EFFECTIVE METHODS IN MILITARY ENGLISH TEACHING

Review of the Air Force Academy, 2021

Teaching English through genuine interaction in the target language has represented the trademark of communicative language learning, applied in most classrooms around the world. This approach has generated a shift from the perception of language as a system to the focus on more contextual and meaning-related features of language use. Such aspects are in perfect accordance with the needs of military professionals who use English in specific situations. This study explores some of the possibilities of applying the principles of this efficient approach in learning military English with classes of all levels.

Наукові інновації та передові технології

The article deals with effective principles in Military English teaching at higher educational military establishments. The fundamentals of teaching any discipline, including foreign language, are didactic principles. They are considered to be as starting points that determine the strategy and tactics of learning at each point in the learning process, as they are related to goals, content, methods, techniques, organization of training and are manifested in a certain relationship and interdependence.The main purpose of the study is to reveal the most effective principles of teaching Military English. Among the most important general didactic principles of formation of professional foreign language competence we single out the following: the principle of activity in learning; interdisciplinary integration; novelty; authenticity, systematicity and consistency; independence and consciousness; professional orientation of the content and methods of teaching, which is leading for professionally oriented study of foreign languages by military of technical specialties. The paper also emphasizes on the principle of interactivity which presupposes constant interaction between the instructor and the learner as well as between students in conversation, dialogue as well as action. The author also suggests some exercises which follow the above mentioned principle and help to interact in different modes: instructor-servicemen; servicemen − servicemen on the topic "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". Important methodological principles that should be followed to teach professionally oriented vocabulary are the communicative principles, interconnected learning of all types of foreign language speech activities and professional orientation of learning. Besides, the formation of professional foreign language competence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine involves the use of active teaching methods in foreign language classes, such as: communicative and interactive activities (trainings, discussions); different types of games (business and role-plays); context method (method of imitation of professional activity); constructive method (project method, brainstorming) as well as research methods.

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION, 2019

Educators generally concur to the idea that one of the most essential goals of schooling is to empower students to become efficient problem solvers for the knowledge-based society. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology mainly focused on developing students' abilities to deal with solving realistic issues by employing team-oriented strategies. The present paper discusses the opportunities of integrating PBL in the teaching of English for specific purposes, starting from the firm belief that by putting students in the role of effective collaborators, critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and capable communicators, the proposed strategies efficiently prepare cadets for real-life environments, for the challenges of their professional careers, and for an active citizenship. Drawing on a solid theoretical conceptualization of problem-based instruction, the article outlines the advantages of PBL for both teachers and students and proposes a series of practical strategies that are intended to facilitate our cadets' development in four key skills-critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration,-with the help of project-based learning.

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2019

The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), comprising the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and entrusted with the important responsibility of national security, is also expected to project a positive image of Malaysia in the international arena as it (the MAF) engages in peacekeeping and relief operations with joint forces from various other countries. Like almost every other institution in the world, it has been impacted by globalisation, and is thus constantly engaging in efforts to upgrade itself in all aspects, especially those related to equipping itself with the necessary knowledge and expertise required to meet the demand for better services to the country and the people. The paper looks at the status quo of the English language in relation to the three Services (Army, Navy and Air Force), and the role played by the English language in the career development of an Armed Forces officer using Task Based Language Teaching focussing on Acquisition-Learning hypothesis and the Affective Filter hypothesis. The findings show that all four language skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading and writing are important to the MAF officers.

2016

This paper intends to present an alternative approach to contextualizing new military lexical content that could enhance vocabulary retention and productive retrieval by boosting motivation through an affective response from the learners. It refers to including adapted textual/video/audio input that contextualizes our learners’ L1 professional linguistic reality right from the very presentation stage of the lesson. That is, in addition to using authentic/semi-authentic materials depicting the L2 reality (e.g. the British and the American armed forces), one can deliberately use adapted input in English, describing the learners’ professional reality as a means of introducing target vocabulary. The affective reaction prompted in the learners by the tangible outcome of being able to use military terminology when discussing one’s professional reality is a strong motivational factor and conduces to more efficient long-term lexical retention.

… Speech and Language …, 2007

The Tactical Language and Culture Training System (TLCTS) teaches foreign language and culture using a task-based approach. Four trainers have been developed so far, for Iraqi Arabic, Pashto, French and Levantine Arabic. The Tactical Iraqi system has been used to train thousands of users in the U.S. military. In this paper, we describe recent work we undertook to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the process of authoring new content for our system. The first improvement is the introduction of utterance templates, which combine two previously separate components of the system (ASR grammar specification, and user input mapping), and improve system flexibility. Secondly, we consolidated the knowledge into centrally managed object libraries in order to enable scaling up to more complex and extensive lesson content. Finally, we created dedicated object editors to facilitate lesson authoring and simplify the production of authored content into a running system.

2024

Purpose: This scoping review investigates research on Military English (ME) language and teaching over the past three decades. Despite the growing need for English proficiency among military personnel due to increases in international joint operations [Niculescu, B.-O., G. Obilişteanu, and I. A. Dragomir. 2019. "Contribution of Foreign Languages to Building the Professional Career of the Land Forces Academy Cadets." Land Forces Academy Review 24 (3): 213-219], ME as a field of study lacks comprehensive research. The features and patterns of ME and effective approaches towards ME language instruction remain insufficiently explored. Methodology: The study employs a scoping review approach [

Assessment and evaluation are integral components of the teaching-learning-evaluation process. The main objectives of assessment and evaluation are to guide and improve learning and instruction as well as to offer plenty of information during classroom practice, in order to plan courses, and to manage learning tasks. Effectively planned assessment and evaluation can promote learning, build confidence, and develop students' understanding of themselves as learners. Assessment information provides valuable help for the teacher in planning and adapting further instruction and enhances students' understanding and monitoring of their own progress. This paper advocates assessment and evaluation methods and techniques which correspond with curriculum objectives and instructional practices proper to the teaching of English as a foreign language in military higher education institutions.

Rakovski National Defence College Publishing House, 2015

This book aims to present linguistic characteristics of military language that distinguish it from other specialised languages, to investigate the interrelations between military and political languages and to pay special attention to NATO English as a formal and intentionally recognised sub-variety of military English. The overall aim is to reveal the fundamental characteristic features of military English with its linguistic means used within the professional area of communication for the purpose of ensuring effectiveness in interactions between military professionals. The author is a practitioner who has been teaching military English to Bulgarian officers, NCOs and civilians from the MoD. She has conducted practical studies on problems of military English terminology system organisation and term formation, methodology of teaching terms and developing military communicative skills, as well as contrastive studies to examine the impact of English military terminology on Bulgarian language and military terminology. Thus, the presented research will guide both military specialists and teachers of military English to gain a deeper insight in the main linguistic peculiarities, origin, influence, and possible future development of military English.

Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal, 2013

This study attempts to review the English language courses at the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM). Although English language is accepted as a universal language, the roles played by the future military officers require the university to prepare its graduates with the ability to not only master the language, that is, to become communicatively competent, but also to function effectively during peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. It is argued that when the language courses do not match the stakeholders and students' expectations and needs, the students particularly appear to be less inclined to learn the target language. This research focuses on whether students have been undergoing appropriate English language courses for their future needs as officers of the armed forces. The methodology of this paper involves distributing and collecting data from 167 students of the university. Data were then analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 16. Findings suggest that students are positive about learning English language. Nonetheless, they have raised several issues that must be addressed immediately by the English instructors. As this research is still collecting data from other sets of respondents, suffice to conclude at this point that military vocabulary and concepts will better assist students in English language learning.