309
1 INTRODUCTION
Thecruiseindustryhasbeengrowingfastinrecent
years‐ and so has the size of its ships. The primary
purpose of cruise vessels is the entertainment and
transport of passengers. To fulfill this purpose, the
cruise industry needs seafarers to have competence
in English language and this need is not limit
ed to
deckandenginepersonnelbutalsotopersonnelwith
designatedsafetyfunction(s)(auxiliarypersonnel).
In reference to the Manila amendments to the
STCW, which came into force in January 2012, all
personnel working on board a cruise vessel should
be able to communicate in English. This
communication must exist not only between crew
members but also with passengers and other non‐
safetypersonnel,especiallyinemergencysituations,
when life is at stake. Ca
ptain Sibrand Hassing,
duringtheIMLA‐IMECConferencewhichtookplace
in Terschelling, the Netherlands, in July 2014,
emphasizedthat“Eng lishisthelanguageoftheseaand
fundamental for all communication in modern maritime
world,...thattraininghastogobeyondSTCW,whichonly
regulates safety/security competence.” The need to go
beyond STCW is due to the increase in inspections
and reporting which now require more effect
ive
verbal communication, more demanding techniques
Revision of IMO Model Course 3.17 Maritime English.
Focus on Maritime English to Auxiliary Personnel
L.Martes
Ceronav‐RomanianMaritimeTrainingCenter,Constanta,Romania
ABSTRACT: Under the Manila 2010 amendments to the STCW , all crew members on board cruise vessels,
mainlythoseassistingpassengersduringemergencysituationsandnotonly,“shouldbeabletocommunicate
safety‐relatedissuesinEnglishorinthelanguagespokenbythepassengersandotherpersonnelonboa
rd.”
Havinginviewthatnavigationalandsafetycommunicationsfromshiptoshoreandviceversa,shiptoship,
andonboardshipsmustbeprecise,simpleandunambiguous,soastoavoidconfusionanderror,besidesthe
need to standardize the language used, there is a growing demand of developing communication skills in
English, especially for personnel working on cruise vessels, but also on RORO vessels, yachts and small
passengervessels.
This is the reason why we have designed, developed and are already delivering the “Marit
ime English for
AuxiliaryPersonnelʺcourseinSpecializedMaritime Englishtoauxiliarypersonnel working on boa
rdcruise
vesselstodeveloptheirabilitytocommunicatewithpassengers,mainlyduringanemergency.
Thecoursecoversthespecificlanguageusedtodescribethepartsofships,organisationonboard ships, all
essential safety‐related matters and work‐specific topics. It also reflects the situations in which auxiliary
personnelneedtocommunicate,witheachother,withothercrewmembersandwithshoresideaut
horities.The
finalgoalofthiscourseistoimprovefluencyinspokenEnglishinreallifesituationswhich,ofcourse,canbe
bothroutineandnon‐routine.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 9
Number 3
September 2015
DOI:10.12716/1001.09.03.02
310
withregardtospeakingandwritingskills,whichare
notincludedinthecurrentrequirementsofSTCW.
Following the adoption of the International
Convention on Standards of Training, Certification
and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as
amended, and the IMLA‐IMEC Conference, the
International Maritime Lecturers’ Association
(IMLA) Working Group
for the revision of IMO’s
Model Course 3.17,Maritime English, during its
meeting at Shanghai Maritime University in the
secondweekofOctober2014,underlinedthefactthat
the purpose of the IMO model courses is, in IMO’s
words, “to assist maritime training institutes and their
teachingstaffinorganising
andintroducingnewtraining
courses or in enhancing, updating or supplementing
existing training material where the quality and
effectiveness of the training courses may be improved.”
and that the IMO Model Course 3.17, Maritime
English must be aligned with the STCW Manila
Amendmentsof2010.
Furthermore, the Sub‐Committee on
Human
Element,TrainingandWatchkeeping(HTW)during
its second session from 2 to 6 February 2015 noted
that ‘model courses should assist training providers in
developingtrainingprogrammesforseafarers tomeet the
requirementsofthe2010ManilaAmendments”and“…..
should accurately reflect the minimum standards in the
STCW
Convention and Code”. The Sub‐Committee
gave preliminary consideration to the draft revised
modelcourserelatedtotraininginMaritimeEnglish
which had been revised/updated consequent to the
adoption of the 2010 Manila Amendments to the
STCWConventionandCode.
