![Diving Abroad But Can't Speak Diving English? The Essential Diving English Guide for Divers — Part 3 [Divemaster / Instructor Edition]](/_images/4ec149d68cf6-1440w.webp)
Following the first two installments of this diving English series — the Vocabulary Edition and the Practical Edition — this third part is written specifically for Divemasters and dive instructors! I strongly recommend that anyone at the Divemaster level or above read the first two parts before tackling this one. That said, this article is also suitable for Divemasters who want to learn how to deliver briefings in English.
If you're a recreational diver, feel free to have a look too — you might pick up some useful English along the way. However, some of the content further down covers manuals that are really only relevant to Divemasters and above, so feel free to skip those sections!
Unlike the previous two parts, this article is aimed at Divemasters and instructors who need to use diving English when hosting international guests — which means practising briefings and the like. Before we dive in, I'd like to share one key mindset: English is just a tool. Even if your grammar isn't perfect, as long as it's close enough, most people will understand you. My recommendation is that, if you need to deliver briefings in English, start by referring to the vocabulary from Part 1 and try drafting your own version. The reason is simple: content that comes from your own brain is much easier to remember, so when it's time to actually use it, the words will flow naturally instead of getting stuck as you try to recall a memorised script. Once you've drafted something, ask someone to review it and then start practising. As I mentioned in my article on the journey to becoming a dive instructor, practise until you can even crack jokes with ease — and I'd recommend recording yourself as a reference.
Here's a quick overview of how I practise delivering dive briefings. I think the approach works for both Chinese and English (it's actually similar to how I prepared for IELTS). Of course, once you're experienced enough, improvisation works fine — but in the beginning, I write out everything I want to say. After going through it once, or having a friend review it, I highlight the key points for each paragraph. After a few rounds of practice, I pick one "keyword" from each paragraph and write it in red in the margin beside that section. I then keep practising, gradually moving from reading the full text, to reading individual sentences, to relying only on keywords. Sometimes during briefings I'll write the keywords in order on a whiteboard — it keeps my thoughts organised, prevents me from jumping around, and makes the whole thing sound much more professional.
My colleague delivering a briefing
In this article I'll cover pre-briefing chat, the dive briefing itself, and finally how to prepare to teach a dive course in English. Once again, I've enlisted the help of my friend Scuba Strider 潛旅**·**行者 to proofread the English and help refine the direction of this article! If you want to improve your English, give his page a follow. He was originally an English teacher in Hong Kong who decided to become a dive instructor so his students could learn English through diving. All posts on his page are available in both Chinese and English — highly recommended!
在簡報之前 Before A Briefing
Beyond greeting your students, it's important to chat with guests before the briefing, introduce yourself, ask them to fill in paperwork, and show them around the facility. If you're planning to work as an instructor in Australia, there is usually a Safety Briefing before the formal dive briefing, which covers safety procedures on the boat (the exact content will vary depending on the dive shop). I'd also recommend using this time to chat with divers about their past experience so you can better plan and adjust the dive accordingly.
介紹自己 Introduce yourself
嗨大家好，我是Jen。我今天將會是你們的潛水教練**/**潛水長／導潛
Hey guys, I'm Jen. I will be your dive instructor/divemaster/dive guide today.
請幫我把文件填寫完成
Please fill in the paperwork.
介紹環境 Introduce your Surroundings
緊急出口**/AED/**急救箱 的位置在這間屋子的角落
The emergency exit/AED/first aid kit is located at the corner of this room.
廁所和盥洗的位置在這棟屋子的旁邊**/**在二樓
The toilets and shower rooms are just beside this building/on the second floor.
二樓是乾區，如果你還在滴水的話請留在一樓
The second floor is the dry area. If you are still dripping please stay on the first floor.
這裡將是你吃午餐的區域
Here is the area where you will have your lunch.
請自由地使用水管清洗你的裝備，而且你可以將你的裝備吊在曬裝備的區域。
Feel free to use the hose to wash your gear. And you can hang your equipment in the drying area.
行程 Schedule
這是我們的時程表
This is our timetable.
早上七點會是我們第一潛的簡報時間。請確保你人在這裡並且已經準備好能出發潛水
Our first dive briefing will be at 7am. Make sure you are here with your swimsuit on, and ready for the dive.
我們在兩潛之間會有一小時的水面休息時間
We will have a one-hour surface interval between two dives.
下午一點將會是我們的午餐時間
Lunchtime will be at 1pm.
出發前的噓寒問暖Customer Service
你們容易暈船嗎？你們有吃暈船藥了嗎**?**
Are you prone to sea sickness? Have you taken seasick pills?
昨天有睡好嗎
Did you sleep well last night?
你們今天早上有沒有喝夠水？
Did you drink enough water this morning?
你們潛過幾潛？
How many logged dives do you have?
