You’ve booked your course, you’re in Malta, the weather is good, and the harbour views from your classroom are distracting. Now what? The school will give you lessons — but what you do outside them determines how fast you actually improve.
Here are the things that genuinely make a difference.
Speak More Than You Think You Need To
This sounds obvious. It isn’t happening. In most classrooms, the students who improve fastest are the ones who talk the most — even when they’re nervous, even when they make mistakes.
The average student speaks for perhaps 10–15 minutes in a two-hour lesson. That’s not enough. Push yourself to contribute in every class discussion, volunteer answers even when you’re not sure, and ask the teacher to correct you after you’ve finished speaking. Teachers at good schools like Maltalingua are used to this — they want you to push.
Outside class, the habit matters more. The goal is to go through a full day in English as often as possible. That’s harder than it sounds when you’re exhausted and your flatmate speaks your language.
Be Strategic About Who You Spend Time With
This is where most students lose weeks of progress without realising it.
When you arrive in Malta, you’ll naturally gravitate towards students who share your language. That’s comfortable. It’s also the single biggest obstacle to fast improvement. As soon as you realise everyone in your apartment speaks Turkish or Japanese or Spanish at home, you need to make a deliberate choice to break that pattern.
The practical fix: actively seek out people who don’t share your language. Eat at different tables. Join activities. Accept invitations from people you wouldn’t normally spend time with. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. Yes, it’s how you improve.
Some schools — Maltalingua included — deliberately mixes nationalities in classes to prevent this exact problem. Use that design. Don’t undo it.
Use English for Real Tasks, Not Just Practice
The fastest learners treat English as a tool, not a subject.
Instead of sitting down with a grammar book in the evening, use English for things you actually need: ordering food, asking for directions, booking appointments, reading the news, watching a video about something you care about. This puts language in context, which is how your brain actually stores it.
A few examples of things that work:
- Shopping at the local market instead of the tourist supermarket
- Calling a taxi or restaurant instead of using an app
- Reading Maltese news websites in English
- Following YouTube channels about your hobby in English
The key: it has to be something you care about. Passive listening while doing something else doesn’t count.
Build a Weekly English Routine
Progress comes from consistency, not from occasional intense study sessions.
Think about what your average week in Malta looks like and build English into it deliberately:
Monday: Lesson + 30 minutes reviewing vocabulary from the day
Tuesday: Lesson + watch one episode of a show in English (no subtitles)
Wednesday: Lesson + go somewhere new and ask for something in English
Thursday: Lesson + 20 minutes reading (news, a novel, anything)
Friday: Lesson + write a short paragraph about your week in English
Weekend: Socialise in English as much as possible
This isn’t about studying hard. It’s about keeping English present in your life even when you’re not in class.
Explore Malta in English
Malta is an incredible classroom. Use it.
Visit the Blue Lagoon and chat with the boat crew. Go to a local football match and talk to the people around you. Walk through Valletta and read the historical plaques. Ask shop owners about their products. The island rewards curiosity and rewards anyone willing to stumble through a conversation.
Students who engage with Malta as a place — not just a backdrop to their course — improve faster. They’re forced to communicate, they encounter vocabulary in real situations, and they build confidence.
Use the Library
Malta has a public library system and most schools have their own resources. Make use of them. Books graded for English learners (the Penguin Readers series, for example) are written with controlled vocabulary — you can actually read them, and finishing a whole book in English is a milestone worth having.
If you’re at intermediate level or above, ask your teacher for a reading list. Libraries in St. Julian’s have English-language sections, and many are free to use.
Manage the Temptation to Speak Your Language
Let’s be honest: when you’re tired, frustrated, or just want to say something quickly, you’ll reach for your native language. Everyone does. The question is whether you catch yourself and switch back, or whether you let it become the default.
Practical things that help:
- Change your phone and laptop to English
- Follow English-language social media accounts
- Remove translation apps from easy reach
- Make an agreement with classmates to speak only English in the building
None of these are perfect. But together they create an environment where English is the default, not the exception.
What Good Schools Do Differently
At Maltalingua, classes are capped at 12 students with an average of 8–10. That means every lesson is actually usable — you get speaking time, you get feedback, you get corrected. In schools with 15–20 students per class, a significant portion of every lesson disappears into logistics.
Small classes aren’t a luxury. They’re a structural advantage that compounds over weeks.
The Honest Truth
Most students who don’t improve as fast as they hoped have the same problems:
- They spend too much time with people who share their language
- They switch to their native language when things get difficult
- They don’t use English for real purposes outside class
- They study grammar instead of communicating
Fix those four things and your progress will accelerate noticeably within a month.
Ready to start? Get a personalised quotation for your Malta English course and make the most of your time on island.