SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: Students at this
school take part in
various extra-curricular
activities such as
sports, Drama, choir,
school band, gymnasium,
every year over 150
students participate in
such activities as the
Christmas Convert, The
Talent Show, Prize Day
Activity, Crib
competition and they
also have their own
School Council. Life
at St. Thomas More Boys
Junior Lyceum is very
varied and exciting.
They also help students
make use of their
available resources and
to use them in planning
their activities and
everyday lives. By means
of these classes,
students also become
more in contact with
their national heritage
and later become more
tolerant to different
cultures. Overall,
students are given the
opportunity to be more
creative, original, and
efficient and
intellectual, and to
improve their
decision-making skills
and problem solving
abilities. The library
is like the artist’s
palette. It offers the
students an opportunity
to broaden their
vocabulary and culture.
At the library, students
can find all kinds of
books in both Maltese
and English languages.
There are fiction,
biography, computer,
heritage, and geography
amongst many others.
The current building
of the school is
temporary and soon it is
expected to change
location. Special thanks
to Ms Josette Ciappara,
for assisting us in the
filming of these videos
at the school.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: Every nation has
its hour of glory in
battle. The Regatta held
on September 8th at the
Grand Harbour,
commemorates Malta’s
victories during the
Great Siege of 1565 and
the Second World War.
The magnificent Fort St
Angelo provides an
imposing backdrop to the
sleek and colourful
Maltese boats. Rowing
teams from the cities
bordering Grand Harbour,
Valletta, Vittoriosa,
Senglea, Kalkara,
Cospicua, Bormla and
Marsa, participate in a
number of very exciting
races, marked by extreme
rivalry between
participating teams and
their respective
supporters. For weeks on
end, athletes prepare
for the races with
fanatic zeal and
rivalry. In the
afternoon of Regatta
day, thousands of people
crowd the waterfront and
the surrounding bastions
to watch the races.
LANGUAGE NOTES: C1
Effective User: At the
start of this clip we
listen to an informative
dialogue between Cesare
and the Race Arbiter,
and the National Boat
Race General Secretary.
Later on, as the race
progresses, we can
follow very closely an
informal dialogue
between two of the race
fans. We observe the
extreme rivalry between
quite fanatic team
supporters! In fact
there was some swearing
in Maltese from the
losing fan, which I’ve
cut!
SUMMARY + CULTURAL
NOTES:
This small church marks
the site where
Grandmaster La Valette
laid down the first
stone of the Capital
City. The Church has a
very imposing and
elaborate facade of
Roman Baroque sculpture.
It is dedicated to the
Birth of the Blessed
Virgin, but is commonly
known as the church of
Our Lady of Victory. The
church is well renowned
because present is the
heart of the Venetian
admiral Angelo Emo, who
died in Malta in 1792
and whose other mortal
remains were conveyed to
Venice. The Knights of
St John used to pray in
this Church very often,
who also used it as a
convent in the 16th
Century. Restoration
works on the ceiling are
being carried out
presently by the
Courtauld Institute of
Art, University of
London. The ceiling is
barrel-vaulted and St.
John’s church was
modelled in the same way.
Both churches were built
by the famous Maltese
engineer, Gerolamo
Cassar.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES:
Village feasts in Malta
are not just an
attraction for the
public eye, but also a
great deal of effort and
finances are put into
their making. Fireworks
are not only very
expensive, but we have
had quite a few
tragedies taking place
within Fireworks
Factories on the Maltese
Islands. The last blast
took place at the Gharb
Factory, in Gozo, which
claimed five lives.
LANGUAGE NOTES:
C1 Effective User – Here
we have an informative
dialogue between the
person responsible for
putting up fireworks at
village feasts and the
cameraman.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: Freedom Day is a
public holiday in Malta
and commemorates the
withdrawal of British
troops from the island
on the 8th of September,
1979. The day is
celebrated with a
ceremony at the War
memorial in Floriana. In
the afternoon there is
the traditional Boat
Race, or as commonly
known by the locals, the
Regatta. It
is held in
the waters of the Grand
Harbour. Food and drink
stalls, flags, banners
and even a big screen,
line the harbour, adding
to the celebratory feel.
