Where Ships Meet Shore: Building the Next Generation of Maritime English Training

PraC-MARENG Plus is turning fragmented language training into a role-based digital learning ecosystem for safer, clearer and more confident port and shore operations.

Every port call runs on communication. Cargo instructions, mooring coordination, pilotage, terminal operations, safety briefings and emergency response all depend on people from different roles and countries understanding one another quickly and precisely.

Maritime English education has traditionally concentrated on seafarers and shipboard communication. Yet many safety-critical exchanges take place across the ship–shore boundary, where port professionals, terminal teams, agents, authorities and vessel crews must coordinate in real time. Training for these shore-based roles remains uneven and often disconnected from the operational situations in which language is actually used.

PraC-MARENG Plus is being built to close that gap not with another generic language course, but with a practical learning system shaped around the work itself.

A learning product built around real operations

PraC-MARENG Plus ”PRActical and Communication-based MARitime ENGlish Plus” organises learning around professional responsibilities and authentic maritime situations. Instead of treating vocabulary, listening and assessment as separate activities, the course connects them within role-based learning journeys.

A learner can enter through a relevant professional pathway, work through realistic communication scenarios, listen to operational exchanges, use contextual glossary support, complete learning activities and progress towards a structured assessment. The aim is to help users understand not only what to say, but when, why and how to communicate effectively in the situations that matter.

• Job-oriented modules linked to port and shore responsibilities

• Scenario-based practice reflecting real operational exchanges

• Audio, text, questions and terminology support brought together in the learning flow

• Visible learning outcomes, progress tracking and structured assessment

• Flexible, remote and self-paced access across digital devices

From course materials to a connected learning ecosystem

The project is not simply transferring documents onto a website. Its innovation lies in connecting curriculum design, practical scenarios, language support, learner progress and assessment within one digital environment.

That distinction is shaping the current platform work. Partner feedback has led to a clearer learning interface in which audio, supporting text and related questions can be viewed together. Module descriptions and learning outcomes are being positioned at the start of each learning journey. Progress tracking gives users a clear view of completion, while final assessments can be opened after the required learning activities have been completed.

These are deliberate product decisions. They move the experience away from a sequence of isolated tests and towards guided learning that helps users build understanding before demonstrating competence.

What has been built so far

The foundations of the PraC-MARENG Plus learning ecosystem are now in place. The partnership has developed a common curriculum framework, defined learning outcomes and produced profession-based module content shaped around the communication needs of port and shore personnel.

Interactive scenarios, audio-supported activities and assessment structures are being integrated into the online platform. A multilingual glossary framework containing more than 1,000 collected maritime terms is being consolidated to remove duplication, improve clarity and create a consistent language resource across the course. Translation preparation will help extend access across the partner countries.

The platform already brings together user access, profession and module selection, dashboard navigation and learner progress monitoring. The present development sprint is focused on final content integration, usability refinement and ensuring that the learning and assessment experience works as one coherent product.

Co-designed across disciplines and borders

The strength of PraC-MARENG Plus is not only the technology or the volume of content. It is the partnership behind the product: higher education institutions, maritime educators, language specialists, operational experts and digital developers working across European contexts.

Partners do not work in isolation. Modules are cross-reviewed, terminology is challenged, learning outcomes are aligned and platform decisions are tested against both educational and operational expectations. This creates something no single institution could produce as effectively on its own: a shared framework that combines specialist knowledge while remaining adaptable to different learners and training environments.

Innovation with a practical purpose

For PraC-MARENG Plus, innovation is not about adding technology for its own sake. It is about making learning more relevant to the decisions and interactions that shape daily maritime operations.

A role-based pathway helps learners focus on the communication they are likely to use. Scenario-based practice creates context. Integrated audio and terminology support connect listening with understanding. Progress data helps users and educators see what has been completed. Digital delivery makes the programme easier to access, update and adopt while supporting a paperless approach.

Together, these elements are designed to contribute to clearer ship–shore coordination, stronger communication confidence, more consistent training and better preparation for safety-critical work.

The next proof point is real use

The next milestone is not another document. It is people using the platform.

The consortium is working towards completing and integrating the course by the end of September, followed by structured piloting with higher education institutions and individual users in October. Universities will be able to explore selected modules with appropriate learner groups, while a separate user pilot will test the practical experience of navigating and completing the online learning pathway.

Feedback will examine usefulness, relevance, motivation, adaptability and completion—not simply whether the platform functions. Those findings will be used to refine the course, strengthen the user experience and provide evidence that the product responds to real educational and operational needs.

Designed for impact beyond the project

PraC-MARENG Plus is creating more than a fixed set of outputs. It is establishing a reusable approach to maritime language learning: identify the role, place communication in context, enable practice, assess progress and improve through evidence.

That approach gives higher education institutions and maritime training providers a flexible foundation they can explore in different settings. For learners and professionals, it offers a more direct connection between language development and the realities of maritime work. For the wider sector, it creates an opportunity to strengthen communication where vessels, ports and people meet.

This is the ambition behind PraC-MARENG Plus: to turn better maritime English into safer coordination, stronger competence and more confident performance where ships meet shore.

About PraC-MARENG Plus

PraC-MARENG Plus develops a standardised, digital and job-oriented Maritime English training and assessment framework for port and shore personnel. The project combines practical scenarios, role-based learning, digital delivery and cross-European expertise to support safer, clearer and more efficient maritime operations.

Project reference: 2025-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000363844. Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme under Higher Education Cooperation.