SCIENCE FICTION AND MILITARY ENGLISH: A CASE STUDY IN ITALY AND ROMANIA

Adela CATANĂ

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.10

Authors

Adela CATANĂ Ferdinand I Military Technical Academy, Romania, Email: adela.catana@mta.ro. https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5986-1630

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.10

Keywords:

Italian and Romanian cadets, lesson plan, Military English, science fiction, survey

Abstract

Science Fiction and Military English: A Case Study in Italy and Romania. Starting from the premise that science fiction arouses the interest of both young adult readers and members of the armed forces, the current paper aims to evaluate the possibility of using this genre as a means of teaching Military English to first-year cadets. Additionally, this is an attempt to fill a gap left by specialized literature at national and international levels. The paper combines an eclectic theoretical framework, a synthesized lesson plan used to design and deliver experimental seminars involving forty cadets from two countries (Italy and Romania) and a survey accompanied by charts and explanations. The lesson plan is largely based on “Rome, Sweet Rome,” a 2011 SF short story by military historian James Erwin, and demonstrates that science fiction – particularly military science fiction—can be an alternative solution to traditional textbooks. The collected data prove that SF sources can help teachers conceive instructive and entertaining language classes, while also providing students with a formal, but comfortable environment, meant to facilitate their acquisition of military terminology and specific knowledge according to the STANAG 6001 requirements. The conclusion emphasises the great potential of the proposed method, but also signals that its successful implementation is heavily dependent on the teacher’s training, commitment and creativity as well as on the students’ receptivity.

REZUMAT. Literatura științifico-fantastică și engleza militară: un studiu de caz în Italia și România. Pornind de la premisa că literatura științifico-fantastică suscită deopotrivă interesul tinerilor cititori și al membrilor forțelor armate, lucrarea de față își propune să evalueze posibilitatea utilizării acestui gen literar ca mijloc de predare a limbii engleze militare cadeților din anul I. Se încearcă astfel umplerea unui gol lăsat de literatura de specialitate la nivel național și internațional. Lucrarea combină un cadru teoretic eclectic, un plan de lecție sintetizat, utilizat pentru a proiecta și susține seminarii experimentale cu implicarea a patruzeci de cadeți din două țări (România și Italia) și un sondaj însoțit de grafice și explicații. Planul de lecție se bazează în mare parte pe „Rome, Sweet Rome” (“Roma, dulce Roma”), o nuvelă SF din 2011 scrisă de istoricul militar James Erwin, și demonstrează că textele SF – în special cele cu tematică militară – pot fi o soluție alternativă la manualele tradiționale. Datele colectate demonstrează că sursele SF îi pot ajuta atât pe profesori, să conceapă seminarii instructive și distractive, cât și pe studenți, să învețe într-un mediu formal, dar confortabil, care să le faciliteze însușirea terminologiei militare și a informațiilor specifice, conform cerințelor STANAG 6001. Acest articol se încheie prin a sublinia marele potențial al metodei propuse, semnalând totodată că succesul implementării acesteia depinde în mod semnificativ de pregătirea, angajamentul și creativitatea profesorului precum și de receptivitatea studenților.

Cuvinte-cheie: cadeți italieni și români, engleza militară, literatura științifico-fantastică, plan de lecție, sondaj de opinie

Article history: Received 10 February 2024; Revised 5 July 2024; Accepted 15 October 2024; Available online 10 December 2024; Available print 30 December 2024.

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