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1 INTRODUCTION

Pilotage is one of the ship operations that requires a

great deal of communication and coordination

between the marine pilot, the ship master, and other

related crew. Pilotage refers to the activity of a marine

pilot to get on board a ship to assist the ship to berth

or unberth [1]. It involves the activity of navigating all

kinds of ships safely through domestic waterways

while ensuring the safety of the environment, people,

and cargo [2]. Marine pilots are professional seafarers

who collaborate with the vessel’s crew to give

navigational advice to captains [3], [4]. As a

‘newcomer’ on the ship’s bridge, they have to

understand how the bridge team works together and

how the team has communication with each other [5].

Their role, no doubt, is highly important. Marine

pilots have a crucial role as local guides with

extensive knowledge of the waters for which they are

certified [6]. Thus, they must be familiar with every

aspect of the pilotage district for which they are

licensed and therefore must be able to recount under

all weather and visibility conditions – every channel

twist, bridge, and navigational aid.

There are several important responsibilities of

marine pilots according to the EU [2] including

navigation control; checking the status of the

switching of each vessel; reporting of shortcomings

and deficiencies; having coordination with the towing

and mooring services of the port; reporting any

incidents detected in navigation in port waters to the

Exploring English Language Needs of Indonesian

Marine Pilots: A Need Analysis and Its Implications in

ESP Classrooms

L.I. Sari & R.H. Sari

Merchant Marine Polytechnic of Semarang, Semarang, Indonesia

ABSTRACT: This study was aimed to investigate the English language needs of Indonesian Marine Pilots. Using

a qualitative descriptive method of research, this study involved 14 Indonesian marine pilots and 2 Maritime

English teachers. An open-ended questionnaire, interviews, and observations during a pilotage simulation were

used to collect data. In addition to that, the result of the Marlins English Test for Seafarers was also used to

support the data analysis. This study revealed that to conduct safe and effective pilotage services, the marine

pilots need the following language skills: giving advice and giving order, asking and giving information

(exchanging information), and using the Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP). This study also

showed that the marine pilots need improvements in their linguistic competence. They have problems in

grammar or sentence structure, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Realizing their shortcomings, the Indonesian

marine pilots want to improve their English competence, especially their speaking skills in conducting

interpersonal conversations as well as transactional conversations. They also want to improve their writing skill.

The findings indicate that in the teaching of Maritime English for marine pilots, it is important to provide

learners with meaningful learning experience by using roleplays and simulations and address the

communicative competence comprehensively.

http://www.transnav.eu

the International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 14

Number 4

December 2020

DOI: 10.12716/1001.14.04.15

910

maritime and port authority; reporting any pollution

sources found in port waters; reporting on the failure

or breakdown of beacon signals from the port and its

vicinity; and conducting communication with

authorities in case of maritime emergencies.

Marine Pilots have a very close relationship with

the ship master. They give guidance to the ship

master related to the berthing and unberthing

activities of the ship [7]. Therefore, they must build

and maintain good communication [8]. It is said that

the master’s knowledge is often vessel-specific, while

the marine pilot’s knowledge is waterway-specific

[9]. Even though the Master is an expert in navigating

vessels, he might not familiar with the specific

environment of ports. Thus, he needs help from the

Pilot in navigating his vessel to ensure that the vessel,

crew, passengers, and cargo arrive at their next port

of call safely and efficiently. The relationship is based

on trust, honesty, and assurance. The master should

be honest in describing the condition of his ship,

while the pilot should be truthful in describing

possible problems, routes, tugs, line handlers and

shore facilities, and the local regulations. In addition

to that, the pilot must assure the Master that he/she is

competent and capable of handling the ship. The Pilot

also should consult with the Master if there are

doubts related to the ship’s manoeuvring [2].

However, maritime communications sometimes

cannot run the way they are planned.

Misunderstandings that led to accidents were found

to be many. It is said that 80% of maritime accidents

are because of human error of which one-third of it is

related to communication failure [10]. Human error

also contributes to the major cause of the collision

and grounding accidents in which mostly occur in

narrow channels and during berthing/unberthing

manoeuvres [11], [12]. The importance of the human

element in contributing to the safe operation of a

vessel is crystal clear, in which the communication

skills are very crucial [13], [14].

Low language ability has become one of the

barriers to achieve accurate and understandable

communication among crew of different nationalities.

