Does multilingualism hold the golden key to acquiring the Maltese language?

• Żammit, Jacqueline ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Malta

     University of Malta

     Malta

     
• Localización: International journal of multilingualism, ISSN 1479-0718, Vol. 22, Nº. 4, 2025, págs. 2636-2661
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1080/14790718.2025.2475395
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Several studies have highlighted the cognitive and social benefits of multilingualism, including its positive impact on individuals, communities, and societies. This study examines the acquisition of Maltese in a multilingual context, focusing on individuals proficient in multiple languages. Forty-eight adult students at the pre-intermediate level participated in various language tasks. The findings revealed that the 35 multilingual participants outperformed the 13 monolinguals. Due to the crosslinguistic influence between Arabic and Maltese, as well as Italian and Maltese, both Arabic and Italian speakers demonstrated advantages in certain tasks while encountering challenges in others. The study emphasises the cognitive benefits of multilingualism in learning Maltese. It explores strategies employed by multilinguals, such as language transfer, cognitive flexibility, awareness of language interference, exposure to authentic resources, engagement in language communities, metalinguistic awareness, and translanguaging. These findings not only highlight the significance of multilingualism in acquiring Maltese but also offer insights into learning other linguistically distant languages in diverse multilingual contexts.

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