The Importance and Effectiveness of the Teaching of Maritime English in a Merchant Maritime Academy: Investigating the Opinions and Points of Parties Involved

Abstract

It is widely known that the English language is the working language of shipping industry. In 2001, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted the Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) and via one of its major Conventions, STCW 95, the teaching of Maritime English – a core competence of all Deck officers used to minimize communication problems onboard vessels – has become a mandatory part of the education of officers in every white-listed training institution. The focus of the present study was the evaluation of the importance and the effectiveness of the teaching of Maritime English as seen by the students of a Merchant Marine Academy in Greece. The adopted research design was a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research so as to reach a better and more objective understanding of the research problem. However, it has to be mentioned that due to their bulk, the data collected by using structured interviews (qualitative method) were not analysed due to time limitations – their analysis, though, is to be conducted in the immediate future. The results of the quantitative leg of the research are extremely interesting, providing food for thought while at the same time creating space for further research.