A Ship Master revealed an uncomfortable situation he

ever experienced when two pilots on his vessel often

switched to French between themselves instead of

speaking English. He also experienced that his helm

orders had to be translated into three different

languages before they were executed by the

helmsman. Another communication breakdown

during Pilotage happened when the Pilot used a

language that could not be understood by the Master

when communicating with the tugs. This can reduce

the Master’s awareness of the situation that is

happening on the vessel [8].

Due to the important role of marine pilots, various

studies have been conducted by various scholars.

Many of them discuss the physical and psychological

aspects of pilots. Among the studies are: sleep

disruption and the decline of cognitive function of

marine pilots [15], pilot’s alertness and psychomotor

performance levels [16], fatigue and coping strategies

[17], pilots’ health and well-being [18], pilot’s

psychophysical stress and strain [19], [20], pilot’s

mental workload and physiological reactions [21],

pilots’ job satisfaction and turnover [22]. However,

the studies that discuss pilots’ language aspects are

still limited. In Indonesia, where English is

considered as a foreign language, the language issue

in maritime operations becomes crucial. Many efforts

have been conducted by maritime education and

training institutions to provide English programs and

to improve the English competency of seafarers.

However, in some cases, the results are still not

satisfactory.

In doing their duties, marine pilots need to build

and maintain good communication and trust with the

ship masters and other related crew. Having good

English will help them provide the best pilotage

services. This study attempts to fill the gap in the

studies related to marine pilots by investigating their

English language needs. It is conducted in the

Indonesian context and uses Hutchinson and Waters’

need analysis framework [23].

Brown described need analysis as the systematic

collection and analysis of all subjective and objective

information necessary to define and validate

defensible curriculum purposes that satisfy the

language learning necessities of students within the

context of particular institutions that influence the

learning and teaching situation [24]. Macalister and

Nation [23] argued that need analysis is important to

make sure that a certain course contains relevant and

useful things to learn for the students. Data obtained

from need analysis can become a valuable resource to

improve ESP teaching. They quoted three types of

needs proposed by Hutchinson and Waters.

Figure 1. Three types of needs

“Necessities” refers to the questions: what is

necessary in the learners’ use of language? Necessities

reflect the demands of the students’ target tasks. For

example, “what will they have to do in their working

places?”. “Lacks” refers to the question: “What do the

learners lack?”. This involves looking at where

learners are at present, how good they are in

performing their jobs. “Wants” refers to the question:

“What do the learners wish to learn?”. This involves

learners’ views about what they think is useful for

them.

Three research questions guide this study, namely:

1 What English language competencies are required

by Indonesian Marine Pilots to conduct safe and

effective pilotage services?

2 What are the shortcomings of Indonesian Marine

Pilots in terms of the English language?

3 What language skills do the Indonesian Marine

Pilots wish to improve?

It is expected that the result of this study can give

significant contributions to the field of Maritime

Education and Training. This study can be one of the

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valuable references to improve the syllabus and

teaching materials of the ESP course for Marine

Pilots, especially in the Indonesian context where

English is considered as a foreign language.

2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Participant of the Study

The participants involved in this study were 14 male

Indonesian marine pilots who joined a Maritime

English Course in a Maritime Polytechnic. Their age

ranged from 34 – 54 years old. The average age is 42

years old. Their experience of becoming marine pilots

ranged from 5 – 15 years. The average pilotage

service is 10 years. The detail of the participants’

characteristics can be seen in Table 1.

Table 1. The Characteristics of the Participants

_______________________________________________

Pilot Age Period of becoming a marine pilot

(years old)

_______________________________________________

Pilot 1 45 15 years

Pilot 2 44 11 years

Pilot 3 35 5 years

Pilot 4 34 9 years

Pilot 5 42 8 years

Pilot 6 45 13 years

Pilot 7 43 6 years

Pilot 8 40 12 years

Pilot 9 45 10 years

Pilot 10 41 10 years

Pilot 11 44 15 years

Pilot 12 54 15 years

Pilot 13 42 10 years

Pilot 14 45 10 years

Average 42 10 years

_______________________________________________

All of the participants were previously seafarers

before they worked as marine pilots. The long period

of working in the maritime field indicates that they

have considerable knowledge and experience in

navigation and pilotage.

