The Professional Profile of a Maritime English Instructor (PROFS): An Interim Report

This paper describes the fact that communication within the maritime industry in general, and in sea in particular, requires a high level of competency and that it is axiomatic. For international employees today, this inevitably means communicative competency in the English language, especially the variety commonly referred to as Maritime English. Gradually maritime English is becoming recognized as a fully-fledged subject and the need to establish standards is an issue receiving widespread attention. In the shipping industry the increased global need to use English because of the new demands imposed by technological and commercial developments, together with high profile misdemeanors at sea causing loss of life, damage to property and environmental pollution, have resulted in the legal requirements (i.e., STCW/SOLAS) regarding communicative competency in the English language for professional purposes being considered sharpened. The authors of the project have observed a rise in interest and concern of maritime organizations as to how they should best accommodate these new demands. Maritime Education and Training institutions, often reluctant to recognize Maritime English on an equal footing to Navigation or Marine Engineering, or to dedicate more instruction hours in an already tight program, have been keen to find more effective strategies. Often this is attempted by paying little or no attention to the amorphous global body of Maritime English instructors at their disposal. The Professional Profile of a Maritime English Instructors (PROFS) project aims on the one had to create generally accepted guidelines and recommendations for MET institution management on how to qualify teachers of general English and other persons of substandard maritime-technical qualifications currently teaching English to navigational/marine engineering university students to become lecturers/instructors in Maritime English, meeting at least the requirements of the relevant legislation, and on the other hand to provide prospective candidates to Maritime English teaching profession with an idea of what will be expected from them should they wish to instruct navigational/marine engineering students at university level. This report presents the activities and preliminary observations of the PROFS team’s ongoing research.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Pagination: pp 65-71
  • Monograph Title: Maritime Security and MET

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01020153
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 1845640586
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 15 2006 8:25AM