Materials and methods of enhancing oral English communication: learning from STANAG 6001

Clear and appropriate oral communication is essential in military English, both in order to understand and convey highly specialised content within units, and to ensure safety and intelligence when dealing with civilians and other allied or hostile members of foreign military forces (Howard 2001; Footitt and Kelly 2012; Orna-Montesinos 2013). The importance of oral production has resulted not only in NATO research projects on language learning and speech technology, but also in the concrete goals outlined in the extensive descriptions of ‘floor’ and ‘ceiling’ can-do and cannot-do statements and the demanding NATO STANAG (Standardization Agreement) 6001 criteria. These are considered of essential importance and lie at the base of specialised courses aiming at preparing foreign service members for STANAG 6001 proficiency tests and international missions where oral comprehension and production are of paramount importance in completing tasks, promoting international collaboration and safeguarding lives. The present study will focus on oral communication education and production in the military community (Patesan and Zechia 2018) and in military English courses by evaluating three widely used textbooks that were introduced after STANAG 6001’s standardising reform in 2000 in view of long-term international collaborations (Solak 2011; 2013) according to the listening and speaking requirements of STANAG levels 2 and 3. It will consider specific parameters, i.e. aims and approaches; methodology of the book; skills, activities and tasks; language type and content; cultural and social factors (Jodai 2012). To conclude, these findings will be discussed in relation to oral communication teaching within civilian ESP contexts.