To obtain additional information, two English

teachers involved during the course were

interviewed.

2.2 Data Collection

2.2.1 Methods

There were several methods of data collection

used in this study. An open-ended questionnaire was

used to collect information about the necessities, the

shortcomings, and the wants of marine pilots related

to their English language ability. A Semi-structured

interview was conducted with the participants to

clarify information obtained from the questionnaire.

In addition to that, an interview with the teachers was

used to get more comprehensive information about

the present language ability of the participants. The

observation was conducted during the pilotage

simulation to obtain information about the

participants’ present language ability. Regulation

related to Pilotage in Indonesia was examined to

obtain information about the duties and the

responsibilities of marine pilots. The result of the

Marlins English Test for Seafarers was used to find

out the maritime English level of the pilots and to

identify language aspects that need improvements.

2.2.2 Procedure

Data were collected when the participants joined a

Maritime English course in a Maritime Polytechnic.

The course was conducted in one week. On the first

day of the course, after the class session finished, the

researchers explained the research to the participants.

On the second day of the course, the researchers

distributed the questionnaire to the participants. On

the next day, an interview was conducted with the

participants to clarify their answers to the

questionnaire and to elicit more detailed information.

The interview was held during the break after the

class sessions and it was completed in 3 days.

The participants were given eight questions

related to their jobs as marine pilots and the English

communication that they conducted. The questions

were as follows:

1 What are your daily duties and responsibilities?

2 How do you conduct your duties?

3 Do your duties involve communication with other

people? How do you conduct communication?

4 Do you use English for communication at work?

How often do you use English?

5 What duties require English competence?

6 What difficulties do you face during working?

(especially which are related to English

communication)

7 What English competencies do you want to

improve?

8 What English materials do you wish to learn?

Pilotage simulation was held as one of the sessions

of the course. During the pilotage simulation, an

observation was conducted by the researchers. The

pilotage simulation was held in the Ship Handling

Simulator. There were 2 cubicles used during the

simulation. The conversations in each cubicle were

recorded. However, due to the limitation of the

recorder, there were only five recordings available.

The Marlins English test was administered on the last

day of the course. Before taking the test, short

familiarization about the test was given to the

participants.

Interview with the teachers was conducted after

the course finished. The teachers’ perception of the

present language ability of marine pilots was

explored.

2.3 Data analysis

This research employed a qualitative descriptive

method, in which the researchers became the main

instrument of data analysis. Data analysis was started

with compiling all data obtained from the

questionnaire, interview (both with the participants

and the teachers), recordings of the simulation,

regulation related to marine pilot in Indonesia, and

the Marlins English Test for Seafarers.

The questionnaires were recapitulated and the

interviews with the participants were transcribed.

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The data were then rearranged into categories based

on questions on the questionnaire and presented in

combination with the interview result using tables.

The recordings of the pilotage simulation were

transcribed and analyzed to find errors in

communication.

The teachers’ interview was also transcribed to

find supporting information about the present ability

of the participants. The result of the Marlins Test was

recapped and broken down into the categories of

listening, grammar, vocabulary, time and numbers,

pronunciation, and reading. The data were then

reorganized using a table.

All of the data were then analyzed and interpreted

with the guide of the research questions.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 English language competencies which are required by

Indonesian Marine Pilots to conduct safe and effective

pilotage service.

To answer research question 1, there were several

data used. Firstly, the Decree of the Ministry of

Transportation Number 57 the Year 2015 concerning

Pilotage. Secondly, the result of the questionnaire and

the interview with the participants. From the result of

data analysis, the language competencies that are

required by Indonesian Marine Pilots to conduct safe

and effective pilotage service are:

1 Giving advice and giving order

According to the Decree of the Ministry of

Transportation Number 57 the Year 2015, marine

pilots have to advise the ship master regarding the

pilotage process. In conducting pilotage duties,

the participants often have to use the English

language, moreover when they assist or escort

foreign vessels and meet foreign ship masters.

Since the incident of MV. Soul of Luck which hit

the container crane at the Port of Tanjung Emas,

all Indonesian pilots have been encouraged to use

English, even though they assist local vessels.

Sometimes, pilots are also asked by the Ship

Master to handle the ship’s manoeuvring. In this

situation, pilots take over the command under the

Master’s supervision. Therefore, they must be able

to give a clear and accurate command to avoid

error and misunderstanding.

