More Reading and Contacting People…and Rethinking the Project’s Intent.
I spent the last couple of days reading some of the resources I collated in the previous phase. I have come across a lot of interesting information, and the more I read, the more I realised how little I knew about the subject in question. Possibly it is because I have not looking into alternative paths, however the reports I am coming across in relation to language diversity, language engagement and the like, it came down to discussing different forms of teaching methods. Just like I had mentioned in the previous post (read more here), there are a number of teaching methods that contribute to language teaching and learning.
About my Target Audience
As I am reading, I am getting to the point whether I should change my target audience from adults to ‘expat families’. The main reason for this is that I came come across a number of articles and reports where they all talk about ‘sponge time’ and that the best time to learn a new language is indeed when one is still a child. At the same time, I know that the children are attending school with Maltese children, so they are more exposed to the language than their parents. Maybe it would be a good idea to target parents for this project so that they can interact better when they go to school activities, help their children with their homework, communicate better with parents and fellow students and the like. I could make a good case study for that matter. I might be digressing a bit from my original intent of the project, but introducing modes of engagement with the Maltese language to one part of the expatriate population in Malta is already a start.
Another issue that might impact my intent of the project is the fact that I have spoken to a couple of my colleagues, whom are expats, and told me that really and truly they never had issues with communication per se. The only issue I know some people faced from time to time was when it came to dealing with documents from public offices, as I was asked to explain what it says from time to time. Might have to take their comment with a pinch of salt, as they do happen to live in the area of Malta were English is somewhat more predominant than Maltese, however it is not a comment that should not be ignored altogether.
Contacting People and Entities
I got round to contacting a couple more entities – the public employment agency JOBSPLUS and the Ministry of Education, in hopes of getting some responses. The one I sent to the University last week still have not replied, however, the Ministry did get back and told me that the email had been forwarded to the relevant people. Hopefully I will hear from someone soon enough.
So Far in this Phase…
It was been a rather strange couple of weeks. Strange in the sense that I know that there is a lot of work that needs to be done, but I do not know from where to start. I figured that starting reading things will at least help in finding what is relevant and what is not, however, now I need to work on the arguments that I need to present in the literature review. I would need to make up my mind on the target audience, as otherwise, the literature review might become irrelevant altogether.
