Thursday, 20th November 2008
'Science is boring and unappealing'
The majority of Maltese youngsters aged 15-25 years find learning science boring and unappealing, according to a study by Eurobarometer.
While more than 80 per cent of those interviewed said they were very interested in scientific subjects, particularly in ICT and other computer-related developments, 60 per cent described learning science in Malta as "not appealing".
The majority of youngsters (over 70 per cent) said they were not interested in choosing a scientific career, giving various reasons, among them that they had already chosen their career (20 per cent), they didn't have the required skills (15 per cent) or they were simply not interested (59 per cent). This EU survey, conducted across the 27 member states in September, was aimed at determining young people's interest in science and technology.
The EU is trying to boost the learning of science and technology among its youngsters, as research remains one of the main lacking components of its economy. Japan and the US are the leaders in innovation, research and technology.
The Maltese survey showed young people wanted the government to invest more in science and research. The majority (78 per cent) agreed there were not enough funds being pumped into this sector.
Asked about the expected development of a number of scientific areas in the coming years, 26 per cent of Maltese believed Malta's air quality would improve in the next 20 years and 70 per cent thought people's health and the quality of water would improve.
Asked whether science brought more benefits than harm, 80 per cent agreed it was very beneficial and 29 per cent thought advances in science would mean fewer jobs. The majority, 65 per cent, felt scientific and technological advances will eventually generate more jobs.
When taking into account all 27 member states, the survey showed that young Europeans had mixed attitudes towards science and technology - 82 per cent agreed these subjects were beneficial and more than half believed they would help eliminate poverty and hunger around the world.
However, the survey also showed that science was not a priority when it came to news. Young people in the EU were mostly interested in news related to culture and entertainment (nine out of 10), 67 per cent claimed to be interested in science and technology and the same proportion were attracted to sports news.
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Comments
Imagine translating the ever changing software textbooks on programming languages in our native tongue, if indeed such a task was possible. Even if it were, the cost of keeping current with a near constant progression of newer and faster versions of system/application software, would be prohibitive.
It so happens that English is embedded as part of the command language structure in all software compiled worldwide. As such no translation is possible in the true sense of translating computer text of one language to another. This applies to China as well as Malta.
Theoretically Malta has neither the material resources nor funds, to sustain the mandated level of professional expertise in technical/translating staff, required to accomplish a task of such magnitude. Like it or not a high level of proficiency in English is required, for those who elect to follow a career in Information Technology and other scientific ventures.
Given these hard facts it is ludicrous to even contemplate the substitution of English by Maltese, at any level of the educational system.
do not make me sound like a 5 year old kid as I am quite capable of distinguishing between a difficulty to communicate and an accent that is quite strong and difficult to understand, especially Italian, since I am capable of communicating with it both written and spoken. Also I kept studying Maltese to a late stage in my life....and as a Maltese person I truly appreciate it. So please do not put words into my mouth!!!
Thanks to C. Scerri, I understand that there are others who agree that science might not be so pleasant because of the lack of resources and hands on practice rather than because of the language it is taught in. Once again, I repeat does anyone think that scientific theory being changed from English to Maltese is going to attract huge crowds of students?
Maria Ferstl, you are missing the point! You might be a translator working in the scientific sector, but you have to be a scientist or someone studying science to understand that science is a true language on its own! What makes it fun is the actual experience of it all!
@M Ferstl
Even in France researchers have to publish in English ... not long ago a French economist who is also a colleague of mine told me that his article in English had been rejected because the language used was too basic. So if the future Maltese researchers/scientists are being taught in English .... then they're having solid training for their future articles which will have to be published in English ... be honest ... what scientific journal would publish a research paper in Maltese? (with due respect you insist on calling English a foreign language [we've had long discussions on this :) ] - I call it Malta's second (official) language - I hope you agree that, after all, Malta is a Commonwealth country and English is the second language in a great majority of them).
"the difficulty with which some professionals who have learnt their sciences in their native language communicte while giving presentations in English (eg the Italians)"
I don't say that this problem doesn't exist, but on a human level I find it a thousand times more depressing when a really bright person doesn't have the words to speak about his/her work in the native language (if you listen to radio or TV programmes like "Xjenza madwarna" you'll know what I mean), while in the foreign language it's just human nature that you can't reach the same level as a linguistically talented native speaker, and thus not ashaming.
This is ultimately reflected at University level where most students expect to be taught the basics, just enough to pass their exams.
My solution - scrap the national curriculum, sec and matsec system. Scrap also the archaic entry requirements at the University. Increase hands on experience at all levels and whilst giving less information and ingrain concepts.
Right, for me the Maltese language is of personal importance.
