No abstract

This study aimed to investigate the problems faced by ESP lecturers when teaching low English proficiency students during online Maritime English lessons and their strategies in dealing with the problems. A questionnaire with six open-ended questions was distributed to 9 Maritime English lecturers from 6 different Maritime Polytechnics in Indonesia. A follow-up interview was conducted with four lecturers to obtain more detailed information regarding their online teaching practices, especially the difficulties and the strategies to mitigate them. The findings of this study revealed 3 (three) main problems faced by the lecturers. Firstly, students were reluctant to interact and participate in class activities. Secondly, students showed low motivation and interest in learning English. Thirdly, the lecturers needed extra time to explain the teaching materials. To overcome the problems, the lecturers used various texts, pictures, videos, or online platforms to expose students to maritime vocabulary. They also grouped the lower proficiency students with the higher proficiency students in a collaborative activity, designed class activities based on students’ learning styles, and employed various scaffolding techniques. Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching, low English proficiency, Maritime English, online learning.

Cadets’ perception is very important in teaching and learning process. Cadets who perceive the teaching methods used by their teachers positively are more likely to achieve better results. This study aims to investigate cadets’ perceptions on teaching methods used by English teachers in the Co-curricular English class and how they influence cadets’ language learning process especially on the aspect of language improvement, motivation, self-confidence and attitude. As many as 200 questionnaires were distributed randomly to the first-year cadets of PIP Semarang and 10 of the cadets were involved for the interview. The study found that 79.2% cadets have positive perception towards the teaching methods used by English teachers, while the rest (20,8%) have negative perception. This study also revealed that cadets perceive their class more positively if the teachers use interesting method such as games and challenge. It is expected that the result of this study can become an evaluation to improve teaching and learning process ahead.

Conversation Analysis (CA) has a great implication in the second or foreign language teaching and learning. This study was aimed to analyse a casual conversation, to identify what people do to sustain a conversation. The conversation, which lasted for 20 minutes and involved three speakers, was transcribed verbatim. Several features of the spoken text are analysed: spontaneity, interactivity, interpersonal features, coherence features, negotiation of meaning, and speech function. The result of the analysis showed that there are several strategies used by the speakers: time-gaining strategies (filled pauses; frequent use of conjunctions: and, but, so); using chunks and producing one clause or phrase in small �runs�; self-monitoring strategies (repetition, backtracking), and interactional strategies (backchanneling, showing amusement by laughing or chuckling, using certain discourse markers, hedges, vague language, showing empathy by completing and repeating each other�s utterances). The speakers also negotiate interpersonally and logico-semantically to keep the conversation going on. The equal number of rejoinders that each speaker produces indicates that they are willing to support each other to sustain the conversation. This study implies that when teaching speaking, English teachers should include communication strategies to achieve the goals of communication.Keywords: casual conversation; negotiation of meaning; speech function; strategies.

Course books are considered as important elements in the language teaching and learning process. This study was aimed to evaluate a course book used in Preparation Class of Maritime English Test in one of Merchant Marine Polytechnic from three perspectives: teachers, graduates, and cadets. This study employed a qualitative descriptive analysis. There were 12 teachers, 111 cadets and 14 graduates involved in this study to give their opinions. Textbook evaluation checklist developed by Daoud and Celce-Murcia (1979) was adopted with several adjustments and used as a guide in collecting data. There were five aspects of the book to be analyzed: subject matter, vocabulary and structure, exercise, illustration, and physical make-up. The data were recapitulated, analyzed, and described qualitatively. The findings revealed that the book covers various materials, including maritime vocabulary and grammar, but they are not organized systematically. The exercises are sufficient, but some parts need more addition. The illustration and the physical make-up need to be improved to enhance the process of language teaching and learning. It is concluded that the coursebook investigated in this study needs several revisions and improvement.