The article deals with the psychological and sociocultural aspects of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching and learning at the military academies in Ukraine. Considering the high-risk ...environment, the cadets will serve in after commission, it offers ways of using emotional means to facilitate the ESP learning as well as to keep up their motivation and will in order to develop appropriate abilities to perform professional functions in such hard conditions. The article proposes a range of exercises and activities at each ESP lesson stage (Introduction, Presentation, Practice, Application, Verification, and Conclusion) and develops the strategies contributing to cadets' learning motivation. The article also provides activities and actions for the teachers, which will help them to properly organize and conduct ESP courses for the military developing cadets as 'secondary communicative personalities' based on the military culture of the English-speaking countries. Both the psychological and sociocultural aspects of ESP teaching and learning are analyzed with the aim of improving cadets' professional training.
Research background: The development of listening comprehension in a foreign language is a complex process, interrelated with the progress in other language skills, and could be affected by numerous ...variables, including age. This study responds to middle-aged adults’ complaints about their difficulties in listening comprehension in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) by examining the relationship between the success in listening comprehension in EFL and age.Gap in knowledge and Purpose of the study: Although age is considered a crucial factor in language acquisition, there is a lack of studies providing evidence on the relationship between age and listening comprehension achievement in a foreign language in adult learners. This study aimed to find out whether age is one of the significant factors affecting listening comprehension in relation to other language skills.Methods: Quantitative data analysis was used to determine the relationship between the success in listening comprehension in EFL and age in 1,323 Czech adults. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the success in listening in three age groups, tested within five academic years. Then a generalized linear model was used to assess the relationship between the success in listening and age.Findings and Value added: The analysis of variance has shown that the age group 21—30 achieved significantly better results in listening than the age group 41—60 at p < .05. The logistic regression curve has illustrated a gradual increase in the percentage of ‘unsuccessful listeners’ aged 25 to 52 in relation to age. Thus, the study offers empirical evidence that there is a negative correlation between the success in listening comprehension in a foreign language and age. Educators should assist adult learners in developing knowledge, skills and strategies to overcome listening comprehension difficulties with respect to increasing age.
This study establishes the extent to which Norwegian officer cadets have reached NATO English-language capability targets (NCT) on their graduation with a bachelor’s degree in Military Studies. It ...further investigates their opinions about the role of English language in the context of the officer profession. Cadets (n = 104) from the three military academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) filled in a Likert-scale questionnaire and afterwards tested on their language in accordance with NATO Standardization Agreement 6001. Analyses of test results showed that while very few cadets reached the NCT for officers working on international staffs; a larger number, however, reached the NCT for officer deployments to NATO operations, exercises, or training. While questionnaire respondents considered the English language instruction offered during their studies relevant to the military profession, the absence of a summative assessment of language proficiency would appear to influence motivation for language training efforts. We conclude that, in order to reach NCT, military educational institutions would do well to increase their focus on the NATO language standard and consider their future assessment practices.