Having in view the requirements regarding
English language skills for
personnel working on
board cruise vessels and the growing number of
auxiliarypersonnelapplyingforvariouspositionson
board cruise vessels in Romanian crewing agencies
andfollowingthenewlyrevisedIMOModelCourse
3.17 – Maritime English, CERONAV has already
developedthecoursecurriculuminMaritimeEnglish
for Auxiliary Personnel
providing direct service to
passengersinpassengerspacesonpassengerships.
This new course is addressed to personnel
working or going to work in the following
departmentsonboardpassengervessels, both entry
and managerial levels: Beauty Salon/ Spa, Casino,
Cruise Staff, Entertainment, Food & Beverage,
Galley/Culinary, Gift Shop, Housekeeping or/and
HotelOperations.
The methodology of this course is based on the
principlesoftheCommunicativeApproachandother
methodstolanguageteachingandthecoursecontent
isadaptedtothetrainees’needs.
2 ENGLISHLANGUAGEREQUIREMENTSFOR
AUXILIARYPERSONNEL
A modern cruise ship is like a floating city, where
there
are all kinds of job positions available. Some
jobs require highly developed professional skills,
othersdonʹt.
In order to be successfully hired by any cruise
ship company, an applicant should be able to
communicateinEnglish,haveenoughexperienceto
performvariouscruiseshipjobsandunderstandjob
specific
requirements.
Having in view that navigational and safety
communications from ship to shore and vice versa,
ship to ship, and on board ships must be precise,
simple and unambiguous, so as to avoid confusion
and error, besides the need to standardize the
language used, there is a growing demand of
developing
communication skills in English,
especially for personnel working on cruise vessels,
but also on Ro‐Ro vessels, yachts, ferries and small
passengervessels.
Part 2.5 of the revised Maritime English Model
Course provides a guide for teaching Specialized
Maritime English for personnel providing direct
service to passengers in passenger spaces
on
passenger ships, to meet the mandatory minimum
requirementsfortheknowledge,understandingand
proficiencyinEnglishlanguagesetoutinSectionA‐
V/2oftheSTCWCode.
Theobjectivesofthispartare:
1 develop the traineesʹ ability to use Specialized
Maritime English to establish effective
communication according to their
duties and
responsibilities;
2 ensure that trainees possess the knowledge,
understanding and proficiency in English as set
outintheSTCWCode;
3 to train the trainees for routine and emergency
communications;
4 promote the language skills for continuing
independentlearningatsea
5 preparetraineestodeveloptheEnglish
language
skillsthatmaybeusedincrowdmanagementand
crisismanagementscenarios;
In addition, according to Table A‐V/2 which
includes specifications of minimum standards of
competence in crisis management and human
behaviour, all auxiliary personnel should establish
andmaintaineffectivecommunications,meaning:
1 Ability to establish and maintain effective
communications,including:
theimportanceofclearandconciseinstructions
andreports;
the need to encourage an exchange of
information with, and feedback from,
passengersandotherpersonnel;
2 Ability to provide relevant information to
passengers and other personnel during an
emergencysituation,tokeepthemapprisedofthe
overall situation and to communicate any action
requiredofthem,takingintoaccount:
the language or languages appropriate to the
principalnationalitiesofpassengersandother
personnelcarriedontheparticularroute;
the possible need to communicate during an
emergency by some other means, such as by
demonstration, or
by hand signals or calling
attentiontothelocationofinstructions,muster
stations, life‐saving devices or evacuation
routes, when oral communication is
impractical;
311
the language in which emergency
announcements may be broadcast during an
emergencyordrilltoconveycriticalguidance
to passengers and to facilitate crew members
inassistingpassengers.
Regarding Safety Familiarization Training on
board, in order to understand all orders and
instructions, all auxiliary crew members should be
able
tocommunicatewithotherpersonsonboardon
elementary safety matters and understand safety
informationsymbols,signsandalarmsignals.
3 “MARITIMEENGLISHFORAUXILIARY
PERSONNEL”COURSE
3.1 AimsandObjectives
Auxiliarypersonnelworkingonboardcruisevessels,
and not only, must be able to communicate
effectivelyasrequiredbySTCW
2010,i.e,theyneed
tobeabletouseandunderstandEnglishinarange
ofsituations.
The “Maritime English for Auxiliary Personnel”
courseisaimedatteachingEnglishatelementaryto
lower intermediate language level to trainees who
are going to or will be working onboard passenger
vessels,aspromoted
inIMO’sModelCourse3.17.
Butwhatdoeselementaryandlowerintermediate
languagelevelmean?
Elementarylevelmeansthetraineeisabletouse
English for very basic, everyday needs but without
sustainedfluencyandwithmanyerrors.He/Shehas
alimitedunderstandingofspokenEnglish,requires
a lot
of rephrasing, repetition and simplification of
language.
Lower intermediate level means that the trainee
cancommunicatesatisfactorilyabouteverydaytopics
witharestrictedrangeoflanguage.He/Sheisableto
understand native speaker English talking at a
measuredpacewithsomerephrasingandrepetition.
Comprehensionislikelytofailunder
pressure.
The Objectives of the “Maritime English for
AuxiliaryPersonnel”courseare:
todeveloptrainees’abilitytouseEnglishtolower
intermediate language level (equivalent to the
Council of Europe Common European
Framework for Languages (CEFR) level B1) that
is:
“LISTENING: understand the main points of clear
standard speech
on familiar matters regularly
encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.; understand
the main point of many radio or TV programmes on
current affairs or topics of personal or professional
interestwhenthedeliveryisrelativelyslowandclear.
READING: understand texts that consist mainly of
high frequency everyday or job‐related
language;
understand the description of events, feelings and
wishesinpersonalletters.
SPOKENINTERACTION:deal withmostsituations
likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the
languageisspoken;enterunpreparedintoconversation
on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or
pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family,
hobbies, work,
travelandcurrentevents);
SPOKEN PRODUCTION: connect phrases in a
simplewayinordertodescribeexperiencesandevents,
dreams,hopesand ambitions:brieflygivereasons and
explanationsforopinionsandplans;narrateastoryor
relate the plot of a book or film and describe his/her
reactions
WRITING:
write simple connected text on topics
which are familiar or of personal interest; write
personal letters describing experiences and
impressions.”
toteachbasicmaritimeEnglish,asrecommended
intheEnglishlanguageguidelinesofpartB‐VI/1
oftheSTCWCode;
toimprovetrainees’competenceinEnglishtothe
level required by shipping companies, so that
candidates be able to successfully pass the job
interview and fulfil the requirements of job
descriptiononboardvessels;
give trainees wide‐ranging opportunities to
practice communicating in English for both
maritime and general purposes at elementary to
lowerintermediatelanguagelevel;
improve trainees’ competence in English to the
level required to being promoted to higher
positions,and
develop trainees’ ability to communicate with
passengersduringanemergency
Methodology
The material will be taught according to the
principles of Communicative Approach as the
principal means of instruction and student learning
incombinationattimeswithotherapproaches such
as Content Based Instruction, Task Based Learning
andLexicalApproach.Thatis:
focusisoncommunication;
the emphasis is on content, meaning, relevance
andinterest;
genuine,everydaylanguageisemphasized
teachingistrainee‐centred;
Englishistaughtthrough
English;
traineeslearnbyactiveinvolvement;
learningtasksreflectreallifecommunication.
The aim is to have trainees communicate
effectively and in a manner appropriate to the
contexttheyareworkingin.
The Task Based Learning (TBL) instruction will
help the trainees use the new language in a
meaningful way, so that he/she will remember the
language adequately. The TBL lesson will be based
onthecompletionofataskandthelanguagestudied
willreflectthetrainees’needs.Forexample,thetask
could be a problem‐solving activity, replicating a
workplace‐stylescenario,suchasagalley,restaurant,
casinoorabarscenario.Thistypeofinstructionwill
helpactivating useful language and the trainee will
begiventheopportunitytoimproveonhis/heruseof
the language in an enjoyable and motivating
environment.
Inrecenttimes,atrendhasemergedinlanguage
teaching whereby teachers integrate the
acquisition
of content on the one hand and development of
languagecompetenceontheother.
One means of achieving this is by teaching
content (e.g. distress radio communications) in
English, using language strategies and techniques
312
thatmakethe contentcomprehensibletothesecond
languagelearner.
Content‐based instruction (CBI) is intended to
fostertheintegrationoflanguageandcontent,where
language is viewed as aʹʹmedium for learning
contentʺand content is viewed as aʹʹresource for
learningandimprovinglanguageʺ (Grabe & Stoller,
1997).