The Malta Council for
Sports and the Malta
Tourism Authority
contribute a lot to the
launching of such a big
event.
LANGUAGE NOTES: C1
Effective User. Here we
have an informative
dialogue going on
between the Traditional
Boat Race Organiser and
Cesare. Mainly
explaining the rules of
the race, all the
preparation, history and
culture connected to the
Event.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: This is St Thomas
More Boys Junior Lyceum
in Ħamrun. The school
was inaugurated on the
12th of May 1956. It
started off as a
Technical School and
today it is a Junior
Lyceum making part of
St.Thomas More College.
The previous head was Ms.
Josephine Mifsud whilst
the present head is Mr.
Michael Baldacchino. The
school houses around 500
students and over 60
members of staff. The
students have various
subjects varying from
home economics to design
and technology. All
class rooms are fully
equipped to cater for
the students' needs as
can be seen in the Home
Economics Rooms,
computer labs, science
labs and Design and
Technology labs.
Students can choose any
science subject; IT,
Technical Design,
Physical Education and
most students learn 3
languages or more
according to their
options. The students
spend 5 years at this
school.
The Malta Tourism
Authority moved to the
Auberge
d'Italie on the 1st
of March 2002. There is
a Tourist Information
Centre, where tourists
can get all the
information they require.
Moreover, as we have
seen in the video, many
exhibitions of artistic
and cultural value are
hosted here.
The Auberge is
rectangular in plan,
surrounded on three
sides ( Zackary, Melita
and Merchants Streets )
and an openpiazza (
now occupied by the by
the Bank of Valletta
International and the
Valletta Police Station)
and the Church of Santa
Caterina on
the South Street side.
It is laid out with
rooms on all four sides,
built around a large
courtryard, which is
almost square (51’ x
54’) and this agrees
with the usual Italian
practice. There is a
covered way along the
perimeter of this
courtyard formed by an
arched roofing this
corridor on one side
only, the Merchants
Street side.
In
the centre of the
Auberge’s courtyard
is a triumphal arch
erected above a well,
having a large,
pot-shaped well-head at
the centre. The whole of
the building is very
fine, owing to its
historical and cultural
heritage.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: A tailor is a
person who makes,
repairs, or alters
clothing professionally,
especially suits and
men's clothing. Maltese
costumes are incredibly
unique, reflecting the
island nationÕs distinct
history as an
independent people. We
are largely believed to
be related to the
Italians and all
Mediterranean people who
in fact have similar
cultures of tailoring.
This is still so despite
the fact that we
inherited our language
from the Ancient
Phoenicians and from the
Conquering Muslim Arabs.
We see some Turkish,
Greek and Italian
influence in the
tailorsÕ styles here in
Malta. However, as the
tailor himself pointed
out, tailoring was much
more of predominant in
the past (up to the
1900s).
LANGUAGE NOTES: C1
Effective User Ð Here we
have an informative,
very interesting
dialogue between Cesare
and a local tailor about
what goes on in the
Tailoring business in
Malta and how tailoring
works.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: This Basilica is
dedicated to Our Lady of
Victory. It bears a lot
of historical
connotation during the
time of the war. It
passed through many
attacks, by the French,
then the Muslim Arabs,
and then Malta was under
British Rule. Malta is a
very religious nation,
and the majority of the
population is Catholic.
Village feasts in Malta
are a big cultural
event, and many people
celebrate their village
Patron Saint.
LANGUAGE NOTES: C1
Effective User. This is
a sort of documentary
shot live with the main
Isla Feast Organizer.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: The history of
the Great Siege and how
much the Sengleans have
it at heart. The whole
village commemorates
this day with this feast
and the titular statue
of Malta, the Virgin
Mary. Even the pillar on
which it is raised has
deep significance with
the Great Siege Victory
of 1565.
LANGUAGE NOTES: C1
Effective User. This is
historical, cultural,
informative dialogue.
