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Introducing Innovation into an ESP Program: Aviation English for Cadets

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Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes in Higher Education

Part of the book series: English Language Education ((ELED,volume 11))

Abstract

The aim of English for Specific Teaching (ESP) in Turkish universities is to support the development of scientific literacy in learners’ field of specialism in English. Implicit in this objective is to make the ESP curriculum tailor-made to meet the learners’ specific needs. In this study, we describe evaluating the new Turkish Air Force Academy (TurAFA) curriculum, which has been in use for some time. TurAFA is unique in that it aims to train cadets to become combat pilots leading Turkish Air Force. After contextualizing our research, we provide an evaluation of an innovative “Aviation English for Cadets” (AEC) curriculum which has beendesigned to fulfill cadets’ individual and institutional needs. AEC is based on a comprehensive needs analysis involving all stakeholders including the graduates, field experts, instructors and cadets. The most innovative aspect of the curriculum is the introduction of virtual aviation, a challenging innovation in the curriculum for cadets. We illustrate the course content with a simulated flight snapshot. Finally, we discuss the curriculum evaluation in relation to its professional relevance, use of technology, and challenges encountered in the curriculum development process. The study illustrates a localized practice; yet, we believe that it has implications for EAP/ESP practitioners and researchers globally.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A STANAG, or Standardization Agreement, is an international military standard created by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for regulating equipment, procedures, tactics, training and just about everything that affects how armed forces from different countries work together on operations and exercises.

    STANAG 6001 is a language proficiency scale designed to allow comparisons of language ability in different countries. The scale consists of a set of descriptors with proficiency skills broken down into six levels, coded 1 through 6. (http://www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com/Course/teacher.htm)

  2. 2.

    English for Specific Purposes (ESP) addresses the communicative needs and practices of particular professional or occupational groups (Hyland 2007, 391).

  3. 3.

    TurAFA cadets’ language proficiency levels are measured in accordance with STANAG 6001 standards. Though translating Stanag6001 standards into CEFR is not that easy, Bureau for International Language Co-ordination (BILC) which is a NATO agency proposed a tentative relation of two scales as follows; A1 (CEFR scale) –> 0 or 1 (mostly 1) (Stanag6001 scale), A2 –> 1, 1+ or 2 (mostly 1), B1 –> 1+ or 2 (mostly 2), B2 –>2, 2+ or 3 (mostly 2), C1–>2, 2+ or 3 (mostly 3) Source: http://www.natobilc.org/documents/Conferences /2010/MONDAY/A%20Tale%20of%20Two%20Tests%20STANAG%20and%20CEFR.ppt Furthermore, STANAG 6001Language Proficiency. Level 3 is found as equal to CEFR B2 level (Tannenbaum and Baron 2010)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Foreign Languages, İstanbul Kültür University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mustafa Er

  2. English Language Teaching, Faculty of Education, Çukurova University, Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey

    Yasemin Kırkgöz

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  1. Mustafa Er
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  2. Yasemin Kırkgöz
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Correspondence to Mustafa Er .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. English Language Teaching, Faculty of Education, Çukurova University, Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey

    Yasemin Kırkgöz

  2. English Language Teaching,Faculty of Education, Bahçeşehir University, Beşiktaş, İstanbul, Turkey

    Kenan Dikilitaş

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Er, M., Kırkgöz, Y. (2018). Introducing Innovation into an ESP Program: Aviation English for Cadets. In: Kırkgöz, Y., Dikilitaş, K. (eds) Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes in Higher Education. English Language Education, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70214-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70214-8_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70214-8

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