Maritime English Final Assessment оf Future Deck Оfficers at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Bulgaria

Language Teaching Methodology / Mетодика

Galina V. Velikova

Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy – Varna

 https://doi.org/10.53656/for2025-04-04

Abstract. The present paper aims to contribute to the process towards global standardization of Maritime English (ME) testing and assessment that has been in progress for many years. It focuses on the format of the current final state exam for future deck officers graduating from the Naval Academy in Varna and the testing requirements it conforms to while pointing at its strengths and weaknesses. It also attempts to review this assessment tool in the light of the test specifications developed on the basis of the Maritime English competence yardstick linked to the CEFR reference levels to describe a language user’s proficiency in the absence of universal testing and assessment standards for Maritime English.

The author’s belief is that the development of the blueprint for the test, namely the test specifications, is a step in the right direction and will help us further enhance the quality of the final product. Besides, it is a good starting point for testing and assessing students whose native language is not English and whose language of instruction is their native language supported by Maritime English.

Keywords: Maritime English testing, assessment tool, specifications, test tasks, marking, linguodidactology

Свързани статии:

The Language Issue in Ukraine: Legal and Educational Challenges in the Budjak Region Language Matters: Stability and/or Change of Personality Traits in Bilingual Sample Educational Gains of Digital Transformation in Academic Libraries: The Case of Istanbul University’s DijitalKütüpİST Project Schelling – from Logos to Myth