All

3. OK, and where can a teacher get hold of these / find out more about these requirements?

The starting point for any teacher is ICAO Document 9835 (2nd edition, 2010) Manual on the Implementation of ICAO language Proficiency Requirements. The relevant ICAO Annexes, the Rating Scale and the Holistic Descriptors are contained in Appendix A. Indeed, as a teacher I have found myself constantly returning to 9835 to check that I was still on track. Appendix B -Language of Aeronautical Radiotelephony Communications – is particularly useful for a teacher as it is a list of the main communicative functions and lexical domains required by pilots and controllers.

This and other ICAO documents can be obtained from http://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx 

I remember a senior airline pilot who was a founder member of the PRICESG saying in the course of one of our meetings when we were listening to and rating speech samples, “Would you want to put your family on a plane flown or controlled by this person?” Ultimately, this is the acid test which, as teachers and testing professionals, we should constantly be applying to our students.

Given the specifics of the conditions of its use and the high stakes involved, aviation English is not just another branch of ESP (English for Specific Purposes). Indeed, aviation English is more about performing operationally-specific communicative functions in English than learning the English language.

Aviation English training should be:

– Communicative to develop interaction

– Oral, as writing and reading skills are not included in ICAO Language Proficiency

– Content-based and work-related both in lexical and functional terms

– Proficiency-oriented to develop skills rather than knowledge

– Designed within an operational context and taking into account the ability to switch codes between formulaic standard phraseology and plain language

– Learner-centred for relevance, effectiveness and motivation

5. And what are the challenges for the learner?

It is often said about language that you must ‘use it or lose it’, i.e. that language erosion, attrition, decay, is well-documented phenomenon. Someone who is tested ‘Level 4’ one day will probably no longer be Level 4 two and a half years later if the only use of English has been in routine situations, phraseology and booking into a hotel. Moreover, language proficiency – even in one’s own native language – tends to drop dramatically when one is placed under stress as in an abnormal or emergency situation. So, after 30 months of only routine use of English, a ‘Level 4’ pilot or controller in a stressful situation might actually be performing as a low Level 3 or high Level 2 speaker. This phenomenon points to the necessity of first of all reaching a ‘robust’ Level 4, working in a linguistically supportive environment and then following regular recurrent training.

This means that the learner must constantly work to maintain their language level, which is quite a commitment.

I would say that, as well as basic EFL qualifications, an aviation English teacher really needs:

– Familiarity with the operational environment of aviation, i.e. obtaining a ‘feel’ for the conditions in which pilots and controllers communicate through personal experience, talking extensively with operational personnel, following technical training and videos etc.

– Familiarity with ICAO Rated Speech Sample Training Aid

– Ability to prioritise communicational effectiveness over grammatical accuracy and native-speaker pronunciation

– Commitment to a fully communicative approach to language learning

– Awareness of the distinction between standard phraseology and plain language

– Awareness of those aspects of the language which may be critical in abnormal situations

And, ideally they would have:

– Awareness of specific operational objectives and functions

– In-depth knowledge of Doc. 9835 Manual on the Implementation of ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements

– Prior experience in another area of ESP

– Cultural and cross-cultural sensitivity

– Desire to learn about all aspects of aviation

– Ability to work as a facilitator and tutor in order to prioritise student speech production