education Archives – Page 4 of 5

The first Maltese mathematics textbook

In 1913, Tommaso Vella published an arithmetic textbook in both English and Maltese called Aritmetica Bil Malti u Bl’Inglis. Dr Claude Bajada explores this intriguing book.

Research, Teeth, and the Community

Prof. Nikolai Attard was on the other end of the phone and was passionately describing what he had in mind. ‘A mobile dental clinic will be able to reach out to the community, schools, old people’s homes, village squares and we’ll be collecting epidemiological data on oral health which can then be fed into existing health data. At the same time we’ll be providing a free dental examination and advice to thousands of people, which they will then follow up with their personal dentist. This could be a first for Malta.’ Nikolai, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (University of Malta), is determined to expand the Faculty’s teaching activities and promote oral health.

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Writing Maltese Sign language

Dr Maria Galea writes about her journey into the world of Maltese Sign Language and bringing a logical framework to the written form of the language. This work has the potential to empower the approximately 400 deaf people in Malta.

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Green Roof Malta

In Malta, buildings cover one third of the Island, leaving greenery in the dirt track. Green roofs are one way to bring plants back to urban areas with loads of benefits. Antoine Gatt, who manages the LifeMedGreenRoof project at the University of Malta, tells us more.

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A Greener Chemical Pot

John Gabarretta discusses the elegance of chemistry though its reactions.

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An Untapped Funding Resource

Dr Vasilis Valdramidis speaks about funding opportunities.Continue reading

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I_compute I_create I_am

Creativity is a quality that we, as humans, think is ours alone. Prof. Georgios N. Yannakakis is creating computers that might have already taken this away from us. Computational creativity is here. His games are helping children be more creative, others to overcome dyslexia, and even combat bullying. Words by Dr Edward Duca.

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Translating Education

Research by Jana Galea

Language,translation,and education: three hot topics on the Maltese Islands.

Malta invests heavily in education with a big chunk of its budget, strength, and efforts invested to elevate standards. Malta is also largely bilingual. This is even reflected in Malta’s constitution which places both Maltese and English as official languages. Yet, deciding on which language to use to teach children is a thorn in the side of Maltese educational institutions. A viable bilingual policy is still needed.

The European Union places great importance on national languages. This policy elevates the importance of all EU languages no matter the country’s size. The EU releases its documents in each language—a boon for Maltese translation studies. However, there is a clear lacuna in terminology and glossaries for education documents.

Jana Galea (supervised by Prof. Anthony Aquilina) translated an international publication on education into Maltese and compiled an accompanying glossary of educational terms. Translators have to adopt the role of terminologists (professionals who research and locate information or past publications to ensure accuracy and consistency in the usage of terms) when working with specialised terminology, a time consuming activity due to the lack of standardised terms. A glossary of educational terms facilitates translation by providing an easy-to-access reference tool that ensures consistent terminology in translations.

The research tries to show that Maltese and English should not be seen as rivals constantly trying to outdo each other. The Maltese language is part of the country’s unique identity, its most democratic tool, and an official EU language. It is strong and continuously growing, as Prof. Manwel Mifsud stated ‘Ilsien żgħir imma sħiħ, ilsien Semitiku imma Ewropew, ħaj u dinamiku’ (A small but complete language, a Semitic language but European, alive and dynamic). Then there is the English language which is Malta’s main linguistic link to the rest of the world and the carrier of scientific, technological, and informational developments—both languages enrich the Maltese Islands.