Page 19 - ELG1601 Aug-Sep Issue 439

August / September 2016 ELESP Page 7

(Civil Guard) is the old- Civil Guard goes multilingual
he Spanish Guardia Civil

Test law enforcement body
in Spain. It was founded on 28
March 1844 and was born as a Andrea Pérez talks to Lieutenant Colonel J. Sergio Caracuel, head of the Spanish
response to the insecure envi-
ronment that followed Spain’s Guardia Civil Language Department, about the English language policy in this institution
First Carlist War and the weak-
ness of the state in that period.
Composed of more than 82,000 international forums where the opment of language courses in
women and men, the Civil Guard Civil Guard takes part – Europol, different fields and the acquisition
is now the most respected insti- Frontex (EU border force), the of proper facilities at our Guardia
tution in the country, La Razon European Gendarmerie Force Civil Language Centre in Valde-
newspaper reported. The Civil for international missions under moro, Madrid,’ Caracuel said.
Guard’s responsibilities include the European Union, Nato and In this institution there are
ports and airports, environmen- the UN, where English is the lin- three types of training, depend-
tal protection, highway patrols gua franca. ing on rank and roles: basic
and more. ‘The English language is also training, professional develop-
English language proficiency needed in operations within ment and professional training
is increasingly important for this Spain, for example in tourist for senior officers. In the first
body. ‘The level of awareness areas. With commercial and type of training, English is
about the importance of the Eng- professional activity also in the always a mandatory subject,
lish language as a professional European environment, where while in the second English lan-
tool is huge in the Civil Guard,’ the free movement of people and guage training is run in response
Lieutenant Colonel J. Sergio goods is a reality, it multiplies to the unit’s needs and budget-
Caracuel, head of its Language this necessity,’ he stated. ary necessities – units pitch for
Department said. Knowledge ‘After the training, during Copyright Andrea Pérez approval for language courses to
of English is important from the their professional life, a lot of fulfil a particular need. ‘There
moment people join the service. them do – voluntarily – linguis- are different courses and the
Candidates who want to join tic competence tests (SLP tests).’ most important thing is the stu-
have to pass civil service exams, The Language Department HEADQUARTERS The increase in English language tests has led to ‘the acquisition of proper dents who attend these courses.
and have to choose between an organises these tests annually facilities at our Guardia Civil Language Centre in Valdemoro, Madrid,’ according to Caracuel In the general English language
English or French language test. following the standardisation courses, we work with language
If they do not pass this language agreement that Nato applies for each skill area: 0 (no proficiency), tions to take the exam – 81 per ple who study languages, and proficiency and verbal fluency,’
exam, they cannot join the force. military English exams and tests. 1 (survival), 2 (functional), 3 cent is for English and the rest is they are aware that language Caracuel said. The institution
According to J. Sergio Caracuel, This agreement describes lan- (professional), 4 (expert) and divided into French, Portuguese, proficiency opens doors to pro- is also trying to update English
‘Nowadays, the language test Italian, Arabic and Russian.’ fessional levels in both a national language training with applied
chosen by the majority of the This enforcement body, mili- and international field.’ A lot of technology, and they are organ-
candidates is the English lan- The Civil Guard is now the most tary in nature, comes under the roles that they apply for require ising online courses.
guage test, because the English respected institution in Spain, jurisdiction of the Ministry of English language proficiency. This year the Civil Guard
language is the main language of La Razon newspaper reported the Interior and the Ministry In just ten years the number of is investing over half a mil-
study by our young people’. of Defence, and is also known standardisation tests in the Eng- lion euros in English language
During basic training period as the ‘la Benemerita’ (roughly lish language has increased by courses for more than 3,000
Civil Guard cadets have English guage proficiency levels related 5 (highly articulate native). equivalent to the ‘bobbies’ in the 290 per cent. officers, the digital newspaper
as a mandatory subject. This lan- to listening, speaking, reading According to Caracuel, ‘In 2016 UK). Caracuel states, ‘We have ‘The direct consequences of Vozpopuli has reported (See EL
guage is essential for attending and writing. Six levels define we have received 5,000 applica- noticed an increase of our peo- this increase have been the devel- Gazette May 2016). n

The martial art of English Who reads the

Josh Devlin surveys military English teaching in ELgazette?
Britain and Ireland, where there are a number of
schools which are leading the way in this field

ommunication stands that offer programmes to help air force supply chain logis-
as one of the most sig- meet this demand. The Lewis tics personnel, Cork’s ‘general
Cnificant components School of English and CEC plus military programme’ is
of a strong military presence. Cork English College offer geared towards communica-
Forces that are well versed in tailored courses for military tion specific to Nato and the
various languages have a dis- personnel, typically running UN. Its programmes include
tinct advantage when it comes to for about four weeks. Cork and excursions to places of profes-
international relations. Exeter Academy focus their sional and cultural interest, with
The Spanish Guardia Civil is courses on the Nato SLP3 and the aim of trainees develop-
just one example of the many SLP4 certification, while Lewis ing skills, functional language
military forces across the world no longer offers this and instead and lexis specific to formality
that focus on the increasing concentrates on students enter- that will prepare them for day-
importance of English language ing UK forces that require an to-day conversations. Exeter
proficiency within their ranks. Ielts level. provides courses for all levels,
In order for incoming recruits Student diversity extends from cadets taking general Eng-
to join the force they must pass across each of the institutions in lish and military English with
a language exam. Nato forces the survey. Lewis trains military a focus on the standardised
require cadets to complete man- personnel, with advised English exams to more intensive offic-
datory language courses as part language levels of at least B1 in er’s courses.
of their basic training, and Eng- the CEFR, from countries such The intensity and level of
lish is the most studied among as Spain, Oman, France and demand these courses place
young military trainees. Turkey. A variety of students, on trainees also require a high
English language proficiency from cadets in the Italian army level of experience and exper-
is crucial to forces engaged in to the chief of military staff of tise from instructors. At Lewis
international missions under the Czech armed forces, have military English tutors must
the European Union, Nato and trained at Cork. Exeter has have either Trinity CerTesol or
the United Nations. Many mili- experience with contacts in the Celta certification. Cork’s EFL
tary personnel volunteer to take Spanish military who want to tutors often have military back-
the standardised test even after use the exams as a means for grounds themselves, and their
they’ve completed their train- particular deployments within guest speakers are often picked
ing. They realise that language Nato operations. from the country’s own army
proficiency is a gateway to a Lewis offers courses with and navy.
successful national and interna- material concentrating on pre- According to MLS chair Barry
tional career. paring trainees for military Henwood, MLS International
The importance of English college in the UK: language for College Bournemouth no longer
language for military forces map reading, instruction and provides courses aimed at the
highlights the need for higher commands, comprehension of standardised tests, but instead
education institutions that offer spoken and written commands, offers ‘English and English for 400 officials in 48 countries receive their copy
English courses for military tasks out on the ground, struc- special purposes of military per-
personnel. There aren’t many ture of the army, ranks and mess sonnel (army, air force, navy, every month – courtesy of the British Council
establishments that provide life. As well as legal English for special forces) to a number of
such courses, but there are a few army lawyers and English for Middle East countries.’ n

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