Valerie Short, the principal of International English Services, which is based at Legana in Tasmania, is a pioneer in her faculty, having initiated the first Maritime English course for non-English-speaking students
'Similarly, inadequate liaison between university departments, outdated materials and the "lecture mode" of imparting information still preferred by the teaching staff in general mean that little opportunity exists for students to question, discuss or think for themselves. Yet leadership, initiative, self-reliance and clear communicative abilities are among the most important characteristics of reliable seafarers.'
Having previously taught specialist English to business executives and technicians in Singapore for several years, and observing the concern expressed frequently by shipping authorities about the accident potential of poor communication among non-English-speaking seamen, Valerie believes there has been insufficient recognition of the maritime teachers' needs in the Asia-Pacific region.
'For example, in most maritime training institutions where English is a foreign or second language, teachers of English more often come from an arts background with a tertiary degree of a literary nature, rather than one in linguistics, while any maritime, shipping or technical knowledge is minimal, 'she said.
One of the main objectives of her teacher-training programme at Dalian, she said, was to introduce the concept of an interactive 'across-the-curriculum' teaching approach to English teachers and subject instructors. 'Ideally, liaison between English-teaching staff and those instructing in navigation, engineering, cargo handling ship maintenance, meteorology, electrical, communications and other subjects will educate the English teachers in the technical terminology, while upgrading the English of subject instructors. So, gradually, this cooperative approach should ensure that students are exposed to erudite English in all their subjects.'
Valerie expresses the firm view that, in her opinion the 'vital aspect of clear, accurate communication affecting safety and efficiency at sea has received low priority in maritime education centres, despite the International Maritime Organisation's requirement of English as the medium of communication'. She adds, 'Dalian Maritime University is, therefore, to be congratulated for taking a lead in providing a training programme for those who are training a new generation of seafarers.'
While fulfilling their normal tutorial schedules, teachers of general English and instructors from other faculties attended most of Valerie's training sessions at Dalian. Their enthusiasm was clearly evident and, working industriously together, the group, which varied between 20 and 30 teachers, quickly became familiar with correct English maritime terminology: 'Teachers found the collaborative solving of group tasks challenging and refreshing as they struggled with new language for explanatory texts on transparencies which could be shared by the class.
'The realisation that each group's text would be projected and evaluated was for some, initially, somewhat daunting. Gradually, however, the competitiveness of the process was realised, especially by navigators and engineers, who vied for the highest degree of accuracy in technical explanations. This, of course, stretched each group's English teachers to the full while extending everyone's English competence,' she said.
With international shipping relying more and more on multinational crews and recognising the importance of fluent English communication at sea, it is vital that other maritime training centres in the Asia-Pacific region follow the excellent example of Dalian Maritime University in providing English training across the curriculum for their teaching staff, says Valerie.
And the next assignment for this peripatetic pedagogue? First stop: the Papua New Guinea Maritime College in Madang - and then back to China to run a training programme at the Shanghai Maritime University.
