English Language Department for Marine Engineers

The Department of English for Marine Engineers was established in September 2011 as a separate structural unit within the KhSMA. The first head of the department was an Associate Professor, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Ohorodnyk Natalya. Since 2015, the department has been headed by Associate Professor, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences Oleksandra Litikova. Currently, the staff of the department 10 scientific and pedagogical workers (3 associate professors, 4 senior teachers, 1 teacher and 2 assistants).

The purpose of the department is to carry out high-quality training of future maritime field specialists of mechanical and electromechanical directions for effective English language communication with the multinational crewmembers in order to solve a number of professional problems.

The tasks subordinated to the achievement of the specified goal include:

  1. The development of higher education students’ oral and written communication skills in English language accordingly to the working training programs in the disciplines: “Maritime English” for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th courses students at the first higher education level of the Bachelor degree; “Business English» for the 5th course students at the second higher education level of the Master degree; “Foreign Language (English) for Academic Purposes” for the third higher education level of the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
  2. Сonducting classes for full-time and part-time cadets based on the principles of communicative, competence-based and deeper learning, taking into account the recommendations of Model Course 3.17 “Maritime English” of the International Maritime Organization, as well as the list of professional competencies specified in the IMO Convention STCW-78/95.
  3. Implementation of the Deeper learning approaches (Problem-based learning, Inquiry-based learning, Case-study learning, Critical Thinking learning, Information technologies integration, etc.) with the aim of forming higher education students basic multi-disciplinary competencies necessary for applying the acquired knowledge and skills in new situations.

The work of the department covers a wide range of scientific and pedagogical employees’ activities, namely:

  • bringing work training programs, syllabi into compliance with the curricula of full-time and part-time departments;
  • quality control of practical training classes and compliance of their structures with training courses (1, 2 courses – PPP; 3-4 courses – ESA; 5 course – Patchwork);
  • coordination of individual and independent work of students, conducting consultations with the aim of providing assistance to cadets and preparing them for exams and tests;
  • monitoring the quality of training of cadets in the department’s disciplines, analysis of the results of intersessional control and semester credit-examination sessions;
  • preparation of cadets for internal selection and participation in interviews with representatives of crewing companies for the purpose of the further employment;
  • updating the electronic content of the department’s educational disciplines (teaching aids, final tests) and placing them on the MOODLE platform;
  • preparation and holding of seminars/webinars by department teachers on new methods and technologies of teaching English;
  • visiting expert classes, analyzing the content of textbooks together with scientific and pedagogical employees of specialized departments;
  • professional development of scientific and pedagogical staff of the department;
  • involving cadets in scientific work and preparing them to participate in student scientific and practical conferences;
  • participation of teachers in scientific and practical conferences with the aim of publicizing the results of the work on the topic of the department’s research work “Implementation of technologies of in-depth learning of the English language of the maritime direction in the conditions of an interdisciplinary approach”.

Development prospects of the department:

  • upgrading of Students’ books accordingly to the updated content of work training programs in “Maritime English” and “Business English” in specializations 271.02 Management of Ship Technical Systems and Complexes and 271.03 Operation of Ship Electrical Equipment and Automation Devices;
  • bringing the structures of Students’ books modules to a single format that reflects lesson planning with an outline of the topic, goal, stages of work;
  • updating the content of current, intermediate and final control tests, taking into account changes in educational content;
  • making changes to the electronic educational content on the MOODLE platform in connection with its updating and the introduction of effective pedagogical approaches and online learning methods into the educational process.