The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) has many student-led initiatives. One such initiative is led by Ahmed Zammit, a Canadian-Maltese student at UFV, who offers Maltese language classes for free to students. Through these weekly classes, he not only teaches the language to students, but also shares his home country’s history and culture.
Zammit started his Maltese classes back in 2020, a few months before the pandemic. He launched his classes as a part of the language exchange program organized by UFV International, with the goal of exposing students to different languages and cultures, while developing the skills of students leading these initiatives. Spanish and Vietnamese were also offered through this program. Zammit’s class structure is nothing like a lecture; first, he hands out worksheets for students to learn numbers, letters, and basic words. He then works with students on fun, practical activities, such as fill-in-the-blanks, using the whiteboard to write down the translation. Zammit prepares his lessons in a way that allows anyone to join at any point during the semester without the need to attend previous classes. During the lockdown, Zammit conducted all of his classes online.
UFV International stopped running the language exchange program right after the winter 2020 semester. Four years later, Zammit took initiative to relaunch his Maltese class during the winter 2024 semester.
“That was the second time I did the classes, and my intention at the time was to bring it back one more time because I felt like the last one ended abruptly and not appropriately. So, I wanted to do another full semester session with all [students] in person,” Zammit explained.
The class structure was similar to the one held in winter 2020, with a few exceptions. For instance, whiteboards were not available through UFV International for students anymore, which disrupted the flow of the classes. Additionally, during winter 2024, only two students consistently attended the Maltese classes — a drop in attendance compared to the winter 2020 semester, when four people attended consistently. Zammit explained that the cause might be the timing that he chose for his classes (Thursday afternoons) as well as the lack of marketing. He mentioned that one other reason for low attendance might be the uniqueness of the language.
“[The Maltese language] is too much of a niche language — it’s too unique, it’s too different — and I don’t think people would want to speak a language where only around 500,000 people on a small island in the Mediterranean speak [it].”
Zammit expressed his passion for teaching and the joy he finds in making an impact on the UFV community.
“When I started teaching the multi-language exchange classes, I realized this is fun; I like teaching people new things and I like [helping] people learn.” He added that students have praised his teaching skills and how easily he conveys various ideas on multiple occasions. One of his favourite memories was right before the 2020 lockdown, when he and his dad brought Maltese food to share with the students.
“It just so happened that, in the last session before the whole pandemic, I decided randomly for this lesson to have Maltese food. So my dad and I cooked Maltese food and we brought it to the lesson; it was shared by the students and everyone had a great time. It was amazing!”
Zammit hopes to bring back the Maltese classes for the fall 2024 semester. Once he receives feedback from UFV International, he will set a fixed schedule, which will be announced on UFV International’s Instagram page and his personal Instagram account, @the_maltese_miracle. For this year, Zammit is planning to make the classes more interactive to attract more students.
Zammit wants to share a message with the UFV community: “I hope UFV students come to check my classes as well as all the events that happen on campus, in clubs, and associations; get involved! Please come to my classes and learn something new. You are not going to be graded or tested, so there is nothing to worry about. It’s just a little drop-in to learn some new Maltese words that you can share with your friends.”
Chifaa Bouzid is a staff writer for the Cascade, currently pursuing a postgraduate diploma in International Business at UFV. She holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and has a keen interest in writing and social media management, blending her technical skills with creative storytelling.
