Whither Maritime English

In 2004, at IMEC 16 in Manila, the authors of this paper took up the question “whither Maritime English” which Captain Fred Weekds, a founding father of IMLA and the first chair of its Maritime English sub-committee, had asked at WOME 9 in 1997. Now 15 years later, it seems timely to address this question anew.

Validation of the MarTEL Test: the importance of validity of the Test and the Procedure for Validation in MarTEL

This paper reports on the development of the EU funded Leonardo project called MarTEL. MarTEL concerns the development of a novel set of Maritime English Language Standards. MarTEL is designed to test mariner’s Maritime English through a series of online tests designed to cater for all types and ranks of seafarers.

The importance of developing test specification in the process of the Enhanced Oral Test Design

The paper will explain the factors taken into consideration in the development of the Enhanced Oral Test, which is one of the outcomes of the EU Funded Leonardo MarTEL PLUS project. The development of an International test of the speaking skills of seafarers will be by its nature a very high stakes test and should be based on solid testing principles to ensure validity and reliability of the test scores.

Piloting The MarTEL Standards

The MarTEL projects (MarTEL and MarTEL Plus) aim at creating a series of innovative Maritime English language tests and learning materials. The MarTEL Project created the first international Maritime English standards for Cadets, Deck and Engineering Officers, and Senior Deck and Engineering Officers and also for Port Officials in the Merchant Navy. The MarTEL project‟s aims at widening the user group of the existing e- learning platform by providing a series of tests and learning materials. The projects are supported by the European Union through its Leonardo da Vinci programme.

International Standards Of Maritime English As A Means To Improve Safety At Sea

This article gives background information about MarTEL Project and its achievements. The MarTEL Project is being developed by several European countries within the frameworks of European Union Leonardo da Vinci educational programme in order to establish international standards in Maritime English. In 2009 Ukraine – Kyiv State Maritime Academy, in particular, joined the project. Ukraine occupies the 5th place in the world in manpower for different ranks and classes of seafarers working on multi-national and multi-flagged vessels. The participation of the a Ukrainian higher educational institution in this project is one indication that Ukraine is interested and involved with international co-operation in order to reduce merchant vessels incidents and accidents caused by the human factor relating to Maritime English communication failure on board ships and in ports.

Improving safety at sea and ports by developing standards for Maritime English

There are no international or European standards for Maritime English other than the existing English language standards and maritime English model courses such as International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) SMCP (Standard Maritime Communication Phrases, 2001). Review of the arguments from the recent IMO meetings (IMO MSC, 2006) considering MSC 82/15/2 and MSC 82/15/3 had identified that ‘there is a compelling need to promote a high level of working maritime English language skills’. Several EU member states have invited STW sub-committee to consider how the requirements in the STCW-Code can be strengthened in this connection.

A transnational project team composed of some eight European countries, funded through the EU Leonardo programme, was established to identify the need for such standards. The research work to date has clearly indicated that communication failures are a major cause of many accidents and incidents. The core of the communication failures was found to be lack of skills in use of maritime English by seafarers of various types and ranks. The need analysis elucidated that different types of seafarer require a different set of English language skills at varying level of competency and that at higher ranks a greater level of competency is required.

The next task was to find out exactly what skills and at what skill levels the standards should be developed for each and every type of seafarer. This task was followed by the development of methods and methodologies for the identified and the intended standards.

This paper reports on a major European Union Leonardo funded project established to develop standards and study units for maritime English. IMLA conference is an excellent platform to invite other interested groups to join this exciting and worthwhile project.

Maritime testing of English language: A search for a supranational standard

Testing one's English Language in general is more or less standardized today. Standards of TOEFL and IELTS are widely accepted by international bodies and national institutions around the world.

But when it comes to the testing of a language for a specific purpose which is mostly English, our view of the matter is not very clear. To the native speakers of English, the language for a specific purpose is a natural part of the learning when one studies maritime sciences. But to those who study maritime sciences in another language, it is an additional study, an extra effort to comprehend and express their learning in a foreign language.

