Ironic Times
I was chatting with a friend who moved to Malta a couple of years ago. Specifically, we were talking about our experiences learning Maltese, and the difficulties in finding proper lessons.
In my case, I began teaching myself. At one point I tried attending a government-sponsored course of Maltese language for foreigners, but found the classes of very bad quality. Even though I joined mid-year and the class had been going on for several months, I was already at a higher level. For some reason, they were using children’s books which were not well suited for the purposes of the class. Native speaker children learn much differently from foreign-speaking adults! In addition, the teacher did not seem very competent (and I say this as someone with teaching experience) and I was surprised to see that she was not even explaining things properly. At one point I wound up explaining something to a fellow student and she said “wow, why are you even here, you could teach this class!” I took the advice and never went back.
Frustrated at the quality of the “official” classes, I quickly realised that there are virtually no opportunities to formally study Maltese. All of the dozens of language academies that dot the island teach English only. Private tutors focus on preparing Maltese students for their O-level and A-level (higher education) exams, but not on Maltese as a foreign language. The University of Malta announced a special course geared for this purpose, which I awaited eagerly only to find out that they were only offering the beginner level.
I continued learning on my own (with the few books available) and at my own pace.
My friend had a similar experience. She signed up for classes with what appeared to be a proper academy but it wound up being run out of a private house with a grand total of two students. She would show up for class and the teacher would tell her to do the exercises on her own, with no explanation. Very soon, she gave up on the course as well.
And so in the end she was saying that seeing as I managed to learn Maltese on my own, how about if I became her private teacher? At first I was embarrassed at the thought. I have only been here for a little over a year and I am not a native speaker, how could I teach Maltese! But my friend insisted, saying I had teaching experience which is what really counts, and her Maltese husband said he found my level good enough to impart lessons. Flattered by her request and his approval, I accepted.
So, irony of ironies, I am teaching Maltese lessons. As someone who has recently gone through the experience, I have all of the rules fresh in my mind, and can explain particular points of the language that are hard for a non-native speaker. We are making good progress so far, but I still find the idea surreal!