Accordingtothem:
traineesareexposedtoaconsiderableamountof
languagewhilelearningcontent;
students are taught useful language that is
embedded within relevant discourse contexts
ratherthanasisolatedlanguagefragments,and
the use of coherently developed content sources
allows students to call on their
own prior
knowledge to learn additional language and
contentmaterial
TheLexicalApproachisusedwiththepurposeof
raising learnersʹ awareness of the lexical nature of
language. Activities of this nature include the
following:
intensive and extensive listening and reading in
thetargetlanguage
first and second language
comparisons and
translation
repetition and recycling of activities to keep
words and expressions that have been learned
active
guessing the meaning of vocabulary items from
context
noticing and recording language patterns and
collocations
working with dictionaries and other reference
tools
workingwithlanguagecorpusesto
researchword
partnerships,prepositionusage,style,andsoon
3.2 CourseOutline
The“Maritime EnglishforAuxiliary Personnel”course
is a “teaching package” developed for personnel
providing direct service to passengers in passenger
spaceson passengerships:cleaner,messman,Cabin
Steward/Stewardess,CrewCookUtility,musicians,
etc.. It follows the
list of competences and areas of
KUP(knowledge,understandingandproficiency)as
setoutinIMO’sModelCourse3.17andinSectionA‐
V/2 of the STCW Code, that is the trainee must be
ableto use elementary English vocabulary for basic
instructions and be able to communicate with a
passenger in need of assistance whether or not the
passenger and crew member share a common
language.
Thesyllabusconsistsof8 units.The first 4 units
discusstopicsreferringtoGeneralMaritimeEnglish
and the next 4 ‘dive’ the trainees into Specialized
MaritimeEnglish.
Unit1identifiesandnamesof
themainpartsofa
passenger vessel in speech and writing; exchanges
informationaboutvesselsorally;namespositionson
board; the trainees will be required to ask for and
givedirectionsonboardandashore;
Unit 2 asks for and gives personal data. The
trainee is taught to understand key
questions in
listening; he/ she exchanges and notes personal
information and fills out a particular form clearly
andaccuratelywithpersonalinformation.
Unit3describescrewrolesandroutinesonboard
passengervessels.Thetraineenotesship’scallsigns
correctly from speech; identifies correctly numbers
and times in writing and speech;
understands and
transmitsmessagesusingtimesandtheinternational
maritime alphabet; describes key responsibilities
accordingtoher/hisjobdescription;
Unit4describesjobresponsibilitiesonboard.The
trainee exchanges information about current and
routineactivitiesonboardandashore;demonstrates
understandingofstandardordersbyexplainingtheir
meanings and indicating
the correct actions;
demonstrates understanding of duties by reading a
textandansweringquestionscorrectly;usescommon
vocabulary and verbs to describe work routine
according to job description, describes activities
currentlyinprogressonboardandashore;
Unit 5 considers instructions on board ship; the
trainees should have the ability to
recognize the
safetysymbolsandsignageonboard;introducethe
life‐savingandfire‐fightingappliancestopassengers;
role‐play giving appropriate instructions to
passengersinemergencysituations.
Inunit6,traineeswillrole‐playthevariousdrills
on board ships. They will identify the potential
dangers and will explain
the need for drills to
passengers; will role‐play the procedures in
emergencies and the use of standard SMCP orders
forevacuationandboatdrillsviathepublicaddress
system.
Unit 7 discusses human behaviour in
emergencies. The trainees will learn the specialized
terminology in English to inform the passengers
about
the emergency situations; to direct the
passengers and other personnel to their muster
stations;andwillreassurepassengersinpanic.
Unit 8 practises the communication related to
crowd and crisis management in an emergency
situation.Thetraineeswilllearnhowtodeliverclear
and concise decisions in an emergency using
the
English language; how to communicate information
to passengers and other personnel and how to give
clearreassuringorders.
4 CONCLUSION
The development of the “Maritime English for
Auxiliary Personnel” course will help individuals
wishing to work as auxiliary personnel on board
cruisevessels,passengerships,ferries,RORO,yachts
to improve
their level of English so that they have
morechancestopassjobinterviews,beemployedin
the desired job, carry out successfully their job
responsibilitiesinthedepartment,sailsafeandhave
chancesofpromotion.
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REFERENCES
Grabe,W.,&Stoller,F.L. (1997).Content‐based instruction:
Research foundatio ns. In M. A. Snow, & D. M. Brinton
(Eds.), The content‐based classroom: Perspectives on
integrating language and content (pp.5–21). NY:
Longman.
IMOModelCourse3.17MaritimeEnglish,2009edition
IMO Model Course No. 3.12 Assessment, Examination
and
CertificationofSeafarers,2000edition
The Manila Amendments to the Seafarers’ Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code,adoptedat
the Conference of Parties to the International
ConventiononStandardsofTraining,Certificationand
WatchkeepingforSeafarers,1978,3August2010
http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european‐
language‐levels‐cefr Council of Europe Common
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