Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1522096
11 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JUNE 2024 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Italian loses importance but remains top foreign language of choice other than English FKNK releases more barn owls into the wild at Buskett THE Maltese are less keen than other Europeans on their chil- dren learning Chinese, Spanish and French and more likely to stress the learning of English and Italian. When asked which two lan- guages are important for children to learn for their future, 91% of respondents mentioned Eng- lish, 30% mentioned Italian, 5% mentioned French, and 4% men- tioned Spanish. Only 2% of Maltese consider Chinese an important language for children to learn, in contrast to 11% of all EU citizens. This emerges from a Euroba- rometer survey on languages. While 13% of all EU citizens think that Spanish is important for their children's future, only 4% of Maltese think so. Europe- ans are also keener on the im- portance of French for their chil- dren's future (12%). But the Maltese remain consid- erably keener on the importance of Italian considered important by just 1% of EU citizens and English considered important by 85%. Compared to 2012, the percent- age of Maltese who mentioned Italian has dropped by 18 points, and those who mentioned French have dropped by 16 points. The percentage who thinks Spanish is important for children to learn has increased by a single point. Maltese much more fluent in English than European average The survey also reveals that 86% of Maltese residents speak Eng- lish fluently, and 51% are profi- cient in Italian. These figures are significantly higher than the EU averages, where 47% speak Eng- lish fluently and only 3% can have a conversation in Italian. Addi- tionally, the survey shows that 13% of Maltese can speak French fluently, while only 4% can con- verse in German and Spanish. Compared to a similar survey conducted by Eurobarometer in 2012, the percentage of Maltese who speak English fluently has declined by 3 points, and those proficient in Italian has dropped by five points. Conversely, the percentage of those who speak Spanish has increased by three points, and those who can speak French has increased by two points. The survey also indicates that the percentage of Maltese who consider Maltese as their moth- er tongue has decreased by six points, from 97% to 91%. Mean- while, the percentage who con- sider English as their mother tongue has increased by one point. The survey also indicates that 76% of Maltese agree that every- one in the EU should speak at least one additional language, and 68% believe improving lan- guage skills should be a policy priority. Maltese and English are both taught from the early years in Malta, and both are official lan- guages of the country. Students are expected to learn a foreign language of choice at secondary school. MORE than 14 barn owls that were bred in captivity have been released into the wild at Buskett as part of hunting organisation FKNK's conservation project. The project aims to reintroduce the barn owl into the wild and is operated from the 16th centu- ry Knights of Malta farmhouse known as Razzett tal-Bagħal in Buskett. The FKNK said the last intro- duction into the wild released over 14 subjects that were bred, raised and fledged in captivity at the farmhouse. The organi- sation said a barn owl originally released in 2022 and which had been targeted by poachers last December will also be released in the coming days after being rehabilitated. The FKNK said 2024 will be an important year for the project. "A greater number of owls will be in- troduced into the wild and with the help of technological moni- toring, more information about the behaviour and movement of these species will come to light," the organisation said, adding this was a pioneering effort to restore biodiversity in Malta. The conservation project start- ed in 2018 and barn owls born in captivity are cared for with mini- mal human interaction until they can fend for themselves when re- leased into the wild. The barn owl was driven to ex- tinction from Malta, with the last recorded breeding pair in the wild harking back to the early 1980s. The FKNK aims to reintroduce the species back into the wild in Malta and Gozo. The project is modelled on similar initiatives undertaken by the Barn Owl Trust in the UK. What is a barn owl? Barn owls are birds of prey that feed on small mammals, which in Malta will primarily be mice. They are around 250mm tall from head to feet and have ex- tremely sensitive hearing. They have a heart-shaped face that collects sounds. The barn owl has a flexible neck that allows it to turn its head 180 degrees each way. Feathers are usually white on the under parts and light brown and grey on the back. FKNK to monitor newly introduced barn owls in the wild as conservation project picks up steam Only 2% of Maltese believe Chinese is important for their children JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt