Specific features of the use of language in aviation and the ICAO language requirements

To better understand the specific nature of aviation English testing, it is probably useful to recall the specific features of the language used by pilots and controllers, and hence the specific nature of testing systems which will be appropriate to asses proficiency in the profession.

Aviation communication is essentially oral. The aviation English required by pilots and controllers is essentially communicative. Most communication is without any visual contact; even communication between crew members tends to be without use of eye contact or body language with pilots facing forward in a cramped flight deck environment and usually communicating over the intercom with cabin crew.

The operational aviation community employs a very specific and varied lexical corpus (weather, mechanics, aerodynamics, security, health, geography, human behaviour, navigation, airport infrastructure etc.), often uses common words in a way which differs from everyday usage ('hold', 'clear', 'advise' etc.) and has a range of operationally-relevant language functions (orders, requests, offers to act, feasibility etc.) and dialogue management.

Aviation radiotelephony communication is typically a blend of formulaic standard phraseology, punctuated by common or natural speech each time a non-routine situation - however trivial - occurs.

Communication is often conducted in a stressful environment where time is a critical factor.

The ICAO Rating Scale covers six language skill areas: pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, oral comprehension and interactions. Reading and writing are not considered as relevant skills in this context.

Even fundamental language competency such as grammar, syntax and vocabulary are assessed more in terms of effective communication in an operational environment rather than in purely linguistic terms. There will typically be more tolerance in certain cases where misunderstanding cannot be generated and greater severity in others where a communication may be equivocal.

The ultimate level of language proficiency in aviation (ICAO Expert Level 6) is not native speaker-like English, but a language easily intelligible to the international community. Indeed, by their pronounced accents, use of idiomatic expressions and high rate of delivery, many native speakers may not comply with the criteria of Level 6. Finally, in any ICAO-compliant language test, the various levels of proficiency are defined by the lowest score in all six skills; aggregates are not used.

These features specific to the use of English in aviation have meant that no single existing general purpose test is entirely fit for purpose to assess a person's proficiency in accordance with the ICAO Rating Scale and holistic descriptors and that is not possible to establish total equivalence between the levels of any existing scale and those of the ICAO Rating Scale.

However, perhaps even more noteworthy than all the points above is the sensitivity and the safety-critical nature of speech acts in operational aviation.

'We are at take-off' (KL 4805, Tenerife 1977)

'We are running out of fuel.' (Avianca 052, New York 1990)

These apparently anodyne remarks were part of scenarios which led to two sadly infamous aircraft accidents resulting in the loss of over six hundred lives. The degree of ambiguity contained in these statements, the failure or inability of controller or pilot to paraphrase or challenge the information transmitted, led to misunderstandings which proved fatal.

Поиск по сайту: