The Students’ Needs in Maritime English Class at Ami Aipi Makassar, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper reports the students’ needs in developing a GME instructional course with the following research questions: 1) What is the present level of students’ oral communication apprehension? 2) What are the students’ needs (the learning and the language needs) in learning General Maritime English? The research was conducted at the Akademi Maritim Akademi Indonesia AIPI Makassar. There were 150 students of the nautical department in the academic year 2016-2017 as the primary subjects of this research. The researchers administered questionnaires, conducted interviews and observed exams to collect the data. The results found that the students’ level of oral communication apprehension was high, based on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). It was also found that there was a high demand for materials that could prepare the students to have good communication skills, in order to be equipped to work in international maritime industries. Most of the students assumed that the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in English are crucial, but they placed productive skills (writing and speaking) as their highest priority. It is concluded that the results of this investigation should be taken into account in developing teaching and learning materials for maritime academy students.