The Communicative Learning Approach Of Maritime English And Its Facilitation By Technology

English has been established as the language of the sea at an international level and is used in all situations such as ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and on board communications. Linguistic, paralinguistic and cultural issues hinder the safety of the ships at sea (Ziarati, 2006). A careful study identified that 80% of maritime accidents are caused by human factors (Verbek, 2011), of which failure of communication represents one third (Ziarati, 2006, Trekner, 2007). The IMO has also underlined the importance of effective communication in an International Seminar as a crucial issue for Marine Safety (Winbow, 2002). It is important to look for solutions to resolve and remedy these problems on a global scale (Loginovsky, 2002). Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) set in the context of real-life situations at sea is not commonly applied in the curriculums for training merchant navy officers (Ziarati et al, 2011). It was also found that English language skills of the ships' crew are at a low level, resulting in ineffective communication. Recent research, has shown that ineffective communication is a major cause of accidents and incidents at sea (Ziarati et al, ibid, 2011; Verbek, 2011; Trekner, 2007; IMO, 2005). The CAPTAINS project (Ziarati et al, ibid) has reviewed a number of accidents and incidents based on communication failures. The appropriate accident scenarios were used to support the development of learning content on the CAPTAINS advanced e-learning platform. The CAPTAINS project (EU Leonardo Captains Project, 2010-2012) is creating and publishing interactive educational multimedia, simulations, and 3D virtual learning content on an advanced e-learning 2.0 platform. The content was based on real-life scenarios on linguistic and cultural diversities with respect to effective communication in English among seafarers on ships and ashore. The CAPTAINS project (ibid) will develop software based maritime communicative English educational multimedia and e-courses in which the created learning scenarios will make use of proper learning approaches, online communication, virtual collaboration and learning spaces as a medium facilitated by the e-learning 2.0 platform, KWEBO, enhanced with 2D/3D interactive rich media simulations. This will be seamlessly interlinked with other forms of online educational content and be bundled and offered as complete online learning e-courses, accessible from within KWEBO. It is significant to point out that the knowledge base of real scenarios is intended to be included in the curriculum of Maritime English in maritime education and training institutions. Industrial and vocational training for sea-going and port personnel would benefit from the existence of the CAPTAINS software-based training content since it focuses on effective English language communication, which is an essential ingredient in safe and efficient ship operations. The CAPTAINS project will use Communicative English Language Teaching with 2D/3D simulations in its scenario-based learning approach. The scenario based learning approach will show how to communicate effectively and take the appropriate actions, as well as demonstrate how poor communication skills can lead to being in critical situations. Moreover, it will develop, add value and enhance the attractiveness of VET systems and practices incorporating state of the art computer assisted language learning (CALL) in an experiential environment. Such an environment is brought around from within the KWEBO e-learning 2.0 platform. KWEBO is a novel system, in constant development, with the aim to introduce a number of educational, collaborative and communication tools and services for educational and not only stakeholders, integrated in a single platform with single sign-on access. Among its current technological innovations one can enlist the integration of social networking and collaborative authoring tools, the interfacing with existing social networking sites, to boost technology-enabled social learning, along with incorporation of 3D virtual learning environments and seamless integration with rich media interactive educational content and simulations. The main aim is to enhance the way people learn, share and communicate using a single platform and user account.