Yes. English is one of the two official languages of Malta, and you will get through shops, buses, banks and public offices without a word of Maltese. What you will not get is an island that speaks only English. Maltese is the national language, it is the first language of most Maltese people, and locals switch between the two in the same sentence. Knowing how the two languages share the space helps you plan where to practise and what to expect outside the classroom.
What the law says
The Constitution of Malta settles the question in Article 5:
- Maltese is the national language of Malta.
- Maltese and English are the official languages, and Parliament has the power to add others by law.
- Anyone may address the administration in either official language and is entitled to a reply in the same language.
- Maltese is the language of the courts, with English allowed in cases Parliament sets out.
For a student, the third point matters most. At a public office, a hospital or the immigration desk, you are entitled to deal in English, and staff are used to it.
Who speaks what at home
The 2021 Census of Population and Housing, published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in its third volume in January 2024, gives the clearest picture. Maltese remained the predominant first language across all age groups of Maltese nationals. English is growing among the young: nearly a quarter of children under 10, and 14.7 per cent of those aged 10 to 19, were reported as having English as their first language from early childhood.
The split also depends on where you live. The census found the highest share of Maltese nationals who spoke English from early childhood in Swieqi, at 37.7 per cent, followed by Sliema and St Julian’s at a little over a quarter. Those are the towns where most language schools and student flats sit, which is why many students feel that “everyone speaks English” during their first week. Move inland or across to Gozo and Maltese takes over.
Where you will hear English
- Shops, cafés and restaurants in Sliema, St Julian’s, Valletta and Bugibba.
- Bus drivers, ticket desks and airport staff. Our guide to getting from the airport to your accommodation covers that first trip.
- Doctors, pharmacies and health centres. See the guide to healthcare in Malta for students.
- Banks, mobile shops and public offices, where forms come in both languages.
- Road signs, menus and official notices, mostly bilingual.
- Newspapers and radio: several of the main national titles publish in English.
Where Maltese takes over
- Conversations between Maltese people, even in English-speaking towns.
- Village feasts, parish life and local football.
- Older residents in villages, who switch to English for you but use Maltese among themselves.
- Gozo, where daily life runs in Maltese more than on the main island.
You will also hear both at once. A sentence starts in Maltese, picks up an English verb, and ends in Maltese again. Linguists call it code-switching. In Malta it is ordinary speech, and nobody expects you to follow it.
What this means for your English
The English you hear in Malta is the English of people who live in two languages. Accents vary, some vocabulary comes from Maltese or Italian, and the rhythm differs from London or Dublin. For a learner, this is real-world listening practice, the kind exams test and textbooks rarely give you.
The bigger risk sits inside your school, not outside it. According to the NSO release on Teaching English as a Foreign Language for 2025, 71.8 per cent of students at licensed schools came from an EU country, led by Italy (23.0 per cent), Germany (10.6 per cent) and France (10.4 per cent). If your class is full of people who share your first language, English stops being the default after 4 pm. Our guide on how to practise English outside class deals with that problem directly.
Five Maltese words worth learning anyway
You do not need Maltese, and you will still use these within a week:
- Grazzi: thank you.
- Bonġu: good morning.
- Iva and le: yes and no.
- Jekk jogħġbok: please.
- Saħħa: goodbye, or cheers.
A “grazzi” at the pastizzeria costs nothing and changes the tone of the exchange. People notice, and they tend to answer in English with a smile.
Practical takeaways
- Expect English in every service you need as a student, from the bank to the health centre.
- Expect Maltese in conversations around you, and do not read it as a sign that people will not speak English to you.
- Pick accommodation with your practice goals in mind. A host family gives you daily conversation; a flat with classmates from your own country often does not.
- If you are working towards a certificate, plan your listening around real voices, not only exam recordings. The guide to English exams in Malta explains which tests are on offer.
Malta works as an English-learning destination because English is part of public life, written into the Constitution and used by the State. It is also a bilingual country, and the students who get the most out of it are the ones who go looking for English instead of waiting for it.