2 Asking and giving information (exchanging

information)

Marine pilots have to ask for information from the

ship master related to the ship’s characteristics.

They also have to give information to the master

related to the port’s characteristics. The skills of

asking and giving information are important to

make the communication run well.

Giving information can be in the form of reporting

which becomes one of the language competencies

that is needed by the marine pilots. According to

the Decree of the Ministry of Transportation

Number 57 the Year 2015 regarding Pilotage,

pilots have to report accidents immediately to the

Port Authority. Pilots also have to report other

issues such as changing of depth in the fairway,

the position of the fishing gears or other barriers

that endanger navigation, and the position of

buoys. Pilots give information to the master

related to berthing / unberthing activity, including

information about the port characteristic, the

weather condition, the current, the number of

assist tugs, loading and unloading activity, etc.

Besides giving information related to pilotage,

pilots sometimes also act as a “tour guide” who

give information about interesting places near the

Port to the Ship’s Master, Crew, or passengers of

cruise ships. Pilots also need to have a small talk

or a friendly talk with the Master to build trust

and chemistry. This is revealed by Pilot 4 during

the interview who said that it is important for a

pilot and a captain to build good communication

in a relatively short time. Supporting the

statement of Pilot 4, Pilot 10 admitted that having

good English can help him to be more confident

when talking with the Master and to gain the

Master’s trust concerning his competency as a

marine pilot.

3 Standard Marine Communication Phrase (SMCP)

In addition to having good knowledge of the

English language, it is also mandatory for marine

pilots to know about the IMO Standard Marine

Communication Phrase (SMCP). In 1997, IMO has

published SMCP as guidance for navigational and

safety communication from ship to shore and vice

versa, ship to ship, and onboard ships. Maritime

communication is made to be precise, simple, and

unambiguous to avoid confusion and error. Due to

the increased number of international merchant

vessels in which the crews speak many different

languages, problems of communication may cause

misunderstanding that can lead to dangers.

Several pilots who participated in this research

admitted that they have difficulty when they meet

ship masters who talk too fast or who have a very

different accent. The consistent use of SMCP for

communication can reduce the risks of

misunderstanding and other communication

problems.

3.2 The shortcomings of the Indonesian Marine Pilots in

terms of English language.

To answer research question number 2, there are

several data used. Firstly, the result of the

questionnaire and interview with the participants,

secondly the result of the interview with the English

teachers, thirdly the result of pilotage simulation, and

fourth the result of the Marlins English Test.

The findings showed that the marine pilots need

to improve the following aspects.

3.2.1 Grammar or sentence structure

Most of the participants agreed if they have

limited English grammar. They know the theory, but

they find difficulties to use it in communication. The

English teachers also revealed that the participants

have problems in accuracy. They rarely use correct

grammar when having communication or when

doing assignments in the classroom.

Lack of accuracy can cause problems when the

marine pilots have to conduct communication with

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people who have English as the mother tongue. As

Pilot 6 explained during the interview:

“When having communication with the ship

masters, especially those from Europe, grammar

plays a very important role. For example, when I say

“the vessel sink yesterday”. He became confused.

“Sink?” “Oh, ya sank”. But when I have a

conversation with Asian people, I don’t find any

significant problems”.

The result of the Marlins English Test also

revealed that the participants have a low score for the

grammar section. Only 14% of the participants scored

more than 70. The average score for the grammar

section was 58. The grammar section of the Marlins

Test examines the test takers’ knowledge about

English grammar or the accuracy of sentence

structure. The overall recapitulation of the Marlins

Test can be seen in Table 2.

Problems with sentence structure can also be seen

from the pilotage simulation. Mostly, the problems

occurred in the verb formation and when asking

questions. Here are several examples of errors in verb

formation:

− “can I starting now, or waiting for the Cartefour?”

(recording 1).

− “Pilot station, this is MV. Terrathree we will

departure from Semarang port using 2 tugs

(recording 5).

− The participants also had difficulties when

constructing interrogative sentences. Here are

several examples of errors in making questions:

− “What…any one vessel in buoy number 1?”

(recording 2)

− “Ok… maybe any information, any tug for the

assist my ship? Over.” (recording 3)

− “How many minutes the tugs trouble, Sir?”

