Learn Maltese - Complete Beginner's Course! (A1-A2)

Welcome to the course! In this introductory class, we will discover the Maltese Islands, learn where Malta is located, and explore the history and origins of the Maltese language. I will also introduce myself, explain my background as a professional Maltese language teacher, and outline what you can expect to learn throughout the course. By the end of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of Malta, its language, and the exciting journey ahead in this three-hour course!

In this lesson, we will explore the Maltese alphabet in detail and learn how each letter is pronounced. Maltese uses the Latin alphabet, but it also contains unique letters and sounds that are not found in English. I guide you through every letter one by one, explaining its pronunciation and providing examples where necessary. Throughout the lesson, I will read all letters and sounds clearly and slowly, allowing you to listen, repeat, and build confidence in your pronunciation.

Lecture 3: Introducing Yourself – The Verb “To Be” and the Indefinite Article

In this lesson, you will learn how to do a basic introduction in Maltese. We will cover the Maltese equivalent of the verb to be in the present tense, and see how it is used in everyday conversation. You will also learn how Maltese expresses the indefinite article (a and an in English) in conjuction with nouns.

Lecture 4: Adjectives, Gender, and Singular/Plural Forms

In this lesson, you will learn how Maltese nouns and adjectives change according to gender and number. We will explore the three main states found in Maltese: masculine, feminine, and the gender-neutral plural. Using common vocabulary and practical examples, you will learn how adjectives agree with the nouns they describe, allowing you to correctly say things such as a tall woman, short men, good students, or a bad person.

In this lesson, you will learn how to talk about nationalities and colours in Maltese. We will explore how nationality words change according to gender and number, allowing you to correctly describe yourself and other people. You will also learn the most common colour vocabulary and how colours behave as adjectives, agreeing with the nouns they describe.

In this lesson, you will learn how to use the Maltese definite article, the equivalent of the English word the. We will explore how the article changes depending on the first letter of the noun, producing forms such as il-, it-, id-, is-, and others. You will also learn the Maltese demonstratives dan/din/dawn (this, these), and dak/dik/dawk (that, those), and how they are used together with nouns.

In this lesson, you will learn how to use the Maltese past tense to talk about actions that have already happened. Besides practicing conjugations and analysing their patterns, we will also explore the grammatical concepts of the mamma and għerq, discussing how these past tense verbs can double up as the name of the overall verb.

In this lesson, you will learn how Maltese expresses possession by attaching pronouns directly to nouns. Instead of using separate words such as my, your, his, and her, Maltese often adds these meanings to the end of the noun itself. Using common words such as missier (father), omm (mother), and ħu (brother), we will learn forms such as missieri (my father), ommok (your mother), and ħuha (her brother). We will also explore how these endings work with other nouns and identify the patterns that make them easy to remember.

In this lesson, you will learn how to count in Maltese from 1 to 100 and beyond. We will begin with the basic cardinal numbers, but will also discuss how Maltese numbers change when used as adjectives before nouns, such as żewġ kotba (two books), tliet idjar (three houses), and ħames studenti (five students).

In this lesson, you will learn how to tell the time, say dates, and talk about your age in Maltese. You will learn how to express full hours, half hours, quarters, and times of day, as well as the names of the days of the week and months of the year. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to discuss appointments, birthdays, schedules, and everyday events confidently in Maltese.

In this lesson, you will learn how to form and use the Maltese present tense, one of the most important building blocks of the language. We will begin by exploring the imperative (command) form of the verb, and then see how these forms help us understand and construct the present tense. Using the well-known Maltese mnemonic Ninu Toninu Jaħasra Tibkix, we will learn how verbs change according to the person performing the action.

In this lesson, you will learn one of the most distinctive features of Maltese grammar: attached pronouns on verbs. Instead of using separate words such as me, you, him, her, us, and them, Maltese often attaches these pronouns directly to the verb. We will begin with direct object pronouns, learning forms such as rani (he saw me), raha (he saw her), and rahom (he saw them). We will then move on to indirect object pronouns, exploring forms such as kitibli (he wrote to me), kitbilha (he wrote to her), and kitbilhom (he wrote to them). Finally, we will learn how Maltese combines both direct and indirect objects into a single word, creating forms such as tahulek (he gave it to you) and agħtihomlna (give them to us). By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and use attached pronouns naturally, making your Maltese sound far more fluent and authentic.

In this lesson, you will first learn how to talk about future plans and actions that are in progress in Maltese. We will begin with the future tense, exploring the future particles ħa, sa, se, and ser, and learning how they combine with the present tense to express future actions. Next, you will then examine the continuous tenses, which describe actions that are happening at a specific moment, both in the past and present. You will by consequence learn how to use the continuous phrases qed, qiegħed, qiegħda, and qegħdin.

Lecture 14: Final Vocabulary for Everyday Speaking

In this lesson, we will bring together many of the essential words and expressions needed for basic everyday communication in Maltese. We will review greetings, polite expressions, common questions, weather vocabulary, days, dates, time expressions, and useful conversational phrases that you are likely to encounter in real life. This lesson serves as a bridge between grammar and real communication, helping you put everything you have learned into practice.

In this final lesson, we will bring together everything you have learned throughout the course and use it in real conversations. You will practise introducing yourself, talking about your family, describing people and objects, discussing the weather, telling the time, giving dates, talking about past experiences, describing what you are doing now, and speaking about your future plans. Through guided dialogues, you will see how the grammar and vocabulary from previous lessons fit together naturally in everyday communication. The focus of this lesson is not on learning new rules, but on building confidence and fluency by using the Maltese you already know. This class also throws in an extra listening/reading comprehension for the student to work out, to round out our understanding of Beginner's Maltese.