scholarly journals Clearing the air

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 21.1-21.11 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Read ◽  
Ute Knoch
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Test Design ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Aviation Accidents ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers

As a result of investigations showing that communication problems can be a significant contributing factor to major aviation accidents, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has established a set of Language Proficiency Requirements. All pilots and air traffic controllers engaged in international aviation must be certified by their national civil aviation authorities as meeting the requirements by March 2011. This has created a demand for tests designed to assess the speaking and listening skills of aviation personnel, and language testers have become involved as developers and evaluators of the various assessment instruments. The present paper gives an overview of the issues and introduces the themes discussed by the other contributors to this special issue of the journal, covering both the linguistic nature of aviation communication and more practical considerations in test design.

Clearing the air

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 21.1-21.11
Author(s):  
John Read ◽  
Ute Knoch
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Test Design ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Aviation Accidents ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers

As a result of investigations showing that communication problems can be a significant contributing factor to major aviation accidents, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has established a set of Language Proficiency Requirements. All pilots and air traffic controllers engaged in international aviation must be certified by their national civil aviation authorities as meeting the requirements by March 2011. This has created a demand for tests designed to assess the speaking and listening skills of aviation personnel, and language testers have become involved as developers and evaluators of the various assessment instruments. The present paper gives an overview of the issues and introduces the themes discussed by the other contributors to this special issue of the journal, covering both the linguistic nature of aviation communication and more practical considerations in test design.

TECHNICAL ENGLISH IN AEROSPACE

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Anton MATVEEV
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Training Materials

Since 2004, the International Civil Aviation Organization has imposed pilots and air traffic controllers elsewhere in the world to comply with the established language proficiency standards as a safety measure against language and communication problems during flights. Currently, one of the problems that aviation English practitioners face is the lack of training materials on aviation specifications to learn various language aspects. This article discusses peculiarities of technical English used in aerospace. Thus, technical English not only facilitates communication between native and non-native English speakers but reduces the risk of errors and overall risks as well. In this regard, appropriate teaching approaches should be chosen, various tools and forms of teaching English aviation language should be used to form the language competence of future specialists.

Zagreb and Tenerife

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 22.1-22.14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Cookson
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Swiss Cheese Model ◽  
Accident Causation ◽  
Airline Accidents ◽  
Cheese Model

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is currently implementing a program to improve the language proficiency of pilots and air traffic controllers worldwide. In justifying the program, ICAO has cited a number of airline accidents that were at least partly caused by language factors. Two accidents cited by ICAO are analysed in this paper: the mid-air collision above Zagreb in 1976, and the runway collision at Tenerife in 1977. The paper examines the linguistic factors involved in each accident, such as code switching and L1 interference, and uses the ‘Swiss cheese’ model of accident causation developed by Reason (1990) and adapted by Wiegmann and Shappell (2003) to put these factors into a broader aviation context. It is shown that, while linguistic factors were in each case significant, both accidents occurred as the result of multiple causal factors, many of which were non-linguistic. Furthermore, stress and fatigue played a decisive role in exacerbating the linguistic factors in each accident. Finally, the paper suggests lessons that may be drawn from the analysis for the training of pilots and air traffic controllers, both nativespeaker and non native-speaker.

Implementing ICAO language proficiency requirements in the Versant Aviation English test

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 27.1-27.17
Author(s):  
Alistair Van Moere ◽  
Masanori Suzuki ◽  
Ryan Downey ◽  
Jian Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Federal Aviation Administration ◽  
Computerized Testing ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Automated Scoring ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Valid Assessment ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Aviation English

This paper discusses the development of an assessment to satisfy the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Language Proficiency Requirements. The Versant Aviation English Test utilizes speech recognition technology and a computerized testing platform, such that test administration and scoring are fully automated. Developed in collaboration with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, this 25-minute test is delivered via a telephone or computer. Two issues of interest are discussed. The first concerns the practicalities of assessing candidates in each of six separate dimensions of spoken proficiency: Pronunciation, Structure, Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension, and Interactions. Although an automated scoring system can objectively segregate these skills, we question whether human raters have the capacity to do this in oral interviews. The second issue discussed is how an automated test can provide a valid assessment of spoken interactions. Tasks were designed to simulate the information exchange between pilots and controllers on which candidates’ proficiency in ‘Interactions’ could be measured, for example, by eliciting functions such as correcting miscommunications and providing clarification. It is argued that candidate ability can be probed and estimated in a fair and standardized way by presenting a series of independent items which are targeted in difficulty at the various ICAO levels.

scholarly journals Implementing ICAO language proficiency requirements in the Versant Aviation English Test

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 27.1-27.17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Van Moere ◽  
Masanori Suzuki ◽  
Ryan Downey ◽  
Jian Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Federal Aviation Administration ◽  
Computerized Testing ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Automated Scoring ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Valid Assessment ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Aviation English

