Malta, historically shaped by British colonial influence, marked by societal bilingualism, is currently evolving into an increasingly multilingual society, owing to recent and rapid demographic shifts. This study explores how these changes are mirrored in Maltese primary classrooms by investigating how educators perceive linguistic and cultural diversity. It explores attitudes toward fluid language practices, and the strategies implemented to address these realities. This study was conducted through a mixed-methods approach, involving an online questionnaire completed by 145 educators across Maltese state primary schools. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative responses were thematically analysed. Results indicate that while many educators organically employ fluid language strategies such as code-switching and translanguaging, over half report a lack of confidence in doing so, owing to insufficient training and formal guidance. Although some educators embrace culturally responsive pedagogy, the majority struggle to reconcile these practices with traditional approaches, expressing concerns about classroom management and language loss. The findings highlight a pressing need for tailored professional development supporting educators to implement multilingual pedagogies effectively and inclusively. This study contributes a context-specific understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by educators in Malta’s multilingual classrooms. It offers practical implications for policymakers and institutions, including the design of professional training grounded in teachers’ realities and needs. It also aims to support a systemic shift towards socially just and linguistically responsive education in small, increasingly diverse national contexts.

Authors:
Michelle Panzavecchia, Institute for Education, Malta

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Michelle Panzavecchia is a Senior Lecturer whose work focuses on multilingual education, language identity, and ELT. She lectures, supervises, and consults widely, and currently leads research on language use in multilingual Malta.

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michelle-Panzavecchia

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