Learning Maltese and Italian any suggestions on discs prior to move

Hi, I am seriously contemplating moving to Malta next April, my son already lives there and i have lived in Greece before and love the Mediterranean life style.  I have a degree in sales and marketing, extensive experience of working in tourism having been a holiday rep for many years plus qualifications in the leisure industry. I do however want to learn as much Maltese and Italian as I can before moving in the hopes it will help me find a good job.  Has anyone used any discs prior to moving that they can suggest.  I live in a rural area so no evening classes or college courses locally so am going to have to learn via the internet.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.  Hope i have put this in the right category.

Hi MyGenes and welcome to the forum.

Maltese is a very difficult language to grasp, however, with a little perseverance you should manage to get yourself to colloquial - but only once you arrive in Malta and practice with a patient local.

Try this site........Learn Maltese 

If you look at the left hand side margin you will also see a link to Italian.

Good Luck

Mike

Thanks, I just want to get the basics, I know some Greek from my time there and found it much easier to learn once I was in the country but if I can get a basic knowledge of both languages before I come over it might give me something to work from.  Thanks for taking the time to reply

Hi Mygenes you could learn Italian on the internet with Duolingo like i am trying to do.

Thank you scunkone, will go and look at it now.  Maltese looks very complicated but am determined to get the basics if nothing else.  Greek wasn't too bad as I speak Welsh so it has some similarities, also I found the same with Spanish, but don't speak enough of either to be able to say I can converse in it.  Really need to knuckle down now and learn the Italian and Maltese.  I am a firm believer in adopting the language and traditions of the country I live in.

Mygenes, all the best , good luck with it i will see you on the Duolingo site, my name on there is Mongraul.

This link is very helpful in learning Italian grammar:  http://italian.speak7.com/lesson1.htm. And there is a very good app with verb conjugations called Verbi.  My wife uses these and they were especially helpful when she was first learning.  She also attends evening classes in Italian here in Malta.

Hi Tearnet, can i ask you if the Italian lessons your wife goes to are held in Maltese or English?
I went to the Education place in Floriana  asking about Italian lessons to be held in Naxxar and was told they are taught in Maltese.

She registered via the local council though the lessons are arranged by Lifelong Learning (you can find this via the council's website or visit your local council office).  You have the choice of evening or morning classes held at many venues and towns.  The teacher of my wife's classes is an Italian lady so my wife learnt Italian with an Italian accent, not Maltese!  When she first asked, she was told that the lessons would be in English if there were English students.  As it happened, my wife was the only English student, there were about six Maltese and the rest were a mix of Spanish, Russian, Brazilian and Swedish!  The lessons were in English to start with then gradually weaned more into Italian but always with English as a fallback.  You must register by 5th September this year for the course - which is from October to May.  My wife is going to take the intermediate course this coming "year".

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond to my question.  Now I have to knuckle down and get studying, have book marked all 3 sites.  Also found a site called http://www.digitaldialects.com/Maltese.htm which has some good games to teach you Maltese.  Will definitely have to sign up to classes when I arrive.  Maybe I could offer to teach someone English in return for learning Maltese/Italian.

I thought this looked like a good idea - but as yet haven't done anything about it

- mylanguageexchange.com