"I have been to scientific conferences and have witnessed the difficulty with which some professionals who have learnt their sciences in their native language communicte while giving presentations in English (eg the Italians)"
As a translator I must say that this is what our profession is intended for :)
A good translation is better than a bad original. ;o)
Or do you just mean their accent? Well, in the case of English, non-native speakers are the majority, so one should not wonder about strange accents. It's not like Maltese, which is rarely heard spoken by a foreigner at conferences or on the media. (Well, personally I went through both experiences when I visited Malta. People did appreciate, but, then, of course nobody can expect me to sound as "pleasant" as a Maltese person.) You can't have both, huge crowds learning a language and native or native-like level from everyone.
"By the time it is translated, it is obsolete". Well, if I'm not mistaken, virtually all school knowledge is either so basic it remains the same or totally outdated anyway, whatever the language.
AFAIK textbooks are written by teachers and not by high-rank scientists.
Do not make this a pesonal issue. The real topic of importance here is science from a learning perspective. It is not a question of which language is used to teach it. Do you think that scientific theory being changed from English to Maltese is going to attract crowds of students? I have been to scientific conferences and have witnessed the difficulty with which some professionals who have learnt their sciences in their native language communicte while giving presentations in English (eg the Italians)
I am a student studying a specific scientific field in the UK and now that I am here I have realised that in Malta we lack resources, funding and hands on experiences as students. This is what has to change in our country. People have been calling for a change in the educational sector for ages. One thing is for sure...you do not make good or better students by attracting them with a higher stipend, but with the adequate resources they should have available to use at any point during their learning experiences!
The problem is not about teaching them in a foreign language (which otherwise would be valuable), but about ONLY teaching them in a foreign language. This way the students don't acquire the same proficiency in their language students of the same age in other countries have. IMHO a thing a thousand times more important than a few scientific terms most of them will forget anyway.
@Joseph Galea
Of course "English is the universal language of science". But what percentage of the students of each class will ever publish research work of international importance? THOSE won't have a problem anyway, whatever the language of education. (Then how do scientists of all those "monolingual" countries manage that?!?) But because of the weird schooling system (sending children of kindergarten age to school and teaching them even their first Maths in a foreign language only) Malta has the highest drop-out rate in the EU.
If I were you, I would rather be concerned about average children than about some tiny elite.
If something is absurd, this is an education system allowing people to graduate from a university who can't write a simple e-mail without mistakes in their native language, let alone speak about their work without a code-switched mess.
The reason why many Maltese students lack good English is exactly their lacking a sound basis in the native language, i.e. all the system is a vicious circle.
To improve interest in the study of science one needs dedicated science teachers at secondary school level to inspire students. Then one needs serious investment in staff and facilities at University level. Government's recent MOU with CERN can open up numerous possibilities for Maltese scientists. This collaboration needs to be moved to the next level as soon as possible.
Of course "if one cannot read English, then forget Sciences". But this is not the point.
The aim of general education is exactly NOT to prepare the students for a particular profession, but to give them the chance to get an idea about every subject and to find out what they are interested in. And it's about forming their personalities and the ability to express oneself in a wide range of topics. The things you learn at school anyway are so basic you can't call them "science". So foreign bibliography will make sense only later - and is needed only in the subject one really specialises in.
IMHO school should teach general English at a high level, which is the basis of any "specialised" English as well. The rest should be taught in Maltese. What's foreign terminology worth if you can't speak about e.g. simple computer use with friends? On relatively basic topics, my Maltese friends always doubt about how to say this or that. They never feel as sure about their language as persons in other countries do. This makes me feel that the Maltese system must be the wrong way.
With regards to equipment, I agree, more funding is important, even if only to get the best people in the industry to teach it - excitingly. It is difficult to get dedicated scientists to leave a good job to follow teaching - effectively halving their salary (as must as some of us would love to). For the early childhood years, perhaps teacher re-training on the beauty of scientific could help?
It is high time that scientific courses at all levels in Malta are applied. This does not mean that theory is wrong, but in my opinion it should go hand in hand with the practical side of things. That way the student is still learning, but also gets a hands on experience from practical work that supports the theory learnt.
Maltese institutions do not have the budget to cover expenses needed to give science an applied nature to things. Then where is all the money that is being pumped into the educational sector going? The practicals done by students at all levels in Malta varies very much to what is done abroad! That is why our students are not satisfied by the scientific learning experience.
Applied science does not mean applying science to practice just by giving examples, but students need to experience things themselves, hands-on!!
Why would you have it any other way? I'd rather learn science in English than in Maltese...with all the books, papers, journals, etc already being in English, it's a no brainer that the lessons will be held in English. If students are not learning science because it's being taught in a foreign language (shock, horror!), then the problem is elsewhere.
I believe that more funds should be invested in better labs and better facilities, and that teachers should try to make scientifical subjects more interesting, especially in ICT classes.