(recording 4)

The excerpts of the pilotage simulation show that

the participants made several errors during

communication. However, the errors didn’t cause a

communication breakdown. All of the parties still

could understand each other. It was probably because

all of the people involved in the communication were

Indonesian.

3.2.2 Vocabulary or word choice

Most of the participants admitted that they have a

limited vocabulary, especially when they have to do

casual conversation or friendly talk with the Master,

the crew, or the passengers of a vessel. For technical

vocabulary that is related to their daily jobs and

duties, they didn’t find any significant problems.

The result of the Marlins Test which assessed the

participants’ knowledge in Maritime vocabulary

showed that most of the participants have a good

maritime vocabulary. The average score for the

vocabulary aspect was 80, in which 78% of the

participants scored more than 70. Supporting the

finding, the English teachers added that the

participants have no significant problem when using

the technical terminologies during working. It is

probably because they use the vocabulary every day.

However, when it comes to casual conversation,

they have difficulties finding the proper vocabulary.

Lack of vocabulary to engage in casual conversation

makes the participants avoid having a long

conversation with the ship master or with the crew.

They focus on doing communication related to

pilotage services.

Related to the use of SMCP during pilotage

simulation, there are several errors found. Firstly, the

absence of message markers and secondly, in

correcting the message that has been transmitted

before. Message markers are used to facilitate

maritime communication, especially when someone

has to do VHF communication. The consistent use of

message markers is expected to reduce the possibility

of misunderstanding. However, during the pilotage

simulation, the use of SMCP message markers was

not found.

IMO has given guidance in SMCP related to how

to correct a mistake in a message. The use of the word

“mistake” followed by the word: "correction..." plus

the corrected part of the message has been explained

in SMCP. However, when making mistake in saying a

message, the participants didn’t use the

terminologies. Here are several examples found in the

simulation:

Table 2. The recapitulation of the Marlins English Test Result

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pilot Listening Grammar Vocabulary Time and Numbers Pronunciation Reading Overall score

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pilot 1 56 57 89 100 56 50 70

Pilot 2 76 67 87 80 67 83 78

Pilot 3 88 63 98 100 78 83 85

Pilot 4 92 83 98 100 67 50 88

Pilot 5 48 43 69 100 78 33 58

Pilot 6 52 60 78 80 56 17 63

Pilot 7 76 67 76 100 67 33 72

Pilot 8 96 77 87 80 67 50 83

Pilot 9 72 40 69 80 44 33 59

Pilot 10 68 57 76 100 44 50 67

Pilot 11 72 37 73 80 56 33 61

Pilot 12 68 37 78 100 44 0 60

Pilot 13 68 67 67 80 89 67 69

Pilot 14 68 53 76 100 67 33 67

Mean 71 58 80 91 63 44 70

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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− “Semarang pilot, Cartefour. My position passing

buoy number 2, eh number 3 over” (recording 1)

− “Yes, now slow ahead sir. Speed increase from

two… three point six to three point seven”

(recording 2)

However, the errors didn’t cause any breakdown

during the communication. Again, it was probably

because all of the parties involved in communication

are Indonesian.

The percentage of errors in grammar and

vocabulary of the pilotage simulation activity is

shown in Figure 2. From the diagram, it can be seen

that 45% of errors are not using SMCP appropriately.

25% of errors are related to sentence construction in

which the participants made some errors in

constructing interrogatives sentences. 20% of errors

are related to verb formation. For example, instead of

using the verb “depart”, the participants use the word

“departure” in their sentences. 10% of errors are

related to the word choice.

Figure 2. The percentage of errors in grammar and

vocabulary during the pilotage simulation

3.2.3 Pronunciation

Most of the participants admitted that they have

problems with pronunciation. The English teachers

also reported that the participants showed less

accuracy in pronunciation. The result of the Marlins

Test revealed a similar finding that only 21% of the

participants scored more than 70. The average score

for the pronunciation section was 63.

Here are examples of interview excerpts

concerning the participants’ difficulty in

pronunciation:

− “I think I have problems with pronunciation.

Sometimes I cannot understand other people’s

utterances. Sometimes other people cannot

understand my utterance” (Pilot 3).

− “I find difficulties in communication especially

when I meet Captain from China. The accent is

very difficult to be understood” (Pilot 5)

− “I found difficulties when I met crew or captain

from Europe. They usually talk very fast. But I’m

glad they can understand me” (Pilot 7)

− “The problem is pronunciation. The crew from

different countries have different pronunciations.

