science

MarTEL

MarTEL is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MarTEL rather than just read about it. In short: MarTEL (Maritime Tests of English Language) is a standardised test of maritime English language proficiency, through an interactive online learning platform. It was created under the European Union's Leonardo da Vinci (European Union programme) funding stream, in combination with the Lifelong Learning Programme, and was established in 2007.

Key takeaways

MarTEL belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MarTEL to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MarTEL from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MarTEL (Maritime Tests of English Language) is a standardised test of maritime English language proficiency, through an interactive online learning platform. It was created under the European Union's Leonardo da Vinci (European Union programme) funding stream, in combination with the Lifelong Learning Programme, and was established in 2007. MarTEL has three grades, with the key aim to develop a series of Maritime English language standards incorporating the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) at different standards:

Background Shipping is an integral part of the world economy, and yet safety at sea is still not viewed as a priority. 80% of accidents at sea are in some way caused by human error and just under half of those are caused by poor levels of maritime English language. The language of the sea is English and many ships, and to a lesser extent, ports, are crewed by a multinational workforce. Hence, good communication in Maritime English is essential for creation and maintenance of effective working environments and safety of the crew, and generally safety at sea and at ports. The MarTEL Project complements the Loginovsky Report which stated that the significance of English as the working language of the international shipping industry and the overall performance and safety of the international fleet depends on the skill to apply it correctly. The Report continued that the ability of a non-native speaker to have a good command of Maritime English is very much influenced by the ability to think in it, in the frame work of the maritime profession. He concludes that to make the teaching and learning processes more effective, it is required to increase the thought activity of a seafarer using English.

The Founders The founding partnership is composed of major education and training centres in six EU member states supported by their awarding, accrediting and certification authorities. The project was developed jointly with several industrial and commercial organisations in six partner countries. There are eight active, and many silent partners as well as two major awarding/validating bodies

See also Test of English for Aviation International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) which is the recognised standard of Maritime English, authorised by the IMO

External links TEA - The Test of English for Aviation Website The MarTEL Project Web Site

References

[1] Methods and Means for Analysis of Crew Communication in the Maritime Domain - Robyn Pyne and Thomas Koester

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MarTEL

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MarTEL claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MarTEL before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MarTEL ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MarTEL

In research: MarTEL appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MarTEL in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MarTEL is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics English as a global language, International water transport, Maritime safety, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MarTEL outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MarTEL in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MarTEL means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MarTEL out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MarTEL in simple terms?

Why does MarTEL matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MarTEL?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MarTEL.