This extra effort is not a stand alone subject. It is interrelated with so many aspects of the maritime studies (but does not completely blend in) and therefore many national inputs are thrown into its deliverance and testing due the national perception of Maritime Education and Training. Thus, today maritime institutions are trying to apply many various methods and techniques of Maritime English (MarE) delivery and testing despite the fact that the Maritime World is increasingly reaching a supranational uniformity.

MarTEL - Maritime Tests of English Language - is a major project to become one of the key players of this supranational league, in terms of testing and assessment of English for the Maritime World. Of course, as testing and assessment naturally bring along the delivery methods and study packs of the subject, MarTEL will expand to cover all the aspects of Maritime English. In TÜDEV-PİRİ REİS UNIVERSITY, we are working to achieve MarTEL as a long sought answer to the search of a standard for Maritime English worldwide.

Improving Safety at Sea and Ports by developing standards for Maritime English

The work reported here shows how communication failures can be addressed through removal of existing deficiencies in the training of the seafarers in Maritime English. EU funded Leonardo MarTEL project is addressing this deficiency through development of standards for Maritime English. The strength of the MarTEL Project is that it takes into consideration the language skills as well as the competency levels in each skill needed for each type and rank of seafarer. One important aspect unique to MarTEL is that it is 'Maritime Test of English Language' and not and 'English Test of Maritime Knowledge'. The research on accidents and incidents in this paper has been used to underpin the development of standards for Maritime English within the MarTEL Project.

Encouraging Research in Training Institutions

Education and training are vital to the development and success of today's knowledge society and economy. The EU's strategy emphasizes countries working together and learning from each other while the EU education and training policy underlines that knowledge, and the innovation it sparks, are the EU's most valuable assets, particularly as global competition becomes more intense in all sectors under the hardships of the global economic crisis.

EU's Education and Training 2010 work programme integrates previous actions in the fields of education and training at the European level, including vocational education and training under the Copenhagen Process, and links up to the Bologna Process, which is crucial in the development of the European Higher Education Area.

Leonardo da Vinci Programme which is part of the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP), funds a wide range of actions, notably cross-border mobility initiatives; co-operation projects to develop and spread innovation; and thematic networks. Innovation projects have always been at the core of the Leonardo da Vinci programme. They aim to improve the quality of training systems through the development and transfer of innovative policies, contents, methods and procedures within vocational education and training.

TUDEV, being the leading MET provider of Turkey which is fully complying with the EU accession programme, has been developing innovative MET solutions since 2005 under the EU LLP.

This paper intends to inform participants about TUDEV’s past, present and future innovative projects under EU LLP and other research programmes to encourage future research collaboration which might be of interest to any IMLA member MET Institution.

Developing an Effective Maritime Education and Training System

The purpose of maritime education and training (MET) is to supply manpower for the shipping industry. Furthermore, it aims to establish the fundamentals of the seafarer’s discipline. MET covers a wide spectrum of training institutions which range from those delivering short-time courses to post-graduate studies. The ship, core element of the shipping, operates worldwide in a multinational, multicultural and multifunctional environment. To facilitate working in such a complicated environment, the seafarers must be trained taking into account the entire aforesaid environments, taking into consideration, all international standards and related regulations.

The commonly agreed principles in establishing an effective MET are based on some of the following considerations:

• Application of Internationally recognized standards including STCW
• Cooperation with accrediting, awarding and licensing authorities as well as MET institutions worldwide
• Meeting local requirements
• Close cooperation with shipping industry to meet their requirements
• Adopting new education and training technologies into MET
• Updating programmes to cover new requirements and technologies applied to shipping industry
• Providing continuous education for industrial updating
• Covering all stage of MET to achieve continuous education
• Balancing and matching academic studies and on board training taking into consideration licensing authorities.

In the last decade, Turkish shipping industry has shown a rapid improvement in the number and quality of her fleet which necessitated a requirement for improving the MET system in Turkey. To achieve this mission, with international cooperation and support from European Union projects, the Turkish Maritime Education Foundation (TUDEV) and the Turkish Chamber of Shipping (TCS) initiated a programme in 2003 based on unlimited watch officer training. The encouraging results led to further enhancing of MET by establishing the first Turkish Maritime University - "Piri Reis University".

Development of Standards for Maritime English – The EU MarTEL Project

This paper reports on the progress of the EU funded Leonardo project MarTEL which concerns the development of a set of standards for Maritime English for application in Merchant Navy education and training programmes for cadet officers and officers of various types and ranks. The standards are based on transfer of innovation from existing English language standards and maritime English model courses such as International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Model course 3.17 and the IMO’s SMCP (Standard Maritime Communication Phrases, 2001). Recent reviews by several IMO member countries had identified that ‘there is a compelling need to promote a high level of working maritime English language skills’ for merchant navy officers.

The standards were developed at three different levels referred to as Phases 1, 2 and 3. Phase 1 standard applies to level of Maritime English proficiency required for entry onto Merchant Navy cadet officer programmes for both Deck cadet officers and Marine Engineering cadets officers. Phase 2 is in two parts, Part 1 concerns the standard of Maritime English competency for Deck Officers of Watch and Part 2 relates to competency level for Marine Engineering Officers. Phase 3 is for Senior Officers and again sub-divided into two part, Parts 1 and 2, one for senior Deck officers and one for senior Marine Engineering officers.

Each standard has its own set of study guidelines and underpinned by a comprehensive study unit. While the guidelines are to prepare the candidates for a test at given level (Phase), the Study Unit is a knowledge-base of content for each phase.

All phases include active skills i.e. Speaking, Listening and Writing. The content for standard is based on active learning and on maritime terminology and usage with less emphasis on grammar. All standards for Cadet, Officer and Senior Officer Levels (Phases) will have different weights on different skills and different proficiency requirements at different ranks and duties.

Measuring Students’ Competence and Performance

Research has shown that the weakest link in Maritime Education and Training (MET) is the identification of the communication problems due to lack of standards for Maritime English. Communication failures have caused many accidents and incidents in the past. There have been many attempts to reduce communication failures and improve both the content and delivery of Maritime English. A recent EU Leonardo Project MarEng considered a great success in enhancing the current efforts in improving content and delivery of English Courses by MET providers. However, there are no international or European standards yet for the evaluation, assessment and testing in Maritime English to measure students’ competence and performance in this very important subject.

To address this deficiency, MarEdu (TUDEV–CFF Partnership) with support from several EU member states as well as Norway instigated a major Leonardo Project known as MarTEL (Maritime Test of English Language) in 2007. The first phase of the project is near completion and final report to EU is expected in October 2009. MarTEL is expected to be a unique solution to improving the Maritime English competency of seafarers. MarTEL solution contains a series of study units supplemented by a set of tests in Maritime English. Pilot studies on MarTEL have shown to motivate cadets to learn English as MarTEL study units encourage learning English in the context of the maritime profession. This new and standardized method of delivery and assessment of Maritime English competency is expected to reduce the extremely high percentage number of accidents and incidents at sea and in ports, and save many lives.

Fusion of Content and Skill in MarTEL Maritime English Standards

Starting point of MarTEL Project was to create standards in testing Maritime English (MarE) of three groups of seafarers, namely; the would-be cadets of maritime academies (Phase 1), graduates of these academies and the officers of junior rank (Phase 2) and the seafarers of senior level who are captains, chief engineers, pilots and other high level port authority personnel (Phase 3). Furthermore, the project also aims to create some sort of standardization for teaching of MarE by way of designing “study guidelines” and “study units” for each of its phases.

