The language barrier...

[amsalem]

A reminder to all fellow guides and divemasters, when conducting the pre-dive briefing, please make sure that all your divers have understood the briefing and are comfortable with the language being spoken... We live in a cosmopolitan world and it is not unusual to be on a boat with people from 5-6 different nationalities or even more.

The reason I'm sharing this is that I've seen a couple of divers today who didn't speak English and apparently understood nothing from the briefing for a deep (30m) dive. They ended up as buddies and failed to follow any of the pre-dive instructions (sticking to their buddy, following the DM, max bottom time, using the line to ascend and descend, informing the DM if they decide to ascend, etc) simply because they understood nothing in the first place and were too shy to ask.

Luckily there were no incidents, but I can think of many ways this dive could have gone really wrong.

 

[fjpatrum]

This brings up an interesting question for me. I speak a couple of languages but it's unlikely I speak any (other than my native) well enough to get nuances across with respect to diving etc. The only place I've dived where it would have been an issue was with Japanese tourists in Hawaii. They ended up having their own Japanese speaking guide separate from all the other passengers and I suspect they paid extra for it. In places where pros have to deal with multiple languages this becomes increasingly less likely to happen.

Do pros in place with multinational customers use diagrams or anything to help? I was thinking you could have a buddy diagram with "max separation distance" as arrows etc etc. How do you typically deal with it other than just hoping nothing goes wrong?

 

[letterboy]

Did they not understand the brief or were they just typical "I don't care about anyone but myself people"?

 

[live_2_dive]

On the boats I DM with, we ALWAYS have laminated cards or a drawing slate so that we can use the "pointy-talky" as an additional safety measure during the brief. Even IF everyone is a native english speaker it helps a lot having a visual for people. I think that having something to serve as a visual aid when it comes to language barriers is very very effective also.


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PADI Rescue/DM 09100Z7445
Dr Dive/Wet Dream/Sea Cobra/Y-Knot

Diving is my passion...I live to dive!

 

[amsalem]

I think the first thing that needs to be done is to make sure everyone understood the briefing. There are some obvious signs when people have language barriers such as not responding, staying quiet, etc. I would advise DMs and guides to always have a quick chat with too-quiet or lonely divers in their group to understand their level of experience and general condition before the dive. Language problems could be quickly spotted then and dealt with before it is too late. Have a local on the boat who can help translate is always useful. Using visual aids like making drawings on a slate could also be a good idea.

---------- Post Merged at 07:04 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:01 PM ----------

I think they didn't understand but were too shy to show it. I must say they were also a bit irresponsible by not caring to ask...

 

[live_2_dive]

I think the first thing that needs to be done is to make sure everyone understood the briefing. There are some obvious signs when people have language barriers such as not responding, staying quiet, etc. I would advise DMs and guides to always have a quick chat with too-quiet or lonely divers in their group to understand their level of experience and general condition before the dive. Language problems could be quickly spotted then and dealt with before it is too late. Have a local on the boat who can help translate is always useful. Using visual aids like making drawings on a slate could also be a good idea.

---------- Post Merged at 07:04 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:01 PM ----------

I think they didn't understand but were too shy to show it. I must say they were also a bit irresponsible by not caring to ask...

VERY good points. Even aside from a language barrier, if someone is just quiet talking to them and helping them feel like part of the group will help keep everyone safer in general. If someone is really quiet and then goes missing no one will notice like they will when their buddy they were chatting with is no longer there


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PADI Rescue/DM 09100Z7445
Dr Dive/Wet Dream/Sea Cobra/Y-Knot

Diving is my passion...I live to dive!

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

A reminder to all fellow guides and divemasters, when conducting the pre-dive briefing, please make sure that all your divers have understood the briefing and are comfortable with the language being spoken... We live in a cosmopolitan world and it is not unusual to be on a boat with people from 5-6 different nationalities or even more.

The reason I'm sharing this is that I've seen a couple of divers today who didn't speak English and apparently understood nothing from the briefing for a deep (30m) dive. They ended up as buddies and failed to follow any of the pre-dive instructions (sticking to their buddy, following the DM, max bottom time, using the line to ascend and descend, informing the DM if they decide to ascend, etc) simply because they understood nothing in the first place and were too shy to ask.

Luckily there were no incidents, but I can think of many ways this dive could have gone really wrong.

When the briefing was going on, did these people give any indication that they understood? as the guide or dive-master, did you not try and engage them in any conversation until the briefing?

This brings up an interesting question for me. I speak a couple of languages but it's unlikely I speak any (other than my native) well enough to get nuances across with respect to diving etc. The only place I've dived where it would have been an issue was with Japanese tourists in Hawaii. They ended up having their own Japanese speaking guide separate from all the other passengers and I suspect they paid extra for it. In places where pros have to deal with multiple languages this becomes increasingly less likely to happen.

Do pros in place with multinational customers use diagrams or anything to help? I was thinking you could have a buddy diagram with "max separation distance" as arrows etc etc. How do you typically deal with it other than just hoping nothing goes wrong?

For your Hawaii quote, there aren't many places where they don't have someone that can speak Japanese, they are a very large part of their tourist industry. So it's something that they probably didn't have to pay more for.

 

[amsalem]

The DM in this instance didn't try to engage with them... Definitely a mistake.

 

[Serge Tao]

When I'm taking divers out, I'm informed by the staff from which country they are. Customers are asked during signup in which language they want to be taught or briefed.
While most tourists know enough English to travel in foreign countries, their language skills might not be adequate when it comes to diving.
If your diveshop is catering tourists, having DMs and instructors that speak more than just English is a surplus. Not only in a commercial way, but also when it comes to safety.

 

[Tortuga68]

I think you mean bonus not surplus

They ended up as buddies and failed to follow any of the pre-dive instructions (sticking to their buddy...

Ended up as buddies? Point, point, index fingers together. Any OW diver should get that