How many dives have you done?
你們以往的潛水經驗如何？
How was your dive experience?
有沒有什麼是我需要特別注意的？
Is there anything I should be aware of?
Jen's aside: After returning to Taiwan and doing a few dives here, I noticed that local dive guides tend to move quite quickly, which took some getting used to. I'd suggest using this pre-briefing chat as an opportunity to gauge whether your group prefers a faster-paced tour of the site, or if they'd rather move slowly and take photos. Also use this time to ask about everyone's experience level and when they last dived, so you can fine-tune the dive plan if needed.
潛水簡報 Dive briefing
How to structure a dive briefing
A dive briefing essentially walks through every detail from leaving the boat (or shore), to entering the water, to the underwater portion, back to the surface, and finally getting back on the boat. So when delivering a briefing, just work through those stages one by one. If the site calls for a more concise briefing, adjust accordingly. As you read through the following, notice that the sequence follows the order I described above — this makes the briefing flow more logically and is easier for guests to absorb.
潛伴檢查 Buddy Check
BWRAF — Bring Women Roses And Flowers
試看看充氣洩氣和口吹BCD，檢查你的BCD看看是否有漏氣或是會不會自己充氣
B: BCD. Try to inflate, deflate and orally inflate your BCD. Make sure your BCD is not leaking and it won't self-inflate.
幫你的潛伴檢查是否有帶適量配重，並且確認配重帶是否為右手脫除
W: Weights. Please check your buddy is properly weighted and the weight belt has right-hand-release.
檢查你和你的潛伴背帶都有弄緊且扣子有扣好
R: Releases. Make sure your buddy has fastened the straps and buckled up.
請檢查你和潛伴都有將氣瓶打開，是滿瓶。另外試著吸看看潛伴的備二，確認能夠正常使用
A: Air. Please check your buddy have opened the tank all the way and it is a full tank. Try to breathe through the octopus, making sure it is working.
最後檢查你和你的潛伴相機、面鏡、蛙鞋都有帶，另外確認你們有滿滿的正能量準備去潛水
F: Final check. Make sure you and your buddy have brought the camera, mask, fins, and positive vibes for the dive.
手勢 Hand Signals
這些是這一潛可能會用到的手勢
These are the hand signals we might use during the dive.
沒問題 OK
有問題 Problem
往上/往下 Going up/Going down
不能耳壓平衡 Cannot equalize
檢查殘壓 Check your air (How much air do you have left?)
數字 Numbers
殘壓很少（通常是低於50 bar） Low on air
沒有氣了（通常是0 bar）Out of air
五米三分鐘停留 Safety stop
好棒 Awesome
Jen's aside: I'd recommend confirming hand signals with international guests before the dive — especially for numbers. American divers, for instance, often use a pressure gauge (SPG) reading in PSI, and number signals can vary slightly depending on who taught them (though they're mostly similar). Confirming before you get in the water is important. Here's a YouTube video I think does a great job explaining signals: 107 Hand signals for scuba divers (click to watch).
緊急事件 Emergency
如果你發現自己離船太遠了請用浮力袋或是朝船揮舞雙手
If you find yourself too far away from the boat, please wave at the boat or even use your surface marker buoy (SMB) to signal the crew for help.
我們會請人去接你
We will send someone to pick you up.
如果你和潛伴失散，請在原地找尋不超過一分鐘後上升到水面和潛伴會合
If you lose your buddy, please search for no more than one minute and try to reunite with your buddy on the surface.
Jen's aside: When I was working in Australia and leading discover scuba diving sessions, we always made sure to tell guests what to do if the instructor became unresponsive underwater. Let go of the instructor, keep breathing, kick slowly to the surface, inflate your BCD and ditch your weights (and be careful not to drop them on the instructor), then call for help. So when leading discover scuba diving sessions, always re-emphasise how and when to inflate and deflate the BCD.
潛點介紹Dive site introduction
我會是你們的導潛，Jen，我會穿一身小小兵的防寒衣
My name is Jen. I will be your dive guide and I will wear a Minion wetsuit.
Jen's aside: Don't forget to tell your divers your most distinctive feature — you don't want them accidentally following the wrong person. Also, for newly certified divers, some may not know what the sound of a tank banger is, so it's worth giving them a heads-up.
潛水船會帶我們去這個地方，我們會在這裡入水
The dive boat will bring us to this place. We will jump into the water from here.
建議可以用跨步式**/**背滾式入水
I will recommend using giant stride/back-roll to get into the water.
下水之後請抓住游泳繩，把自己拉向錨繩的地方
After your entry, please hold the swim line and pull yourself towards the mooring line.
會在水面聚集之後才會一起下潛
We will gather on the surface and descend together.
下潛的時候請記得要注意自己的浮力，同時不要忘記做耳壓平衡
When you are descending, make sure you check your buoyancy and don't forget to equalize.
