From Mr P. J. Spiteri and Ms J. Galea

Peter Apap Bologna claims that he has been “reliably informed that some students in Gozo were prepared for their ‘A’ level English in Maltese!” (TMIS, 1 June). In the light of the facts of the actual situation obtaining at Sir M.A Refalo Centre for Further Studies, this statement has precisely the same status as Noam Chomsky’s famous example of grammatically perfect … nonsense: “Colourless green ideas sleep furiously”.

The A level English syllabus in Gozo is taught by four teachers each of whom is responsible for a specific section/s of it. This means that all ‘A’ level English students are involved with all the teachers concerned.

Let us spell out the implications of this, as it is blindingly obvious that Mr Apap Bologna is one of those self-appointed “experts” who need things to be spelt out to them very clearly, very simply and above all, very, very slowly.

The above situation in fact permits three, but only three possibilities, none of which involves Mr Apap Bologna’s informant’s “some students”.

Either

All the students are prepared for their ‘A’ level English in Maltese by all their teachers.

or

All the students are prepared for their ‘A’ level English in Maltese by some or one of their teachers.

or

None of the students are prepared for their ‘A’ level English in Maltese by any of their teachers.

What makes the last alternative the most likely to be the truth is the statistical fact that English A level students from this school have, over the last few years, obtained superior grades than the national average despite the fact that this school has no entry restrictions for the A level course like at least one (Church) school in Malta has.

To repeat: this is a statistical fact (one could obtain from examiners’ reports), not the say-so of some informant, reliable or otherwise.

In conclusion, may we wish Mr Apap Bologna the best of luck in his T E F L studies! As Gozitans we also hope that this letter has resolved his doubts concerning “the English as she is spoke” in our educational setting.

Paul J Spiteri

KERCEM

Jane Galea

NADUR