Gozitan author Dr. Charles Daniel Saliba was recently awarded the Gharb Gozitan Cultural Award 2024 by the Gharb Local Council for his work to promote the Maltese language and culture, during the commemoration of Gharb Day this year.

Saliba stated, “what an honour for me and my family to receive this award. It encourages me to continue working to promote our beautiful language and culture.”

He thanked the Gharb Local Council composed of Mayor David Apap Aguis, Deputy Mayor Louis Apap and Councillors Tonio Mifsud, Dr. Lisa Brooke and Joseph Mizzi for the award.

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Dr Charles Daniel Saliba B.Ed. (Hons.) Maltese, Dip. Arabic (Distinction), BA Arabic (Summa Cum Laude), MA Arabic Language and Linguistics, MA in Mediterranean Historical Studies, PhD (Sheffield University) UK, specialising in teaching Maltese as a foreign language (MFL).

Charles Daniel Saliba is a full-time academic serving in the grade of Senior Lecturer II at the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology, Gozo Campus, where he lectures in Maltese language key skills courses and on the pedagogy of Maltese related to the primary and secondary sector. He is also a dissertation supervisor in the BA courses and MA by research course, with regards to dissertations related to the Maltese language.

Saliba has taught Maltese language, linguistics, literature, and MFL at secondary schools, post-secondary schools, and tertiary institutions for more than 23 years. He has taught MFL and medical Maltese at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry (QMUL), Gozo Campus.

Additionally, through the Malta Further & Higher Education Authority (MFHEA), Saliba designed and facilitated the accreditation of three courses – Award in MFL Malta Qualification Framework (MQF) 1 (5 ECTS), Award in Medical Maltese MQF 1 (5 ECTS), and Award in Medical Maltese MQF 2 (5 ECTS) – for QMUL.

In 2019, through the Accreditation Unit of the Ministry of Education, Saliba designed and facilitated the accreditation of two courses – Academic Award in MFL, MQF Levels 1 and 2 (6 ECTS) – to introduce MFL to the Sir M. A. Refalo Sixth Form for the first time.

In June 2018, the then Minister of Education and Employment, Evarist Bartolo, appointed Saliba a member of the Working Group for the Teaching of MFL, and in 2020, Owen Bonnici, the then Minister of Education and Employment, reappointed him.

Saliba is also an independent external evaluator at the MFHEA, where he evaluates the national qualifications being accredited against the MQF. He is also a reviewer for two international linguistics journals and a practicum visitor at the Institute for Education.

Saliba has published/co-published more than 65 books, including the Maltese for Foreigners series (three syllabi and 22 textbooks with audio files), the first level of which was published in e-book format. A hard copy of this level was also translated into an Italian version titled Maltese per Stranieri and a German version titled Maltesisch für Ausländer. He also published another textbook series, Maltese as a Foreign Language for Juniors, specifically designed for children aged 6 to 12.

At the National Book Awards in 2007, Saliba won a prize for his book, Realtà, in the Prose for Adolescents category. Saliba is a member of the L-Akkademja tal-Malti and the International Association of Paremiology. Finally, he has presented his research at several international conferences where he has been a keynote speaker on a number of occasions.

For more information, visit www.charlesdanielsaliba.com

Photo: Mayor David Apap Aguis presenting the award to Dr Charles Daniel Saliba

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