The Importance of English Communication Skills for Ethiopian Military Observers and Police Officers in International Peacekeeping Missions

Abstract

Globalization has placed a growing importance of integrated skills of English language communication. This paper reports on findings of the importance and still challenges of ME for Ethiopian military and police officers in peacekeeping missions gathered via frequent observations and focus group discussions. It also shows that the growing international peacekeeping missions in the glob undergone by the Ethiopian armed and unarmed forces has been paired with the use of English as a lingua-franca of international communication. The language stands as a vehicular and bridge for them in an international geo-political scenario marked by the globalization of conflicts beyond national borders and consequently by the integration of armies in multinational and multicultural coalition forces. For the Ethiopian officers, this new international arena has meant its increasing participation in international peacekeeping missions which has involved the deployment of large number of officers and equipment, and the integration in multinational structures. English language can help facilitate the necessary interconnections in different sectors. However, this paper indicates that the military missioners are still suffering from their poor English language skills performance to conduct their daily routines. This research sheds light on how to overcome such inherent and nested English language difficulties and conclude the practical and effective solutions to the problems for those officers.