The workshop intends to focus on the second phase of MarTEL which is regarded as the core of the project. In this phase, MarTEL brings a new approach to the testing of MarE as it upholds the language element above the maritime knowledge and distinguishes the language skill levels of deck and engineering officers. Therefore it is designed as a “skill based” test which assesses the English proficiency of the test taker in maritime context and based on criterion referencing.

When it comes to the studying or preparing for the test, MarE is expected to be taught through a content of maritime knowledge. The aim is to design a certain type of teaching material which will successfully combine the language skills with the aspects of Maritime Competency. Therefore an allocation of language skills to the selected topics of maritime knowledge is needed. The workshop intends to ponder this allocation and its pros and cons.

Improving Safety at Sea and Ports by developing Standards for Maritime English

Recent research has demonstrated that while the reduction of accidents has been substantial over the last 10 years, the number of accidents caused due to human error is actually increasing.

The accidents are often sub-divided by those caused by human error, poor design or equipment failure. However, the number of accidents due to human error is shown to be by far greater than those caused by poor design or equipment failure. Furthermore, the accidents due to communication and linguistic mistakes are reported to be one of the main causes of accidents and incidents at sea.

This paper concerns aspects relating to human error, particularly those aspects originating from ‘communication issues’. The focus is how seafarers are taught to communicate using ‘the language of the sea’ which is English. Communication problems is considered on a macro basis and is evaluated by taking into consideration its underlying reasons such as cultural problems, linguistic problems, fatigue, psychological problems – such as stress, pressure, etc. - , misapplication of rules, organisational problems, teaching and training-of-trainer practices, etc. It is interesting that, at a recent IMO Maritime Safety Committee competence in Maritime English was once again highlighted to be a major issue. (IMO MSC, 2006)

The work reported here shows how communication failures can be addressed through removal of existing deficiencies of Maritime English Language training practices and by encouraging improvement in assessment practice through, for instance, the developments of standards for Maritime English. The strength of the programme of research reported here is that it has taken into consideration the language skills as well as the competency levels in each skill needed for each type and rank of seafarer.

Special references are made to the work of EU funded Leonardo MarTEL Project partnership in developing standards and supporting study units for Maritime English.

International Standards Of Maritime English As A Means To Improve
Safety At Sea

This paper gives background information about MarTEL Project and its achievements. The MarTEL Project is being developed by several European countries within the frameworks of European Union Leonardo da Vinci educational programme in order to establish international standards in Maritime English. In 2009 Ukraine – Kyiv State Maritime Academy, in particular, joined the project. Ukraine occupies the 5th place in the world in manpower for different ranks and classes of seafarers working on multi-national and multi-flagged vessels. The participation of the a Ukrainian higher educational institution in this project is one indication that Ukraine is interested and involved with international co-operation in order to reduce merchant vessels incidents and accidents caused by the human factor relating to Maritime English communication failure on board ships and in ports.

Maritime English Testing – Current State Of Affairs

Training and assessment have always been interrelated as the two sides of a coin. This relation becomes crucial especially when taking into account what is measured, how and why. Assessing Maritime English competency adequately and reliably at an international level then rises as a major issue because it reaches out equally to merchant marine officers and cadets and Maritime English Training (MET) institutions, maritime administrations, ship owners, etc.

It is indisputable that designing standards for Maritime English (ME) assessment as well as establishing an overall ME testing system is essential, even though somewhat delayed. The fact that legal instruments, namely SOLAS 2004 and STCW 95, set out guidelines and make recommendations regarding the seafarers’ training and education does not alleviate the problems encountered in the attempts to harmonize ME proficiency standards for assessment and further certification at all levels.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the current state of affairs in ME testing in terms of tests availability, criteria for measuring ME, test administration and so on. First, it will focus on several tests designed for the purpose of measuring ME in maritime context – MARLINS, TOMEC and MARTEL, and comment on their format, skills tested, scoring and interpretation of results. Then, it will discuss the recently promulgated Yardstick of ME competence for ship officers as an instrument likely to affect positively both ME training and testing.