// IMO selected this ship for a special feature on "cutting marine pollution" during the 50th Anniversary commemorations and I used it both for my unit on 'Ship recognition' and the prevention of maritime pollution, with English teachers at Dalian Maritime University last year.
// This illustrates authentic shipping material which can be gleaned from many different sources to assist trainees to understand specialist technical terms when referring to oil tankers, their configuration and cargoes and similar material can be found on many different types of cargo ships. Unfortunately, the ships many young graduates board in this region may be much older, less well equipped and maintained than the 'British Vigilance'. Neither may our new seafarers have achieved a level of communicative competence which would permit discussing shipboard matters fluently, in English, with other crew members from different non-English speaking cultures or in communicating with other ships, Vessel Traffic Services, with officials from Port State Control or with a Pilot.
// Let me state at this point-in utilising authentic material, no-one is advocating abandoning an existing syllabus. Too many valuable hours are already invested as these are prepared for each academic year. Rather we are looking to enliven, authenticate, extend, illustrate and demonstrate technical material, especially nautical and engineering texts.
