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AN INSIGHT INTO MARITIME ENGLISH FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Conference Paper · May 2013

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 AN INSIGHT INTO MARITIME ENGLISH FOR ENGINEERING
STUDENTS

Anca I. Sirbu*

*Constanta Maritime University

Abstract. Maritime English involves some highly specialized and specific

terms that are not part of a layman’s vocabulary. This paper is focused on some
aspects of maritime English for engineering students, a branch of technical English.
It is essential that a marine engineer should be able to read and comprehend
engineering English from instruction manuals as well as write reports and
communicate with the shipping company in terms of engineering issues.
Key words: ESP, Maritime English, engineering, marine engineers, teaching
aids

1. Introduction

Maritime English is structured on a common core of everyday vocabulary and

grammar. However, it involves some highly specialized and specific terms that are
not part of a layman’s vocabulary. It is this idiosyncrasy that characterizes it and tags
it as ESP. Within many technical fields, maritime English has become the shared
language of the seafarers’ profession. It is, therefore, no doubt that the seafarers’
competence in maritime English is initially determined by the knowledge attained
during their maritime education. Irrespective of the rank on board, the level of
English of the future mariner depends on the basic structure of the language acquired
as a student.
This paper is focused on some aspects of maritime English for engineering
students, a branch of technical English. It is essential that a marine engineer should
be able to read and comprehend engineering English from instruction manuals as well
as write reports and communicate with the shipping company in terms of engineering
issues.

2. Exposition

It goes without saying in the shipping industry, that, whenever the

“international maritime language” is referred to, Maritime English is meant.
According to the STCW 1978/95, future deck officers and marine engineer have to
render a well developed command of this specialised language, otherwise they will
not be granted a certificate of competence as a great many accidents at sea and in
ports happen due to communication deficiencies.
To make things safer, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) acts by
setting international standards and procedures for ships and seafarers. One such
action was taken in 1995 when, aware that many marine accidents were caused by
seafarers simply not being able to understand each other, the IMO established English
as the international language of the sea. English language competence is now
required for certification of officers in most countries. To work efficiently in any
position of responsibility on a ship a mariner needs not only a basic knowledge of
general English but also a highly specialised lexicon of words and terms which are in
everyday use on board. It is this language that is tested by, for example, the IMO’s
Model Course 3.17 “Maritime English”. [2]
In today’s multi-cultural shipboard environment, one of the most important
skills that seafarers must develop is the ability to communicate effectively with their
colleagues, particularly when they do not share English as a common first language.
An inability to communicate properly can undermine even the best qualified of
shipboard management teams and this is becoming more and more important as a
safety issue with the increasing diversity of the shipping industry’s labour force.
English has long been accepted as the international maritime language and the
Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) [3], which replaced the Standard
Marine Navigational Vocabulary, were adopted by IMO (International Maritime
Organization) in November 2001. The SMCP builds on a basic knowledge of English
and includes phrases for use in routine operations as well as standard phrases and
responses for use in emergency situations.
According to the department it serves, maritime English falls mainly under two
categories: the English used by the personnel of the Deck department (with a view to
navigation, cargo handling, shipping documents etc.) and the English used by the
Engine department (concerning the main and auxiliary engines and their operation
and maintenance as well as the electrics and electronics on board and the operation
thereof). There is, of course, a third common category, i.e. onboard and outboard
communication.
Marine engineering professionals are highly skilled and knowledgeable in
engineering and shipbuilding. However, some marine engineers who speak English
as a second language may experience difficulty in professional communication skills.
This can make it impossible for them to communicate effectively with other
professionals.
Technical English in terms of skills and vocabulary is relevant across a wide
range of technical contexts. For example, almost all engineers need to work with
technical drawings, discuss dimensions and tolerances, talk about different materials
and their properties, describe the shapes of components and how they fit together,
describe causes and effects, explain technical problems etc. For instance, maritime
engineering involves the closely coordinated efforts of mechanical and electrical
engineers. Therefore, specialists need to know the essential terminology from one
another’s fields in order to work together. Imagine being a mechanical engineer and
not knowing essential electrical terms such as switch, circuit and DC supply. You
wouldn’t get very far. Many of the key theories of engineering are relevant to more
than one field. For example, the principles of stress and strain apply to the structural
elements holding up a skyscraper, and equally to the mechanical components of a
ship. The concepts of energy, work and power are as relevant to electrical supplies
and batteries as they are to Diesel engines. Therefore, much of the language used to
describe the core principles of engineering is generically relevant.
The difference between technical and non-technical vocabulary is not very
distinct. Strictly technical words are characterized by the absence of exact synonyms,
resistance to semantic change, and a very narrow range, e.g., words such as
crankshaft, or to bunker. Another class of words are the words that fall under both
categories, i.e. they can have both technical and non-technical usage. Words like iron,
force, strength, tension or stress have the same meaning in several technical fields.
Engineering English is well known for its passive verbs (e.g. Auxiliary
engines, together with alternators, are mounted on a common bedplate and are
installed on shock absorbers.), abbreviated relatives (hand-operated device,
electronics capable of self-repair), long noun groups (fresh water cooling pumps, oil-
fired boiler burner) which can prove rather difficult to understand and use if enough
attention is not paid. By seeing the contexts and collocates, the learners can get a
much better idea of the use of a word than they would achieve by merely looking it
up in the dictionary.
The main concern for maritime English teachers is to know what and how to
teach. They should bear in mind that reading and comprehension as well as writing
are best improved by practice. It is, therefore, desirable to use completely authentic
materials.
Beside documents from shipping companies or obtained directly from ships,
other helpful resources are video materials and computer-based programs. Although
rather obsolete as far as shipbuilding and cargo handling information is concerned,
English for Maritime Studies [1] is probably one of the best available specialist books
for lower and intermediate levels.
As far as computer-based programs are concerned, they depend on the
availability of appropriate IT equipment, accessible to both teacher and student in
order to be useful as a shore teaching aid. Some are designed for onboard use in a
self-study mode and their programs are mainly aimed at a technical subject or
particular operation. We have successfully been using MarEng [5], a program
partially financed by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme of the European Union. The
original MarEng Learning Tool consists of intermediate and advanced level learning
material on different maritime topics. Based on the feedback by different user groups
all over the world, the usability of the original Tool has been improved. As a result of
the MarEng Plus project, two new topics, Maritime Security and The Marine
Environment, as well as elementary level learning material, a Teacher’s manual and a
mobile phone application of the glossary, have been added in the Tool.
Among video teaching aids, one of the best has proved to be Understanding
English on Board Ship [4], which addresses the problems encountered when dealing
with multinational crews. While highlighting the differences between the verbal
English used by marine engineers and those in the deck department, this video
material also uses typical situations on board ships with the actual ship personnel as
actors.
A profession-targeted course in engineering English needs to be relevant for
the students’ future workplace and as functional as possible, in order to keep the
motivation of the learners at a high level. Interests are however not only content and
activity-based but also skill-based. For example, the workplace context of our
students could minimize the need for writing texts in English (the language needs of
marine engineers include primarily interactive speaking and listening along with
reading skills to ensure effective onboard communication on the one hand and
secondarily a good understanding of written instructions together with the ability to
write coherent and cohesive reports on the other), so that such learners will probably
have little inclination to do writing tasks in class.
As we have mentioned above, motivation of students is an important concern
of maritime lecturers. Junior engineering students are most of the times difficult to
motivate in report writing, because the reality of maritime incidents is not yet a part
of their personal experience. Marine engineers, however, experience on a daily basis
the demands made by owners and shipping companies (via their technical
departments), so they all need to write good and clear reports with explicit
explanations of a particular incident. Senior students who have been at sea before
have had to deal with the reality on board ships and are aware of the importance of a
good command of English in general and of written English in particular.
Mistakes that might easily be tolerated in speaking are unpardonable when they
appear in writing, as they may bear heavy legal implications (for example, in the use
of careless phrases when writing a report about machinery damage or oil spills). The
use of idioms, slang and peculiar sentence structures is also to advise students
against. The lecturer needs to convince maritime students that they have to adopt a
more formal approach to writing than they do in speaking. Therefore, teaching
writing should be approached in a realistic way, with genuine materials and students
should be given plenty of practice in developing their skills in this respect.

3. Conclusion
In conclusion, by means of various teaching aids, it is the maritime English
teacher’s responsibility to ensure that the mariners-to-be are able to cope with
complex situations, both professional and personal, that may become part of their
everyday life at sea.

References

[1] Blakey, T. N. English for Maritime Studies, second edition, Prentice Hall
International, Britain, 2010
[2] *** Model Course 3.17 “Maritime English”, IMO, London, 2000
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[3] *** Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP), IMO, London, 2001
[4] *** Understanding English on Board Ship (Video and Study Notes), Videotel
Marine International, London, 2008
[5] *** http://mareng.utu.fi/index.html