As a Maritime English teacher I noticed there was a need for a topic-based English coursebook that would provide texts and exercises for undergraduate students acquiring competencies related to navigation, nautical tourism, yachts and marina technologies, port management, shipbuilding, shipping companies, shipping and other marine services, fleet and personnel management, environment preservation, and so on.
Participating in international conferences and seminars and discussing this issue with my colleagues and friends from the neighboring countries, in particular, Montenegro and Slovenia, I learned that they too lacked suitable straightforward teaching materials and tools.
The idea for creating this coursebook was encouraged and supported by the University College of Inspection and Personnel Management in Maritime Affairs in Split and the Faculty of Mediterranean Business Studies in Tivat within the Erasmus cooperation between the two institutions.
It is expected that the coursebook will comply not only with the Croatian higher education programs but also with the Maritime English syllabi designed in Montenegro and Slovenia, the countries that share similar maritime tradition, shipping experience, coastal features, weather patterns and development issues.
My intention is not to teach the students how to become good seamen or businessmen but to improve their language skills, which would make it possible for them to excel in their respective maritime fields. Technical aspects of this coursebook, in this case, mainly serve the purpose of language acquisition.
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