NSTS Malta

NSTS English Language Institute is the language school run by NSTS Malta, an independent boutique education organisation founded at the University of Malta more than 65 years ago. The school sits in a large, bright Maltese town house at 12 Taliana Lane in Gżira, with the organisation's head office on St Paul Street in Valletta.

It teaches adults and young people from many countries, and it is listed in our directory of language schools in Malta, alongside other centres such as AM Language.

The school and what is on site

The building has 18 airy classrooms with interactive whiteboards and air-conditioning and heating, a reception desk with a student-relations team and activity organiser, free Wi-Fi, an internet cafe, a lending library and a resource centre. Outside there is a garden with a citrus orchard, extensive terraces, an open-air lounge and a cafeteria, which makes breaks between lessons feel more like a holiday than a classroom.

Teachers are CELTA-certified and hold a DELTA diploma or a degree in English beyond the standard national qualifications. Lessons last 45 minutes, run Monday to Friday and are timed at 8:45 to 10:15, 10:45 to 12:15 and 12:45 to 14:15. A placement test sets your class level, and a certificate of attendance is awarded to students who attend at least 80 per cent of lessons.

Courses for adults

General English focuses on everyday speaking and listening, along with pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, and Intensive English packs more lessons into a shorter stay for people who want faster progress. Business English covers correspondence, report writing, presentations and negotiation, using authentic material from the international business world.

Top-up English for specific purposes adds ten individual lessons in your own field to 20 lessons of General English, which doubles your speaking time and your teacher's attention. The Club 50+ programme, called the Mediterranean English Celebration, gives three hours of spoken English each morning with an experienced teacher, then leaves your afternoons for discovering the island. Our guides to things to do in Malta and the best beaches in Malta are a good starting point for those afternoons, and the school also runs full-day, half-day and evening activities.

Teachers of English can join Teacher Refresher and Teacher Professional Training courses, which combine language work with communicative methodology and classroom techniques. The staff mobility programme, suitable for Erasmus+ and other funding, adds job shadowing and observation. Programmes start every Monday, last 8 to 52 weeks, need a minimum of B1 English and total at least 30 hours a week.

Support, accommodation and getting around

The Student Relations and Service Team meets students at the airport, holds an orientation walk, offers reception support and runs events and excursions, with 24-hour support. Cultural trips often head to the capital (see our Valletta city guide), where you can see St John's Co-Cathedral, or across to the sister island (see our Gozo island guide).

NSTS offers host families, studio apartments, a campus residence ten minutes' walk from the school and partner hotels. If you prefer your own base, see our guide to hotels in Sliema and Gżira. Before you travel, check flights to Malta and the Malta weather guide.

Booking and getting started

Courses can be changed up to three days before arrival, and a 50 euro administrative fee applies to changes made between ten and three days before. You can cancel up to 11 days before arrival, while cancellations within ten days carry a €250 fee. Discounts are available for stays of more than eight weeks and better rates for more than 20 weeks, and extra lessons can be booked after you arrive.

To get started, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page, telling us the course, dates and number of students, and we will pass your message to NSTS Malta.