The present study analyzes errors that appear in English uttered by Japanese VTS operators and summarizes them in terms of word order, features related to verbs (tense, voice, and usage), prepositions, and others. These errors seem to have resulted from the lack of formal English training and the urgent need to communicate successfully with non-English speaking mariners who also use somewhat broken English. Based on the errors characteristic of Japanese operators, this paper also proposes an effective learning method for them, showing what should be learned and how, and thus aims at contributing to the safety of navigation in Japanese waters.