Sometimes it makes me confused. To overcome

this problem, sometimes I use body language to

help me express what I want to say” (Pilot 9)

The excerpts of the interview showed that the

participants realized that they have problems in

pronunciation. When people talk too fast, it was

difficult for the participants to catch the meaning,

moreover when they were not familiar with the

accents. British, Indian, Russian, and Chinese accents

were considered “difficult” to be understood. To

overcome this problem, usually, the participants use

gestures to help them express what they want to say.

3.3 Skills that the Indonesian Marine Pilots wish to

improve in terms of the English language.

To answer research question 3, the result of the

questionnaire and interview are used. Research

question 3 attempts to reveal the participants’

expectations about the language competence that they

want to improve and the materials that they want to

learn. There are two skills that become the concern of

the participants: speaking and writing.

3.3.1 Speaking skills in casual conversation or

interpersonal conversation.

Speaking can have a transactional or interactional

purpose. Interactional purpose refers to the

interaction that serves primarily for a social function

in which the individuals engage in a social situation

and build comfortable feeling in the interaction. As

Richards said that “When people meet, they exchange

greetings, engage in small talk, recount recent

experiences, and so on” [25].

As explained in the previous section, one of the

Pilots’ duties is sometimes they have to act as a tour

guide for the ship’s master, crew, or passengers who

ask them about interesting places or good restaurants

in the town to visit. Pilots also need to build trust and

chemistry with the Ship Master by having a friendly

conversation. One of the pilots said that having good

English can help him to gain the Master’s trust that he

is capable of doing his job as a Pilot. That is evidence

that the English language plays a very important role

to bridge communication across different

nationalities.

Due to the awareness that speaking skill is

important, most of the participants then want to

improve their skills in having a casual or friendly

conversation with foreign people they meet during

working as a pilot, for example, the ship’s master, the

ship’s crew or passengers of cruise ships. As Pilot 7

explained that he wanted to have more conversation

with the Captain, but due to limited speaking ability

he could not do it.

“I found difficulties when I met the crew or

captain from Europe. They usually talk very fast. But

I’m glad they can understand me. Perhaps it’s

because we just talk about pilotage activity. We do

not talk about any other things. I actually want to talk

more and explain about good places or restaurants to

visit near the Port, but I can’t because I don’t know

how to say it in English”

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The excerpt indicates that the participants do not

only need skills in conducting transactional

conversation as a Marine Pilot, but also casual or

interpersonal conversation. They want to improve

their skills to engage in more friendly conversations

with foreign people using English. This indicates that

in ESP teaching, besides the technical genre, the non-

technical genre also needs to be addressed. This is in

line with the studies conducted by [26] and [27].

3.3.2 Speaking skill in transactional conversation

In transactional conversation, the message

becomes the most important aspect. “Talk as

transaction refers to situations where the focus is on

what is said or done. The message and making

oneself understood clearly and accurately is the

central focus, rather than the participants” [25]. The

transactional conversation is more predictable and

easier to plan than interpersonal conversation.

In conducting their duties, Pilots have had

guidance about how to conduct communication in a

standard way. They have the Standard Marine

Communication Phrase (SMCP) as guidance.

However, based on the pilotage simulation the SMCP

was not used consistently by the participants to

facilitate their communication. Some of the

participants realized this situation and wish to have

more learning and practice of using SMCP for

pilotage.

Accuracy becomes the concern of the participants,

especially during their speaking. Sometimes they are

not sure about the pronunciation when having

communication. They also have a limited vocabulary

and grammar. Therefore, they want to improve their

vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar to be more

fluent in communication.

3.3.3 Writing skill

Writing belongs to productive skills in which

individuals compose a written text about certain

topics. Unlike spoken text which is unplanned and

less structured, written text is planned and more

organized. Written text tends to use a longer and

more complex sentence, and also has higher lexical

density. Therefore, grammar plays a very important

role. Writing a report is not the thing that the

participants have to do every day. They only do the

duty occasionally, for example when there is an

incident that happens. However, when they have to

write, they found difficulty in writing correctly.

