ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR MARITIME ENGINEERS: NEEDS AND REQUIRNMENTS

The article under consideration present some review of the present days textbooks created by Ukrainian specialists for teaching English in Maritime higher educational establishments. The authors attempt to analyze the existing manuals keeping in mind the needs of the future maritime engineers and the requirements of the International Maritime Organization, teaching methods are also meant. It is stressed in the article that the approach to teaching maritime engineers differ a lot from that of teaching other maritime specialists because besides general English communicative skills and maritime English they are supposed to be aware of technical terminology quite well. We make a quick review of the problems the teacher faces when working with the engineer students. The enumeration of the topics are supposed to be tackled upon in English classes is done. We touch upon the absence of one National English Standard for engine room department personal and discuss the problems it arises. It is underlined the achievements of Ukrainian Maritime English specialists are significant: the number of the textbooks and other teaching means in the field are getting larger every year what is more important their quality is getting higher as well. We have chosen these two series of textbooks for our review as they demonstrate complex approach to teaching the language and if accompanied with some extra tasks and listening and video activities they are the best one to use as basic for maritime engineers. Among the most authorized and widely used textbooks are the series of works by O. Bogomolov: there are 3 textbooks worked out for different levels. Some other series of textbooks we would like to mention are works of teachers who work in Kherson Maritime State Academy. Other series of textbooks under review are created by the group of the authors headed by V. Kudryavtseva. As it has been underlined in the preface to these textbooks, the purpose of the manuals is the development of professional communication skills of maritime engineers.

Topicality of research. Before dealing with for and against the English textbooks for teaching maritime engineers as it has been uttered as the theme of the present article we should underline that National Maritime English standards in detailed form do not exist in Ukraine. The National Standards of Maritime Education for Bachelor and Master Degrees both deck and engineering departments tackle upon the very general instructions and notes without going into any details about the English language needs. When stating the degree of scientific research of the topic we should underline the achievements of Викладання мов у вищих навчальних закладах освіти… Ukrainian Maritime English specialists are significant: the number of the textbooks and other teaching means in the field are large and what is more important their quality is rather high [5]. At the same time international maritime organizations stress the differences between the seafarers trained in English speaking countries and those who do the Maritime course in non-English speaking countries, as it might raise some serious problems when at voyage or at port. Keeping in mind the above mentioned problem we must choose textbooks for our students carefully to provide them with up-to-date useful knowledge. When speaking about the purpose of the article, here we make an attempt to analyze the problem a specialist can face when teaching English and also present a brief review of the most popular and widely used textbooks as it might be one of the ways to solve the problems.
Presentation of the main material. It's quite clear the international Maritime English standards influence the further development of national Maritime education standards all other the world and help to unify requirements of all institutions dealing with recruiting and certification of seafarers, when speaking on the training of the deck department personal, officers as well ratings. And it's not a surprise as navigational and safety communications from ship to shore and vice versa, ship to ship and on board ships must be clear, simple and unambiguous in order to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding. The phrases acknowledged some standardizing procedures in 1973 the IMO Maritime Safety Committee. They state the particular importance of the standardization because of the increasing number of internationally trading vessels with crews speaking many different languages since problems of communication may cause misunderstandings leading to dangers to the vessel, the people on board and the environment. The process of standardization is still going on [6].
So the task of Maritime English teachers specializing in training deck department personal are quite clear they should do their best to make future officers and rating personal ready to perform professional maritime communication. We all know the deck department are responsible for wide range of specific communication when at sea or at port, that is why in the process of teaching they should directly follow the recommendation of IMO standard Marine Communication Phrase, as they are mostly devoted to the deck department vocabulary. The question arises when we discuss engine department personal training: What topics are supposed to be taught? Should technical terms be studied in the deep and profound way or marine terminology is to be paid more attention too? Will a future maritime engineer do without advanced English grammar? Should the teacher be the specialist in diesel engines himself to be able to control pronunciation and special engineering knowledge? However, everybody agrees the respective instruction should be based on practice in the maritime environment and be implemented through appropriate modern language teaching methods.
