideas and learning styles in the class.

A.M.: My classes have ranged from one-to-one business through to a mixed class of five students who came from Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, Japan and Germany.

C.P.: It is a wonderful way of making a living if you like meeting people and enjoy spending a great part of your time in the sun and by the sea. The combination of holiday and studying creates a relaxed and effective environment for students to learn in.

J.S.: I’ve taught in Perugia and Milan. I was in Perugia 12 years ago, so things will probably have changed. It wasn’t always easy finding English magazines and material. It was a different system for me. Students were there for a whole year having lessons twice a week in the evening. In Malta students normally come for two to four weeks and study during the day. In Malta most classes are multicultural, whereas in Italy they were all Italians. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages in both.

iT’s: So that brings us on to what changes you have noticed in the past few years.

J.S.: In terms of materials, teachers are now spoilt for choice. The Internet offers a wealth of authentic or graded material. This is different from the old days when teachers had to be more creative and we were always cutting and pasting. Resource material is abundant. Schools have made giant steps in terms of their professionalism, and the local Monitoring Board makes sure that all teachers are suitably qualified to get an EFL permit. I believe Malta is one of the few countries where teachers are so closely monitored.

R.B.: I think also that learners are becoming more demanding, and learners from the business field are also on the rise.

A.H.: Another change I have noticed in Malta is that, before, we used to get a majority of German students coming to learn English, but now we have more of a mixture: we have Japanese, Slovakian and Spanish students.

C.P.: And the number of students sitting for Cambridge and IELTS examination is increasing.

iT’s: Why do you think Malta has become such a popular destination for English language students?

A.M.: Because in many ways Malta and Gozo are “England in the Med”. The official languages are Maltese and English – and everybody speaks English fluently. Traffic drives on the left, the electric plugs are three-pin square like in the U.K., and the shops sell Marmite, sliced bread and HP Sauce, but we are further south than Tunis and Algiers. The Maltese have retained their own culture, traditions and cuisine, but 200 years of British rule has left its mark. Students can spend their time here speaking English at school, in their accommodation, in shops – everywhere – and at the same time enjoy the pleasures of the laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle.

J.S.: We can offer the best of both worlds – the southern temperament and the northern emancipation.

A.H.: Malta is a very safe island for a foreigner to feel at home. And it has something for everyone. The older generation who come to learn English enjoy the culture, weather and simply talking to the Maltese people, whereas the teenagers who come in summer have a whale of a time learning English during the day and clubbing all night.

J.S.: And don’t be surprised if you come across Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Jon Bon Jovi or Madonna in a bar or restaurant. Malta has become very popular as a film location. Both Troy and Gladiator were shot here.

D.C.: Last week I welcomed my very first French-Canadian to my class. That’s a long way to fly, but where else would you get to share a class with such a vast range of students from here, there and everywhere? If you’re going to speak at all, you’re going to have to speak in English. There’s nothing more gratifying than hearing a German student proudly chatting away with a Japanese student during break-time and using the language that you presented in class five minutes earlier. Perhaps here more than anywhere else a teacher can actually see the results of his lesson in action with an immediacy that makes the time spent on lesson preparation more than worthwhile.

iT’s: What opportunities are there for teachers from other countries to train and work in Malta?

J.S.: Teachers can do the CELTA in Malta and other local TEFL Induction courses. Work is open to EU citizens, and qualified teachers from other countries are also employed. CELTA takes place twice a year, in February and November. Seminars and workshops on local and international levels are also regularly held. We’ve had people like Jim Scrivener and Tim Bowen several times. I myself organized a three-day business English conference for teachers in Malta where Mark Powell was the main speaker.

C.P.: Although we are now part of the EU, prospective teachers still need to apply for a work permit. There are over 40 schools on the Maltese islands, and it is relatively easy for well-qualified teachers to find work, especially in the busy summer months.

iT’s: Are there any particular problems for teachers in Malta?

J.S.: As with all other jobs here, pay is not brilliant and TEFL teachers do not share the luxury of other teachers – namely, no summer holidays for us! It is also fair to say that most language schools end their day at 2:30 p.m. If you’re in administration, then that’s a different story altogether!

A.M.: Yes, salaries still need to reach better scales, but then the cost of living is not high. There is no local council taxation, utility costs are not too painful and the cost of eating out is reasonable. Guinness is expensive, but then wine is grown here and it’s delicious and affordable.

iT’s: How do you think working and training will develop in Malta over the next 10 years?

R.B.: I think teachers will notice the importance of having more training.

C.P.: Teachers can already prepare for their CELTA in Malta and it is very likely that the DELTA will be introduced in the very near future. The number of students coming to Malta has been increasing steadily since I started teaching nine years ago, and there is every sign that the market will go on expanding in the future.

D.C.: One of the most common questions that my students ask me – with the exception of the prize-winning, “But, please, what is the point, exactly, of the present perfect continuous?!?” – is how long I’ve lived in Malta. When I tell them that it’s been over 26 years, their mouth drops open and their eyes widen in the kind of stare normally reserved for UFO sightings or a glimpse of the Abominable Snowman.

“Twenty-six years?” they inevitably cry when the power of speech returns. “But it’s so small!”

Maybe. But there’s a lot of room to grow.