♫ So this is Christmas …in Malta…practising English
Here we are again at the end of yet another year at Gateway School of English – a time for students from any part of the world to get together and study English in Malta, the island which is sunny most of the year, making it possible for the Christmas spirit to be enjoyed outdoors, where the festive atmosphere is thick with all the lights, carols, historic churches and cultural events available for the general public to participate in.
It truly is a special experience for students who come here, whether alone or with their families, to focus on improving their English in class in the morning and enjoy the rest of the day exploring Malta’s many beautiful sights as well as its seasonal attractions which are only organised once a year, and which are all within very easy reach of each other on such a small island.
After all, reading travel information, buying bus and ferry tickets, asking for directions and recommendations of places to visit, and discovering new places with students from other countries are all tasks which require the use of English, and are therefore a first-hand way of practising and ultimately improving students’ English in the best possible environment, in a country where English is one of the official languages.
Here at our school we are always happy to help our students make their way around Malta, whether on a school-organised activity or simply to advise students on the best places to visit in their time with us, depending on their personal preferences and the duration of their stay. The range of cultural events on offer in Malta every year at Christmastime includes:
❆ theatre performances of annual Christmas pantomimes and plays (such as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol), most notably at the world-famous Manoel Theatre (ranking among the top 15 theatres in the world according to CNN);
❆ Christmas concerts of classical music showcasing local orchestral talent in the beautiful halls at the Mediterranean Conference Centre among others;
❆ Christmas carol singing by local choirs in chapels and churches (including the breathtaking St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta and St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina); (see below video of concert by Amadeus Choir at Mdina Cathedral this weekend)
❆ displays of traditional Maltese and Gozitan cribs (known as presepju in Maltese), handmade to perfection in great and elaborate detail alongside the gulbiena plant (vetches), which are on show in the village centre of most old towns and which visitors are welcome to admire both in public spaces and even in some private homes.
Above is the beautiful crib exhibited at St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina (Malta’s old capital city)
With over 60 students from 15 countries (France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Japan, Turkey, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, China and the Czech Republic), December has already been an exciting month at Gateway, and through this video of all our students and teachers singing the Christmas classic ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ at school this morning, we hope to give you a taste of the atmosphere that makes Christmas with us the best experience of the year!
Apart from being a universally enjoyable activity because everyone loves music, singing is also a very good exercise for anyone who wants to learn a language, as it can help with your fluency, pronunciation, intonation, and is an easier way of remembering new or unfamiliar words and sounds in English. Here is our advice if you are looking for something fun you can do alone or with friends to improve your English in your free time:
- Look up your favourite Christmas carol on Youtube;
- Find a video with the lyrics on screen (watch out for any spelling mistakes!);
- Watch the video and listen to the lyrics as you read along without singing, paying attention to the rhythm of the song and the pacing of the singer, and pausing when there are new or difficult words so you can look up the meaning and write them down in your notebook to study later;
- Play the video again and sing along, trying to keep up with the pace of the singer/choir;
- Repeat and practise until you feel confident and have learnt most of the lyrics, and try to convince your friends to join in;
- Optional: record yourselves (audio or, even better, on video) and share it on the school’s Facebook page with the hashtag #SingingEnglish www.facebook.com/GSEMalta. You will definitely get many likes, even if you don’t feel so professional, don’t worry 😉
We hope you’ll give it a shot as we’re sure you’d enjoy it and will get better at singing in English over time, as you practise singing different songs.
Meanwhile we wish you all a pleasant festive season in the remaining days left till Christmas and invite you to spend your next Christmas with a difference and book an English language course for December 2018 and January 2019 so you can benefit from a free upgrade to Intensive English, whereby you would pay for 20 lessons and get 30! This offer holds whenever you book, as long as you book for December and/or January.