During the band, the
narrator explains some
of the musical
instrument names in
Maltese so that the
learner can visualize.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: The Maltese Open
Market is set up very
often, in many towns and
cities, and on a regular
basis. The one in Isla
is set up every Monday.
Many hawkers set up
their own stall and they
must have a permit to do
so. The fish hawker
sells all local fish
like Lampuka (Mahi Mahi
or dolphin fish) as well
as some imported fish
like salmon. Malta,
being an island, offers
some of the best dining
experiences in fresh
fish.
LANGUAGE NOTES: B1
Threshold Ð This is
everyday shopping
dialogue used when
people go to buy fish.
The fish hawker explains
that he has lived at the
fishing village of
Marsaxlokk all his life,
and he also goes out
fishing. The seller
gives a basic overview
of the different types
of fish to the customer
and their costs
according to weight. The
customer is interested
in the fishesÕ migratory
patterns and how they
fish for it. The
customer then asks the
fish seller how to cook
the fish.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES
The Maritime Museum is
housed in the former
British Naval Bakery at
Vittoriosa, one of the
Three Cities overlooking
the Grand Harbour. The
building, designed by
British architect
William Scamp, was
erected between 1842 and
1845 on the site of the
old covered slipway of
the Knights of St John.
The bakery was the hub
of the Yard and supplied
the Royal Navy with its
daily requirements of
bread and biscuits.
After World War II it
was converted into
offices and stores and
as the headquarters of
the Admiralty
Constabulary. The
building remained part
of the naval
establishment up to the
closure of the British
base in 1979. For almost
two hundred years, Malta
was the home of the
British Mediterranean
fleet. The Royal Navy
kept a vast
establishment on the
Islands
LANGUAGE NOTES: C1
Effective User – this is
a historical, cultural
dialogue between the
Senglea Mayor and
Cesare.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: Almost every
village in Malta and
Gozo has its own
Take-Away shop. Most of
these are fast-food
restaurants; some offer
seating space while
others do not. These
fast food restaurants
usually have a selection
of fried food and also,
more commonly, Pizza.
Fried food consists of
chicken, fish and
hamburgers and is
usually served with
chips. Pizza is made
with a wide variety of
ingredients, and the
most popular is the
Capricciosa.
LANGUAGE NOTES: B2
Vantage Ð This is an
informative dialogue
between the customer and
the owner at a Take-Away
Restaurant. The customer
is interested to know
about the backside
workings of this shop:
the kitchen. He is
hungry and wants to know
about all the different
types of Pizza and other
fast food
SUMMARY: Most towns and
villages in Malta have
their local greengrocer.
At the greengrocerÕs,
they sell a variety of
every day products. One
can find all kinds of
fruits and vegetables,
tinned products and
cheeses. Almost all
fruits and vegetables
are grown locally.
Maltese soil is very
fertile to grow
pumpkins, melons,
carrots and potatoes. In
fact, most foreign
countries import the
Maltese potato. There
are also local vineyards
in Malta, where grapes
are grown and provided
to local greengrocers.
Pet food is also found
in most greengrocers, as
we have seen in this
video, many Maltese
people keep birds as a
hobby.
EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF
LANGUAGE: B2 Vantage Ð
Normal everyday dialogue
that goes on in
supermarkets Ð showing
around of the products
and then asking for the
bill.
SUMMARY AND CULTURAL
NOTES: Most local
minimarkets offer a wide
basic selection of
almost everything; all
food stuffs and
beverages that are
needed on a daily basis;
basic ingredients for
the housewife as well as
quick readymade sauces
or pasta for the busy
people. Almost every
town or village in Malta
and Gozo has its own
minimarket. Minimarkets
stock up their shelves
with pasta, babies milk,
rice, fruit and
vegetables, sauces,
spices and sweets. Even
diabetics can have their
own specialized food,
such as brown bread and
pasta.
LANGUAGE NOTES: B1
Threshold: This is a
conversation between the
shopper and the
mini-market owner. The
shopper wants to know
what is available to
him, with special
interest because he is
diabetic, and to be able
to stock up his fridge
and cupboards for rainy
days.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Back
to Top
