A Study Of The Application Of CBI To Marine Engineering English Course

In order to meet the requirements of the rapid expanding and fast growing of modern international shipping industry,the International Maritime Organization(IMO) carried out an all-around revision of "Standards of Training.Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978"(STCW convention) in 1995,which has especially emphasized "the communication(i.e.foreign language competence) among the multinational crew".Marine Engineering English(MEE) is the vocational language used by the engineering staff on board ocean going vessels in dealing with the marine engineering business.The achievement of MEE teaching directly affects the training quality of engineering officers.The traditional Marine Engineering English teaching method in China always focuses on the grammar and textual function,that is,on the usage of the language. Students' listening and speaking competences were not attached enough importance. One important reason is that the traditional teacher-centered approach is the dominating teaching model adopted in MEE classrooms,in which the knowledge transmission is overemphasized and students are just passive receivers all the time.In 1980s, Content-Based Instruction(CBI) was found to be an effective approach to teaching English as a foreign or second language,because with CBI,students can develop their language skills as well as gain access to new concepts through meaningful content.It is, in particular,suited to the language teaching in the real situation,paying more attention to the language function and improving the language ability of listening,speaking, reading and writing.Based on the half-year investigation of the two classes majoring in Marine Engineering at Qingdao Ocean Shipping Mariners' College,adopting the theory of CBI and the means of test,questionnaire and classroom observation,the present study aims to find out whether there will be a significant difference in the achievement on English learning between the subjects who learn English in CBI classroom and the subjects who learn English through the traditional teaching method,whether this CBI approach can stimulate students' interest and motivation in learning English,and what deserves our attention in the implementation of CBI in English for Marine English class.Result shows that CBI is one of the appropriate ways to prompt learner's language ability and content ability.Thus suggestions are made based on theories of relevant resources. Through the detailed study and practical application of CBI,it demonstrates that CBI will have a bright future in MEE teaching.CBI is a reformation in essence to the traditional MEE teaching method,and it is worthy of further study and teaching innovation in practice on ESP.The writer hopes that the thesis can contribute to the study of Chinese foreign language teaching and encourage more language teachers to explore CBI,and English can be taught according to students' needs and interest.