Ibérica (Oct 2007)
Maritime English instruction – ensuring instructors’ competence
Abstract
More than ninety percent of global trade is carried by sea. As a result it “has fostered an interdependency and inter-connectivity between peoples who would previously have considered themselves completely unconnected” (Mitropoulos, 2005). For the maritime industry which facilitates this activity, it is essential that a common working language, namely English, is competently used to safeguard the ship, its crew and the environment in which it sails. This presupposes that the graduates of maritime academies are well prepared and that their mentors are qualified to perform the task required by international regulations. This paper attempts to summarise a 2-year research project, funded by the International Association of Maritime Universities and completed by the authors in 2006, entitled “Profiling the Maritime English Instructor” (PROFS). It categorizes and describes the various types of Maritime English instructors presently employed at higher Maritime Education and Training institutions worldwide, defines the requirements regarding their professional qualifications in the areas of applied linguistics, methodology and the minimum maritime background knowledge demanded by the relevant international legislation, and thus provides a guideline for management and prospective instructors.
