What is Pocket Tutor?

Pocket Tutor is an online homework guide, aimed for non-Maltese speaking parents and guardians to help them better understand what their children are learning in Maltese language class at school. It is also a learning resources to prepare the children in advance when starting out in a Maltese school.

What Inspired this Project?

Started as a dissertation project. Developed to promote engagement with the language.

Pocket Tutor started off as a dissertation project for Masters Degree in Graphic Design. It was inspired by some conversations with young expatriate families and how homework was sometimes stressful as they do not understand what is says being in Maltese and cannot help their children with it.

As English is also an official language in Malta, expatriates manage very well with simply speaking English, so they do not necessarily need to learn the language. That said, familiarising oneself with the language can be very useful in better understanding certain context. and what is required in a given homework task.

Clear. Confident. Clever. Casual.

Pocket Tutor aims to provide clear and concise information that is easy to understand and helps users shake that "I don't get it" feeling when they helping their children with Maltese language homework. This gives a sense of reassurance to the parents that they are guiding them through their homework correctly as they can understand better what is required.

Syllabus, Dictionary and More...

Pocket Tutor can be used as part of the homework routine at home, or in preparation for the upcoming year. The aim of this is to give an overview of what is being taught in the Maltese language lessons. That way, parents can know what to expect when children come home with homework.

One can start off by going to the Syllabus section and choose the school year of the child. In each school year, you will find the syllabus of that year explained in detail with examples. In some cases, schools may vary slightly in the order of how it is taught, or even some topics are introduced earlier. In that case, albeit uncommon, you can refer to the following school year for referencing.

IMPORTANT: Pocket Tutor IS NOT an answer book. You will not find exact answers to any given homework task.

Besides the core syllabi of each year, Pocket Tutor also has a bi-lingual dictionary and an audio-visual library.

The dictionary is there to help in learning new vocabulary and translate phrases. When searching a word, you will find the translation of the word, as well as other words sharing the same meaning and examples in context.

The audio-visual library is a fun activity for children and adults. The concept is to introduce children to reading and listening the spoken Maltese language. By providing a bilingual transcript of the book whilst listening to it being read, it is a fun way of introducing the language and be productive during leisure time.