To answer all this questions we should consult the IMO Model Course 3.17, 7.04 or 7.02 for Officers in Charge of an Engineering Watch. We should state that the most relevant information about the Marine English is described in the Course 3.17. However, this course focuses attention on the Marine English for Auxiliary personal so the demands for engine room ratings are quite the same. The course also covers the specific language used to describe the parts of ships, organization on board ships, all essential safety-related matters and work-specific topics. It also reflects the situations in which auxiliary personnel need to communicate with each other or other crew members and shore side authorities. The final goal of this course is to improve fluency in spoken English in real life situations which, of course, can be both routine and non-routine. But the point is that the document says nothing about engineering terms or any other specific vocabulary. That is why while teaching English we should keep in mind that we must deal with two absolutely different fields of the English language -Marine English and Technical English language [6: 67]. That is why when choosing a textbook for teaching a specialist must remember about these fields: a good book should provide us with exercises on grammar constructed on professional vocabulary and vocabulary practice should consider the basic grammar needs.
It's clear that any course of professional foreign language should be built on a basic knowledge of the language. In their professional life Maritime Engineer will deal with technical problems mainly, so as it is stated in all the above mentioned courses they are supposed to be able to read different types of manuals and draws as well as to follow various instructions. It's also undoubtable they are supposed to know everything concerning lifesaving appliance as well the command and instruction to follow in case of emergency. Of course, a simplified version of Maritime English with reduced grammatical, lexical and idiomatic varieties is a tolerable minimum, using standardized structures for the sake of its function aspects, i.e. diminishing misunderstanding in safety related verbal communications.
At the same time we should not forget about everyday communication on board as it is very important in the case of a very close environment. So the teachers as well as the students should not neglect everyday English as it could help them to adapt to the vessel's routine as well as to create a comfortable psychological atmosphere on board.
The choice of the phrases offered in IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases are worked out for use in emergency and other situations developing under considerable pressure of time or psychological stress. That's why the language is applied which sparingly uses, or frequently omits, the function words the, a/an, is/are as done in seafaring practice. They propose to avoid synonyms, contracted forms, providing fully worded answers to "yes/no"-questions and basic alternative answers to sentence questions, one phrase for one event and so on. To sum up we should underline the very basic English grammar skills that will cover all the urgent needs on board as the official script is standardized and simplified and traditional. That is why it seems to be more important to practice speaking, listening and manual reading skills without dealing with the minute and detailed grammar references [6].
Another vital aspect of foreign language learning is speaking and listening -we should not forget about it. The teacher should create a life like situation to help his students in the professional life. Listening practice is very important because maritime engineer are supposed not only to speak and give orders but to react upon the speech of other people both on every day routine topics and professional one. So good tasks for listening practice are of urgent needs for the students. There are a lot of variants to listening to choose from but an English teacher faces a problem to find good texts for listening on engineering topic. That's why good textbooks should be provided with audio records and audio scripts.
It is also clear that the required level of English depend on the position occupied. As the Chief Engineer is directly responsible to the Master for the satisfactory operation of all machinery and equipment so he must be ready to respond to the Master in good clear English. Apart from assuming all responsibility his role is mainly that of consultant and adviser, so his English is supposed to be rather fluent as he is to deal with various technical documents both aboard and ashore.
The Second Engineer is responsible for the practical upkeep of machinery and the manning of the engine room: he is an executive officer. On some ships the Second Engineer may keep engine room watch. The Third and Fourth Engineers are usually senior watch keepers or engineers in charge of a watch. Each of them may have particular areas of responsibility, such as generators or boilers. They will make up as additional watch keepers, day workers on maintenance work or possibly act as Refrigeration Engineer. While working they might face various problems in running machinery and different types of malfunction, that is why it's very important to be aware of terminology of the field. That's why all of them must have sufficient level of every day, maritime and professional English. They also must be able to do with different kinds of manuals. It's another important fact for the proper technical English vocabulary as the major amount of any kinds of vessel manuals are published in English, so the engine department personal has no choice but to be ready to read English instructions.
Everything above mentioned are stated in the Model Course 7.04 Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch published by International Maritime Organization in 2014. Here we can read the following: "Maritime English based on a clearly defined entry standard in general English, deals with maritime terminology and the use of English sufficient to allow the use of engineering publications and the performance of engineering duties concerned with the ship's safety and operation" [6: 68]. They underline the course also includes the vocabulary needed to make use of and understanding manufacturers' technical manuals and specifications to converse with technical shore staff concerning ship and machinery repairs [6: 68].
