Maritime English Language assessment experts

MarTEL has been developed by a collaboration of MET institutions and Maritime companies. Experts both in the knowledge and practical side of maritime English have been involved in creating the tests. The aim of this combination of academia with occupational experts was to ensure that the tests catered for the real life situations that seafarers of different ranks and occupations are likely to come across during their career whether at sea or in port, on deck or below.

MarTEL partners has also been working with accrediting and awarding bodies (including Edexcel) across Europe. It is hoped that test takers will be awarded an Edexcel certificate when they have passed their MarTEL test which will act as a vocational qualification certifying that they are able to understand and use Maritime English to a specific standard.

MarTEL has been produced as a result of significant and serious research in the field which has revealed that the current arrangements for assessing language competency in maritime industry and commerce are no longer adequate. There are also no requirements for taking an English test by the maritime industry. This has led to increasing accidents at sea due to miscommunication and a lack of understanding of the maritime English language. MarTEL has taken on board all of the findings from these studies and has incorporated them into the tests to make sure the industry’s needs are covered. They have also built upon the existing frameworks such as the IMO’s SMCP, filling in the gaps and improving the existing practices. Candidates and institutions alike can be sure that the tests will be accurate, fair, reliable and relevant to the industry and thus your institution.

Edexcel is the leading organisation for internationally recognised qualifications. Edexcel, for over 50 years has been dedicated to providing people with vocational qualifications across the world. They have a dedicated team of assessors who share the same vision of providing opportunities to help people achieve their ambitions and goals. They have a high quality assessment system including a qualifications committee which provides Edexcel with guidance and advice to ensure that people can continue to trust that Edexcel’s qualifications are reliable and of an exceptional standard.

Ongoing research

To ensure that the MarTEL standards are up to date and relevant to the Maritime Industry, MarTEL conducts and incorporates research Europe-wide. These studies provide MarTEL with the specific Maritime English knowledge and relevant changes in the Maritime language and the industry that they need to address.

The majority of the studies are carried out by the MarTEL partners, however the MarTEL partnership is keen to encourage external maritime professionals to provide worthwhile contributions of their own to improve their Maritime English Language assessment.

For more information, to contribute or to consult the papers and articles see the Research section.