1. “NATOSPEAK: ENGLISH IN MULTI-NATIONAL SETTINGS”
STUDY GROUPS
“NATOSPEAK: ENGLISH IN MULTI-NATIONAL SETTINGS”
J. Vasilj-Begovic
May 2013
 Good afternoon. It gives me a pleasure to spend the next few minutes providing you with an orientation for our study group work over the next few days.

2. FIVE STUDY GROUPS What is NATO Speak?
Enhancing Cross-cultural Communication within Multi-National Settings
On-line Language Maintenance Best Practices
Standardizing Application of STANAG 6001 Across Foreign Languages
Questionnaire on Deployment Lessons Learned
 Topics for our study group discussions emerge throughout the year and their sources are sometimes language testing seminars and conferences, requests from NATO bodies, questions asked by teachers, documents published by NATO etc. This week, we’ll be discussing the specific features of Natospeak, how to enhance cross-cultural communication within multi-national settings, we’ll compile a list on online maintenance resources, we’ll discuss the challenges of applying STANAG across different languages, and we’ll be developing a questionnaire on deployment lessons learned.

3. TIME ALLOTTMENT (Breaks included)
Monday: hrs
Tuesday: hrs
Wednesday: 2.0 hrs
Thursday: SG report to plenary ( min each)
SC reviews SG recommendations
Chair reports to plenary in PM.
 The total time allotted for this activity is 7 hours and that includes breaks. Each group will decide when to take breaks. On Thursday, one member from each study group will give to the plenary a minute report on their study group’s work. During the last SC meeting, the committee members will review SG recommendations and Thursday afternoon, the Chair will inform the plenary of the results of that review and other SC discussions and conclusions that had taken place over the course of the week.

4. # 1 - What is NATO Speak? Participants will:
Define this type of specific purpose language
Discuss specific linguistic and other features of this “language variant”
Formulate recommendations for how to best integrate “NATO Speak” into language training
Co-leaders: Peggy Garza & Ulla Gudnason
Room No. MEETING ROOM 2
a and Ulla Gudnason will be co-leading SG. They will discuss and define what it is that constitutes Natospeak, in terms of its linguistic feature peculiar to the military NATO environment. The group will also formulate recommendations for how to best integrate “NATO Speak” into language training and better prepare personnel for the linguistic challenges of working in this multi-national setting.

5. # 2 - Enhancing Cross-cultural Communication within Multi-National Settings
Participants will:
Discuss if and how pre-deployment cross-cultural training is integrated in language training within their respective organizations
Recommend ways to integrate cross-cultural awareness training language training programmes, or offer it separately, in order to prepare personnel for work within multi-national NATO settings.
Leader: D. Sturges
Room No. MEETING ROOM 1
 Operating within a multinational force poses a number of challenges, some of which arise out of language and others out of intercultural miscommunication. Even though there is an "international military culture" with shared codes of conduct and values, such as discipline, courage, comradeship, etc., each national military is also characterized by its own national military culture. Coupled with insufficient language proficiency, cultural differences may become a source of impeded communication affecting joint operations. Participants were asked to inquire within their respective organizations if pre-deployment cross-cultural training is addressed, and bring that experience to the study group. The group will recommend ways to integrate cross-cultural awareness training into their language training programmes, or offer it separately, in order to prepare personnel for work within multi-national NATO settings.

6. # 3– On-line Language Maintenance Best Practices
Participants will:
Compile a list of recognized tools and/or maintenance sites or programmes that are available free of charge.
Leader: G. Seinhorst
Room No. MEETING ROOM 3
For the purposes of this study group, participants should have researched English and other language maintenance sites and brought the links to the study group. Their work will consist of discussing the tools and their usefulness and compiling a list that will be shared.

7. # 4- Standardizing Application of STANAG 6001 Across Foreign Languages
Participants will:
Produce a document outlining the challenges and recommendations linked to using this STANAG across languages
Co-leaders: J. Vasilj-Begovic & Claus Mathiesen
Room No. BALLROOM 2
STANAG 6001 is not language specific; It captures basic communication modes across the four skills shared by all languages. Despite this, it is often perceived that some features of the scale are best applied to European languages, and that the scale does not adequately define non-European and less-commonly-taught languages and their features. Based on participants’ experience in applying STANAG 6001 in a variety of foreign languages, the study group will endeavour to produce a document outlining the challenges and recommendations linked to using this STANAG across languages

8. # 5 - Questionnaire on Deployment Lessons Learned
Participants will:
Prepare a number of questions to bring to the SG meeting to produce a questionnaire that could later be translated into different languages and used for respective information collection
Leader: C. Huellen
Room No. BALLROOM 1 (Conference Room)
 SG 5 on Interoperability Shortfalls in Prague recommended that a post-deployment questionnaire be developed in order to collect feedback on the use of English language in theatre. The participants in this group will prepare a number of questions to bring to the SG meeting to produce a questionnaire that could later be translated into different languages.

9. I would like to thank all SG participants and especially those who volunteered as leaders. I wish everyone a productive and enjoyable week!