通常水流會是這個方向的，所以在潛水的一開始，我們要逆流而行
The current usually goes this way. Therefore, at the beginning of the dive, you will need to go against the current and swim this way.
此時珊瑚礁會是在你的左手邊
The reef will be on your left-hand side.
我們順著珊瑚礁走，最大深度大約會是25米
We will swim along the reef, and the max depth will be 25m.
我們可能會在這塊礁石附近看到蘇眉。這個地方有住小丑魚
We will probably see a Napoleon Wrasse near this bommie. You can find Clownfish (Nemo) living in this area.
Jen's aside: Give a brief preview of what you might see on this dive. Even though many divers are seasoned veterans (and yes, I understand the pressure of guiding someone with hundreds or thousands of dives), don't forget that plenty of people still get excited about common critters. I personally have a soft spot for Christmas tree worms, and some divers love practising their photography with Clownfish (Nemo). Even things you find mundane might delight your divers — and when you specifically point something out, it gives them that satisfying feeling of having "found something" on the dive.
當任何一個人剩下100bar的時候，或是潛超過20分鐘時我們會開始走回程
When the first person reaches 100 bar or when our dive time reaches 20 mins, we will need to turn around.
所以當你剩100 bar的時候請告訴你的導潛**/**潛伴
So when you have only 100 bar left, please tell your dive guide/buddy.
最後我們會在這個地方做三分鐘安全停留
We will do our 3-minute safety stop here.
注意，等待上船時請不要待在其他潛水員的下方（避免潛水員失平衡跌下來砸到你）
Please keep in mind: don't stay underneath any diver when you are waiting to get back onto the boat (or they might land right onto your face if they lose balance).
輪到你上船時才脫蛙鞋
Only remove your fins when it is your turn to get back onto the boat.
Shot out at sea — an incoming cyclone
Diving English for Courses
I originally considered writing out all the English for dive courses in full, but that would essentially be copying straight from the PADI (certification agency) curriculum.
For course-specific diving English, I recommend looking up the instructor manual for your certification system. Below I've provided links to the 2017 PADI (certification agency) Instructor Manual and the 2014 PADI (certification agency) Guide to Teaching, both available online.
PADI教練手冊 PADI instructor Manual
PADI Instructor Manual
This is the book that every PADI (certification agency) instructor has read to pieces. A quick note: the link below is to the 2017 version available online, shared purely as a reference for the English content. If you need to check regulations, please refer to the current edition. I recommend finding the course you plan to teach in English, then locating that course's outline, going through the English terminology for each skill, and practising how to explain those skills.
2017 PADI Instructor Manual link: http://www.idckohtaothailand.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PADI-Instructor-Manual-2017.pdf
For example, if I were going to teach an Open Water course, I'd go to the Contents, navigate to Course/Program Guides and then to the Open Water Diver Course — that's page 51 in the linked document. Then I'd look for the "Performance Requirements" section, which lists all the skills for each dive along with the passing criteria. Reading through this section will give you the English names of all the skills for each dive. Worth noting: the Open Water Diver Course is split into Confined Water Dives and Open Water Dives — five confined water dives and four open water dives — so make sure you read both sections. Also, for those of us who aren't native English speakers, it's easy to mix up "Open Water course" and "Open Water dive" — the former refers to the course itself, while the latter refers to the open water environment. If you're working overseas, keeping these two distinct will save a lot of confusion when talking with instructors from other countries.
Once you can confidently teach the Open Water course, everything else is a piece of cake!
2014 PADI Guide to Teaching link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dh7OItVQMklVQo9ztIeplrK1iUoPqYVO/view?usp=sharing
For those of you who are serious about this — instructors and Divemasters — please click the link above and flip to page 202. This is something I highly recommend to everyone! The "Commonly Encountered Problems" section is an absolute gem. Setting aside the diving English angle for a moment, my classmates and I used to quiz each other on this section during IDC prep — for new instructors, it's basically a bible. If you want to teach in English, you also need to know how to describe student errors in English, and this section is an excellent resource for that. Work through each problem and try explaining it in English yourself. Once you've practised them all, there's very little left that can catch you off guard.
One more thing — I've recently noticed that some WeChat public accounts have been copying my articles without permission, claiming them as original content and using them for commercial purposes. Please respect creative work. These articles were written to help people, so if you'd like to share them, please credit the original author. Do not partially modify the content and then claim it as your own original work.
Finally, I want to say: don't be afraid to use simple English. Many Europeans speak English as a second language too, and even if you use very advanced vocabulary, you might run into someone who doesn't know those words. We're here to teach diving, not English — so just go ahead and say it! Let's spread the blue addiction we love to the whole world.
Cover photo: Photo by Mael BALLAND on Unsplash
Hope you found this useful!
