Transcription;
Introduction.
The Republic of Malta is an insular country that belongs to the Commonwealth and it’s composed by an archipelago located in the center of the Mediterranean, to the south of Sicily. From 1964, Malta is independent and in 2004 it joins to the European Union. In 2008 Malta receive Euro as unique money.The capital and principal port is La Valletta with a population of 7.173 habitants. Its official languages are Maltese and English, but a part important of the population are capable to understand and speak Italian. For a lot of years the use of this language has had a big extension but later it decreased because of the English influence.
The origin of “Malta” word is uncertain. The most accepted etymology is that it comes from the Greek word “meli”, that it means honey.
The Maltese archipelago is located in the limit of the African Plate, near of the Euro-Asian one. They are composed by islands of Malta Gozo and Comino.On its coasts there is a great quantity of bays that provide good ports. Also there are other smaller islands for example Fifla, Cominotto and San Pablo.
The area is characterized by its low hills and a lot of fields of.The highest point is the Ta'Dmejrek mount in the island of Malta.Although during the epoch of rains formed some creeks, in Malta there aren’t rivers or lakes.
The local climate is moderated Mediterranean with rainy winters and (~14 °C) dry and hot summers (~25 °C). In fact, there are only two stations, which attract many tourists, especially during the summer months.
History. About 1000 years b.C. the islands turned into a Phoenician colony. In 736 B.C. they were occupied by the Greeks, who called the colony Melita; before this Malta was under control of Carthage and after Rome. Malta belonged to the Empire of East with the division of the Roman Empire in 395 a.C. The Arabs occupied the islands in 870, which were snatched by Normans in the year 1090, and later Malta passed to be a fief of the kingdom of Sicily. In 1530 Carlos I, emperor of the Sacred Empire , gave Malta to a Knights of San Juan of Jerusalem who governed the islands since the 19th century. After an insistent pursuit of the Turks without results, the knights protected La Valletta, and its turned into an important square of the whole Mediterranean.
Establishment of the British mandate. In 1798, during the Egyptian campaign of Malta, Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the islands. Although, the Malteses ask for help to Great Britain and in 1799 the British sailor Nelson completed the expulsion of the Frenchmen. In accordance with the conditions of the Treaty of Paris of 1814, Malta passed to form a part of the British Empire as colony.
In 1921, as remuneration for the help given to Great Britain during the I World war, Malta obtains a Constitution that was allowing the formation of a locally Parliament. But in 1936, because of the increase of the Italian influence, Great Britain suppressed the Constitution.
Independence of Malta. On 1st of November in 1961, Malta obtained the self-government.
In the campaign for the first elections, the Labourites asked for the independence of the State without thinking about the Commonwealth. The Nationalists also was asking for the independence without going out of the organization and they won the elections. George Borg Olivier turned into prime minister.
On 21st of September in 1964 Malta proclaimed its independence and on 1st of December turned into a member of the United Nations.
Culture, Religion and Gastronomy. In Malta there is the Mediterranean culture, even the hundred fifty years of British control have left an influence: it isn’t difficult to find traditional English meals, as sausages with mash of potatoes.
The Catholic Church acts as guardian of the national traditions, and their temples are the biggest historical buildings in the majority of the villages. The Malteses spend the half of the year celebrating parties in honour of their Saints, filling the streets of confetti and eating candyfloss. Although the influence of the Catholicism is decreasing, the daily life of the majority of the Malteses is ruled by their values. The divorce and the abortion are illegal, but the new generations are trying to abolish those laws.
Malta is famous for the quality of their handcrafted products, especially, the blown glass and the silver products. The music folkloric demonstrate a great influence in its culture, and annually there is celebrated a contest of traditional songs.
In Malta kitchen predominates the Sicilian influence, even the popularity of the grilled chops and the roasted meat with vegetables reveals a weakness for the British food. The local specialities include pastizzi (a few tasty small pies of cheese), timpana (cake of macaroni, cheese and eggs) and fenek (rabbit).
Population and Govern. The Malteses are especially Catholics and speak a language that has a vocabulary similar to the Arab, although its alphabet and grammatical structure derive from the Latin.
The education is free and obligatory between 5 and 15 years. The University of Malta is located in Msida; in 1991 its had 2.500 students.
According with the terms of the Constitution of 1964, Malta is a constitutional republic. The leader of the State is the president chosen by the Parliament to govern for five years. The legislative authority resides in the Representatives' Chamber, composed by 65 members chosen for five years by universal suffrage. The government is directed by a prime minister chosen by the president of between the members of the Parliament, and he is responsible in the legislative power.
Check your Language and Structure. Can you correct your mistakes? I think that the language and the structre were quite well because I prepared a lot. I did some grammar mistakes and at the beginning I repeated the same word two or three times: "If you speak English.[...]you...[...] If you...". Also, I said others mistakes because of the nervous.
Questions;
Presentation; Did you use any resources? Yes, I used a PowerPoint with some pictures and maps.
Were the resources relevant and attractive? Yes, I think that they were, because I tried to use some pictures that were demonstrating clearly about what I were speaking, and in this way, to make the comprehension easier.
Body language and eye contact; Did you look at your audience most of the time? Yes, I did but a lot of time I looked a lot the screen and my notes.
Did you read from your notes? Yes, it helped me to follow the PowerPoint.
Did you do any gestures/movement to hold the attention of your audience? Well, not much but when I speak, always I move a lot my hands.
Structure; Did you organize your ideas in order of importance? With these types of presentations you must order the information but not with their importance; there aren't any idea more important than other, apart of, for example, the situation of the country.
Did you use discourse makers to make your ideas more clear? Yes, I did discourse makers are a lot important.
Content; Did you introduce interesting, new information to your audience? Yes, I did. I think that all of the new information about any country is interesting.
Did you look up information/facts/ideas in the Internet/books...? Yes, I did. The most information that I gave, was in an Encyclopedia and in Internet also.
Was your information more superficial or more detailed and original? I think the information was more superficial. I tried to show the most important information about the country because the audience has had a global vision about Malta.
Language; Did you check your grammar? Yes I did. But is difficult didn’t do any mistake when you speak.
Did you use rich vocabulary looking up the dictionary? I was looking up a lot the dictionary and I check a lot the different information extract from the Internet.
Did you use sentence linkers? Yes, I did.
Did you use fillers? Sometimes, but not at all.
Pronunciation & Intonation; Did you know how to pronounce all your words? No, I didn't, but I try to look for all words pronounces.
Did you check the pronunciation with a dictionary, a classmate or the teacher? Yes with some classmates.
Did you change your tone of voice or use a monotone tone all the time? I try it, but it’s too difficult when you're nervous!
Did you speed in a fluid continuum or with breaks and interruptions? At the beginning I speak too slowly and I break sometimes with interruptions the presentation, but later I can follow better my presentation.
Self evaluation; What mark did you get according to you? Well, I spent a lot of hours preparing my oral presentation however I did some mistakes and I've had nervous and perhaps it during too much but, a 7 or 8 I think is a good mark for me.
