TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS IN
A MILITARY CULTURE
by Sohvi Siponmaa, MA, Finnish Naval Academy
THE FINNISH NAVAL ACADEMY
• FOUNDED IN 1930 • 102 EMPLOYEES, 400 STUDENTS• TODAY WE TRAIN:
CADETS – NAVAL AND COAST GUARD OFFICERS TO BE (C1 – C2)PETTY OFFICERS (A2 – B2)RESERVE OFFICERS AND RESERVISTSPERSONNEL
THE FINNISH NAVAL ACADEMY CONTINUED…
• FIELDS OF SPECIALTYMARITIME ENGINEERINGNAVIGATION NAVAL WARFAREC4MARINE OPSMARITIME SURVEILLANCE
• RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
• OPERATIONAL READINESS
SUPERSHORT CV
• GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI IN 1990
• NATIONAL DEFENCE COLLEGE 1992 – 2007
• FINNISH NAVAL ACADEMY 2007 –
• TEACH ENGLISH (AND SWEDISH), TRANSLATION, TERMINOLOGY
• FASHION, ANTIQUE SUMMER COTTAGE, HEAVY METAL, FOOD, AMERICAN LITERATURE, SITCOMS
OUTLINE
• COMMUNICATION IN THE NAVY – WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT IT?
• FINNISH COMMUNICATION
• REMEDIES• ORAL EXERCISES WE
DO• WEBSITES & BOOKS• THE FUTURE
THE NAVY WAY• HOMOGENEOUS CULTURE
OTHER WAYS OF THINKING EXIST!
• INTROVERTED CULTURESUSPICIOUS OF THE NEW
• MACHO CULTURECOMPETITIVE
• HIERARCHIC CULTURESTIFFENS CONVERSATION
• HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL, NO-NONSENSE CULTURESMALL TALK SKILLS!
• CURT CULTUREDIRECT AND INSENSITIVENO GRAY AREAERROR-INTOLERANT
FINNISH COMMUNICATIONQUIET, MONOTONOUS, SLOW
GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS!GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS!REASSURANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT!REASSURANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
ASK FOR HELP! ASK AND GIVE FEEDBACK! GESTURES, BODYLANGUAGE, FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS, EYE CONTACT – SHOW SOME PASSION!
PRACTICE INTONATION! PRACTICE PRONUNCIATION OF INDIVIDUAL
WORDS! BE PROUD OF NATIONAL IDIOSYNCRASIES
MAKING IT WORK…
PARAPHRASE! GENERALIZE! AS MILITARY MEN: KNOW YOUR
PROFESSIONAL VOCABULARY! INCORRECT GRAMMAR SIMPLE SENTENCE STRUCTURE,
UNFINISHED SENTENCES REPETITION OF SIMPLE PHRASES BEING HESITANT (“Um…”, “Er…”, “Hm…”),
MAKING CORRECTIONS, LOSING TRAIN OF THOUGHT, STARTING ALL OVER – THEY ARE ALL OK!
MAKING IT WORK…
MIND YOUR TONE OF VOICE! EFFECT OF STATUS: “DO NOT BECOME
TONGUE-TIED WITH THOSE SENIOR IN STATUS OR RANK OR CURSORY WITH THOSE JUNIOR IN STATUS.” (Staley, Tongue and Quill)
LEARN IDIOMS! “What’s up?” CULTURAL DIFFERENCIES IN
COMMUNICATION BE POLITICALLY CORRECT AND SENSITIVE
TO PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS! ACCOMMODATE! CHANGE THE TARGET LANGUAGE!
ORAL EXERCISES WE DO
• JOKE• ”NEWSCLIP” • FAST REACTIONS
FINISH THE SENTENCE
TELL A STORY/GIVE A SPEECHTIMING
• TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF (PERSONAL) QSASK ME Q NUMBER 8
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THREE THINGS THAT…?HAVE YOU EVER…?WHY WERE YOU…?
ORAL EXERCISES CONTINUED…
• TONGUE TWISTERS & REPEATING
Is there a pleasant peasant present?• IDIOMS• TALKING ABOUT CURRENT
ISSUES • WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE
TEXT?• THEATER, STAND-UP COMEDY, MOVIES• SMALL TALK PARTY • RECESS
ORAL EXRECISES CONTINUED…
• PRESENTATIONPROFESSIONALS PRESENT
• EXPLAIN HOW A PIECE OF TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT WORKSIN LAYMAN TERMS
• EXPLAIN WORDSCROSSWORD PUZZLES
• PUT IT IN OTHER WORDS”ETA retarded due to suspended pilotage, resulting in severe deterioration of cargo”
• ORAL SUMMARY WITH OR WITHOUT COFFEE AND CAKE
ORAL EXERCISES CONTINUED…
• DRAW A PICTURE
• BOARD GAMES
• CASES – WORK-RELATED
• PRACTICAL SITUATIONSRIFLE RANGE
BRIDGE AND ENGINE ROOM
PHONE CALL
WEBSITES
• thefreedictionary.com• sitepal.com• englishcentral.com• webchef.eu• ESLgold.com• freerice.com• edu.fi/etalukioetusivu• oppiminen.yle.fi
BOOKS
• PETER WATCYN-JONES
• IDEBANK, Otava
• CAMPAIGN, Macmillan
• ENGLISH FOR THE MARITIME INDUSTRY, Idris
• CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR TOEFL, Bloomsbury
THE FUTURE
• CLIL• VIDEO
CONFERENCE• vocaroo.com• SOCIAL MEDIA• MOODLE
Virtual Learning Environment
THANK YOU FOR THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!LISTENING!
ANY QUESTIONS?ANY QUESTIONS?