This paper discusses the development of an assessment to satisfy the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Language Proficiency Requirements. The Versant Aviation English Test utilizes speech recognition technology and a computerized testing platform, such that test administration and scoring are fully automated. Developed in collaboration with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, this 25-minute test is delivered via a telephone or computer. Two issues of interest are discussed. The first concerns the practicalities of assessing candidates in each of six separate dimensions of spoken proficiency: Pronunciation, Structure, Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension, and Interactions. Although an automated scoring system can objectively segregate these skills, we question whether human raters have the capacity to do this in oral interviews. The second issue discussed is how an automated test can provide a valid assessment of spoken interactions. Tasks were designed to simulate the information exchange between pilots and controllers on which candidates’ proficiency in ‘Interactions’ could be measured, for example, by eliciting functions such as correcting miscommunications and providing clarification. It is argued that candidate ability can be probed and estimated in a fair and standardized way by presenting a series of independent items which are targeted in difficulty at the various ICAO levels.

scholarly journals Zagreb and Tenerife

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 22.1-22.14
Author(s):  
Simon Cookson
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Swiss Cheese Model ◽  
Accident Causation ◽  
Airline Accidents ◽  
Cheese Model

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is currently implementing a program to improve the language proficiency of pilots and air traffic controllers worldwide. In justifying the program, ICAO has cited a number of airline accidents that were at least partly caused by language factors. Two accidents cited by ICAO are analysed in this paper: the mid-air collision above Zagreb in 1976, and the runway collision at Tenerife in 1977. The paper examines the linguistic factors involved in each accident, such as code switching and L1 interference, and uses the ‘Swiss cheese’ model of accident causation developed by Reason (1990) and adapted by Wiegmann and Shappell (2003) to put these factors into a broader aviation context. It is shown that, while linguistic factors were in each case significant, both accidents occurred as the result of multiple causal factors, many of which were non-linguistic. Furthermore, stress and fatigue played a decisive role in exacerbating the linguistic factors in each accident. Finally, the paper suggests lessons that may be drawn from the analysis for the training of pilots and air traffic controllers, both nativespeaker and non native-speaker.

Planes, politics and oral proficiency

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 25.1-25.16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Lynn Moder ◽  
Gene B. Halleck
Keyword(s):  
English Proficiency ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Task Types ◽  
Aviation English

This study investigates the variation in oral proficiency demonstrated by 14 Air Traffic Controllers across two types of testing tasks: work-related radio telephony-based tasks and non-specific English tasks on aviation topics. Their performance was compared statistically in terms of level ratings on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) scale. The results demonstrate significant differences in the performance of the test-takers across task types, differences that were not fully predictable across subjects. The differences between general English proficiency and specific purpose proficiency were even greater than those we would expect for other LSP situations. We discuss the implications of these findings for fairly and safely assessing Aviation English using ICAO standards in a politicized context.

scholarly journals Addressing air traffic controllers’ English language proficiency needs: Case of Zenata Airport

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-183
Author(s):  
Ghania Mekkaoui ◽  
Noureddine Mouhadjer
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers

The current paper is a contribution to the field of ESP in aviation industry in an Algerian context. It was conducted in Zenata –Messali el Hadj Airport. It was a case study research that is intended to explore the English language deficiencies and problems Algerian air traffic controllers may face in their work, as well as to identify their lacks, needs and wants. To overcome their    difficulties a needs identification and analysis was conducted thanks to various instruments: interviews, a questionnaire, classroom observation. The results indicated that all informants involved in the current research were aware of the importance of the English language in aviation industry, as low proficiency in this language might lead to misunderstanding, and dangerous situations. Air traffic controllers reveal their need to develop their language proficiency namely in speaking and listening skills with special focus on vocabulary and grammar. To conclude English language is important in aviation industry. A good mastery of this language helps avoid misunderstanding and keep aviation safety. Thus, Algerian air traffic controllers need to enhance their English language ability thanks to appropriate English courses and well trained ESP teachers. Keywords: ESP; English Language Proficiency; Air Traffic Controllers; English for Aviation.

scholarly journals A study on radiotelephony English test design

2022 ◽  
Vol 355 ◽  
pp. 03051
Author(s):  
Lixin Dai
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Test Theory ◽  
Test Design ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Career Needs

Radiotelephony English is taught in college for the learners whose future professions are mainly pilots and air traffic controllers. The present study is to analyse the radiotelephony English test design in a university to see the extent of which it evaluates learners’ communicative competence in aviation scope. Theoretical frameworks on communicative competence, modern test theory and ICAO language proficiency requirements for the learners of radiotelephony communication are presented. The study reveals that learners’ communicative competence which includes both radiotelephony and everyday communication skills are important components in radiotelephony test design. The study points out that the application of modern test theory in designing radiotelephony test in college is vital in meeting the validity and reliability of the test and the students’ individual needs in English language learning for future career needs to be reflected in the test design.

Planes, politics and oral proficiency

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 25.1-25.16
Author(s):  
Carol Lynn Moder ◽  
Gene B. Halleck
Keyword(s):  
English Proficiency ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
International Civil Aviation Organization ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Task Types ◽  
Aviation English

This study investigates the variation in oral proficiency demonstrated by 14 Air Traffic Controllers across two types of testing tasks: work-related radio telephony-based tasks and non-specific English tasks on aviation topics. Their performance was compared statistically in terms of level ratings on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) scale. The results demonstrate significant differences in the performance of the test-takers across task types, differences that were not fully predictable across subjects. The differences between general English proficiency and specific purpose proficiency were even greater than those we would expect for other LSP situations. We discuss the implications of these findings for fairly and safely assessing Aviation English using ICAO standards in a politicized context.

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