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Finland’s growing participation in international co-operation

Operational English Proficiency of Commissioned Officers A New Weapons System for the Finnish Defence Forces Ritva Aho Military Academy Lappeenranta, Finland EALTA Conference in Krakow, May 19 - 21, 2006. Finland’s growing participation in international co-operation. Peacekeeping since 1956

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Finland’s growing participation in international co-operation

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  1. Operational English Proficiency of Commissioned OfficersA New Weapons System for the Finnish Defence ForcesRitva AhoMilitary Academy Lappeenranta, FinlandEALTA Conference in Krakow, May 19 - 21, 2006

  2. Finland’s growing participation in international co-operation • Peacekeeping since 1956 • 47.509 Finnish peacekeepers • 35 operations by 2006 • United Nations (UN) • Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) • European Union (EU) • NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. 2 Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland

  3. Research Approach: A survey based on questionnaire data Questionnaire: • 104 fixed-choice language use situations Example: Taking the floor in meetings and negotiations. • 7 open-ended questions Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 3

  4. The dimensions of the language use studied Frequency of the English language use situations on a scale: 1 (never) – 5 (daily) Level of the required English language proficiency on a CEF scale: 1 (A1) – 6 (C2) Importance of the English language use situations on a scale: 1 (unimportant) – 4 (very important) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 4

  5. Reliability and validity Language proficiency scale: α: 0.87 – 0.93 Importance scale: α: 0.81 – 0.89 Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 5

  6. Military Ranks of the Respondents Army & Air Force Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 6

  7. Military Ranks of the Respondents Navy Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 7

  8. Age Distribution of the Respondents Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 8

  9. Level of English Proficiency on scale 1- 6 Self-assessed level External National Exam 9 Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland

  10. Frequency on total scale1=never - 5=daily (39 situations)(n=239) 10 Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland

  11. Comparisons between the averages for estimated skill-specific frequency scales:1=never - 5=daily (n=239) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 11

  12. Required proficiency level on total scale1- 6 (39 situations) (n=177) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 12

  13. Comparisons between the averages for required skill-specific level scales 1- 6 (n=177) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 13

  14. Importance of communication situations on total scale 1=unimportant – 4 =very important (n = 174) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 14

  15. Comparisons between the averages for estimated skill-specific importance scales1=unimportant – 4=very important (n=174) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 15

  16. Important situations in which you have needed English most often In meetings, negotiations, discussions, seminars etc. the language proficiency must be adequate to give self-confidence so that we are not steamrolled by the opposition International visits, organisation/job presentations for various delegations Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 16

  17. Situations in which you have experienced your proficiency most deficient Hectic negotiations where the other party is represented by a vexed non-native, who speaks bad English with the local (e.g. Albanian) accent Nato slang, packed with abbreviation-monsters, which are unfamiliar even to many members of the Nato countries Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 17

  18. Situations in which you have experienced your proficiency most adequate Social occasions and informal chatting cause no problems. Daily routine on duty, and presentations for which one can be well prepared. Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 18

  19. Situations for which one must be most prepared Understanding varieties of accents such as Indian, Australian, New Zealandish, African, Irish on topics ranging from meetings to small talk New abbreviations are created as someone invents a new name for the old thing: NEC = Network Enabled Capacity, NCW = Network Centric Warfare, MIL = man in the loop, LOL = Laughing out Loud) Practising negotiations respecting cultural differences (Muslim / Jewish) Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 19

  20. Examples / experiences of good language teaching from military viewpoint Military observer courses Nato School courses Immersion courses in general International assignments / exercises Practical experience in operations Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 20

  21. Examples / experiences of less good language teaching from military viewpoint Language learning should be a continuous development process. Merely sitting the national exam is not the best stuff There should have been considerably many more contact lessons & more interactive practice The most important thing would have been writing briefings, orders & instructions Practising meetings & negotiations Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 21

  22. Suggestions on developing language teaching military career-wise Language teaching should be focused on need and the task Emphasis should be on getting down to practicalities and attaining ability to communicate in a creative interactive manner We should master the civilities well in international environments, and avoid giving the impression of being simpletons. Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 22

  23. Path of Research Further measures Revision of curricula Needs Analysis Operational Language Proficiency of Commissioned Officers Implement-ation of new curricula in teaching & assessment Externalauditing Previous studies (Motive) Test Specific- ations Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland 23

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