Usually, the problem is related to sentence structure,

tense, and vocabulary. Therefore, the participants

want to improve their ability in constructing

sentences appropriately. In maritime education and

training in Indonesia, seafarers’ writing skill tends to

receive less attention than the other language skills. A

study conducted in China showed a similar finding

that the importance of writing was underestimated in

the Maritime English education and training in China

[28].

4 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study has several pedagogical implications.

Firstly, the teaching and practicing of communication

using the Standard Marine Communication Phrases

(SMCP) through roleplays and simulations should be

conducted more frequently and consistently.

Roleplays and simulations will enable the

participants to experience almost-real-

communications of Pilotage and provide them with

meaningful activities of learning. For adult language

learners, relevant and meaningful activities are highly

significant to boost learning motivation which can

improve the effectiveness of learning [29]. Roleplays

and simulations also provide opportunities for the

participants to have interaction with their peers and

to receive feedbacks which bring a good influence on

their language learning [30]. The use of roleplays and

simulations belongs to the so-called “contextualized

language teaching” which represents the “real-

world” tasks and has been proved to improve

students’ performance in the language classroom [31].

The consistent use of SMCP as the standardized

language for maritime operations will be beneficial

when the participants have to deal with a

multilingual and multicultural crew of ships [32].

Secondly, the linguistic competence of seafarers

needs to be improved, especially for pronunciation

and intonation. Maritime communication often

involves spoken communication, in which the

accuracy of speaking will highly influence the

reception of the listeners. Moreover, if the

interlocutors come from a different country and thus,

have different accents. In several cases, the marine

pilots have difficulties in understanding the ship

masters’ talks due to unfamiliar accents and

inaccurate pronunciation. The marine pilots also

admitted that they need to improve their

pronunciation.

Thirdly, the teaching and learning of Maritime

English for Pilots should not only focus on

transactional or technical communication but also

include interpersonal communication and address

socio-cultural competence. In ESP, linguistic

competence alone will not be enough for learners to

be able to perform their duties effectively at the

workplace. During the duty of Pilotage, marine pilots

meet ship’s masters and crew from various

nationalities. Good interpersonal communication and

socio-cultural competence will help the pilots to build

trust and chemistry with the ship’s master. They will

also support the pilots to conduct a casual or friendly

conversation with the ship’s crew or cruise ship’s

passengers. In addition to that, the socio-cultural

competence will prevent communication breakdown

during Pilotage which is caused by cultural

differences between the pilots, the ship’s master, and

other related crew. Thus, integration of socio-cultural

competence into the teaching and learning activities

in the classroom is very important [33]–[35].

5 CONCLUSION

Marine Pilots have specific language needs due to

their specific duties. This study, which was aimed to

916

investigate the English language needs of Indonesian

Marine Pilots who joined a Maritime English course

in one of the maritime polytechnics revealed several

findings.

To conduct safe and effective pilotage services, the

marine pilots need the following skill: giving advice

and giving order, asking and giving information

(exchanging information), and using the Standard

Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP). This study

also revealed that marine pilots need to improve their

linguistic competence. They have problems in

grammar or sentence structure, vocabulary or word

choice, and pronunciation. Realizing their

shortcomings, the Indonesian marine pilots want to

improve their English skills, especially their speaking

skills in conducting interpersonal conversation as

well as transactional conversation using SMCP. They

also want to improve their writing skill. The findings

indicate that in the teaching of Maritime English for

marine pilots, it is important to address the

communicative competence comprehensively. It

means that all of the competencies including

linguistic competence, socio-cultural competence,

interactional competence, formulaic competence,

strategic competence, and discourse competence

should be integrated into the teaching and learning

activity. The use of roleplays and simulations can also

provide learners with meaningful experiences and

thus, can make the teaching and learning activities

more effective.

However, there are some limitations in this

research due to the small number of marine pilots

who were involved in this research. Nevertheless, the

findings of this study may be relevant to the

condition of other Asian marine pilots where English

is considered as a foreign language in their countries.

A larger scope of study is needed to obtain more

comprehensive insights.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to extend the greatest appreciation

to all marine pilots who have been willing to be involved in

this study as participants. We would also like to thank our

colleagues: Capt. Samsul Huda, Andarini Handayani, and

Pratama Irwin Talenta who have helped us during the

interview and pilotage simulation. Last but not least,

thanks to our assistants: Nuki Dhamayanti and Daniel

Masae who have given a remarkable contribution to this

research.

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