finland’s growing participation in international co-operation
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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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Operational English Proficiency of
Commissioned Officers
A New Weapons System for the Finnish Defence
Forces
Ritva AhoMilitary Academy
Lappeenranta, Finland
EALTA Conference in Krakow, May 19 - 21, 2006
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Finland’s growing participation in international co-operation
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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.
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
The dimensions of the language use studied
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Frequency of the English language use situationson a scale: 1 (never) – 5 (daily)
Level of the required English language proficiencyon a CEF scale: 1 (A1) – 6 (C2)
Importance of the English language use situationson a scale: 1 (unimportant) – 4 (very important)
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Reliability and validity
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Language proficiency scale: α: 0.87 – 0.93
Importance scale: α: 0.81 – 0.89
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Military Ranks of the Respondents
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Service Rank Frequency Percent
Lieutenant 5 2,1
Senior Lieutenant 14 5,9
Captain 53 22,2
Major 72 30,1
Lieutenant Colonel 21 8,8
Colonel 13 5,4
Other 1 ,4
Arm
y &
Air
Forc
e
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Military Ranks of the Respondents
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Service Rank Frequency Percent
Lieutenant Junior Grade 3 1,3
Lieutenant 7 2,9
Lieutenant Senior Grade
8 3,3
Lieutenant Commander 12 5,0
Commander 8 3,3
Captain 1 ,4
Other 1 ,4
Missing 20 8,4
Total 239 100,0
Nav
y
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Level of English Proficiency on scale 1- 6
Self-assessed level External National Exam
9
654331
Estimated Level
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Perc
ent
65432
External examination
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Perc
ent
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Frequency on total scale1=never - 5=daily (39 situations) (n=239)
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Comparisons between the averages for estimated skill-specific frequency scales:
1=never - 5=daily (n=239)
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Required proficiency level on total scale1- 6 (39 situations) (n=177)
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Comparisons between the averages for required skill-specific level scales 1- 6
(n=177)
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Importance of communication situations on total scale 1=unimportant – 4 =very
important (n = 174)
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4321
Total score
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Fre
quency
Mean = 2,8411Std. Dev. = 0,53908N = 174
Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
Comparisons between the averages for estimated skill-specific importance scales1=unimportant – 4=very important (n=174)
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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.
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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)
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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
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Ritva Aho, Ph. D., Army Academy, Finland
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.
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