At the beginning of the watch the current operational parameters and the condition of all machinery should be verified and also the log readings should correspond with those observed. The engineer officer in charge should note if there are any special orders or instructions relating to the operation of the main machinery or auxiliaries. He should determine what work is in progress and any hazards or limitations this presents. The levels of tanks containing fuel, water, slops, ballast, etc., should be noted and also the level of the various bilges. The operating mode of equipment and available standby equipment should also be noted. So the watch officer should know how to fill in the engineer's log and other documents of these type. That is why it is important to teach them special abbreviation used in these kinds of papers. They also might make different kinds of specification and they should be aware of this type of business papers. Another type of documents they might work with are different reports. Therefore, business English on the above mentioned type are to be enlisted in their training curriculum. The marine engineer is still, however, required to understand the working principles, construction and operation of all the machinery items in a ship. The need for correct and safe operating procedures is as great as ever. There is considerably more legislation which must be understood and complied with, for example in relation to the discharging of oil, sewage and even black smoke from the funnel.
To sum up while teaching English for maritime engineers the specialist should deal with the courses taught by different specialists in many different fields. It's not just the case of just knowing vocabulary and grammar but having some basic knowledge in all the taught topics. Of course it's the matter of teaching experience, but some good teacher's books can help a lot to provide with this general information otherwise the teacher in classroom would be treated as a translator or a person to ask some grammar question.
This kind of supplements for teachers can help a lot as even the Training program for Ship Power Plant Operation worked out by National University "Odessa Maritime Academy" published in 2017 states that the English language competency belongs to the general one and future marine engineers should be able to use the language in written and oral form while performing their professional duties. There is also stated that the engineers are supposed to be able to read English technical papers and to occupy the position of a ship engineer.
As the conclusion the books are supposed to contain enough information, exercises and training activities for every aspect of the English language such as listening, speaking, writing and reading. This kind of books should provide support for English Language teachers using English for Mariners in the form of glossaries and background maritime information, which can be found either as "General Notes" at the beginning of units, or in grey boxes throughout the book or in some extra book for a teacher. Furthermore, answers to the exercises as well as transcripts of the sound recordings used in the listening exercises can provide the teacher the opportunity to get some more information and to make him/her feel more confident and to save the time. Now we will try to make a brief review of the latest English textbooks for maritime engineers created by Ukrainian specialists. These books are not very numerous as there are about 10 higher educational establishments offering the maritime engineering course. Among the most authorized and widely used textbooks are the series of works by O. Bogomolov. There are 3 textbooks worked out for different levels. You will not find any grammar references there and the amount of grammar exercises is very small. The books are meant to practice maritime and technical vocabulary. The author uses original texts from manuals and instructions providing them with exercises to broaden the students' vocabulary. The books are easy to use in class, for home and individual work. The author provides all the text with broad vocabulary. But there are not enough exercises to develop speaking skills. There are no audio recording supplements to the textbooks. It seems there are not sufficient exercises to practice the new vocabulary. In spite of all the mentioned drawbacks of these textbooks they are used in Odessa and Mariupol Maritime educational institutions because it present much modern technical maritime terminology and if added by extra tasks developed by the teacher can help with good results in training [1; 2; 3].
Another series of textbooks we would like to mention are works of teachers working in Kherson Maritime State Academy. The textbooks are created by the group of authors headed by V. Kudryavtseva. As it is underlined in the preface the purpose of the manuals is the development of professional communication skills of maritime engineers. Here one can find a wide range of speaking developing tasks as well as exercises for enlarging technical and maritime professional vocabulary. But still there are no listening activities and books for teachers. The books are used in training future engineers and electricians in Kherson in combinations with extra tasks worked by teachers themselves [4; 7; 8].
We have chosen these two series of textbooks for our review as they demonstrate complex approach to teaching the language and if accompanied with some extra tasks and listening and video activities they are the best one to use as basic for maritime engineers.
Conclusion. It is good the number of the textbooks and other teaching means in the field are getting larger every year what is more important their quality is getting higher as well. In spite of all the existing textbooks, instructions and recommendations, we still need modern and up-to-date text books that will meet all the demands and help teachers in their work as well and provide useful and interesting information to the students. To draw the line we should define the perspective of the further research. So we should stress again there is no unambiguous answers to all the above mentioned questions and there is not still a perfect textbook that can solve all the problems of teaching English for maritime engineers, but the attempts to create such an ideal manual to meet every demand is being done. We should practice the experience of the above mentioned authors and our own methodological works out to create some other books to meet all the current demands of teaching Maritime English using works of our English colleagues.