▒ ▒ English Proficiency Test of Aviation ▒ ▒

Some examinees who failed the English proficiency test designed to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirement may disagree with the result of their test. This is not surprising because the criteria used in evaluating the English language proficiency of an examinee is not the same criteria we usually use in determining the language skill of a certain candidate outside of the aviation context. The language descriptors developed by ICAO is not even the same with those criteria used by different general English tests and it is very probable that an examinee may have high scores on those tests while failing the ICAO-based English language proficiency test.

While it is true that English proficiency is founded upon general English, aviation English includes jargons and phraseologies used in pilot-controller radio communications. This means that in order to be proficient in aviation English, one must be knowledgeable in general or plain English and in aviation radiotelephony. In radiotelephony, being familiar with phraseologies is not enough; one must have a good listening skill and must be able to interact well by gathering and conveying information beyond routine situations.

This manual was developed with all of these in mind. It was designed to guide the learner in improving his/her English communication skills necessary to reach at least the operational level (Level 4) of the ICAO rating scale. It comprises six modules which allow the learners to participate in activities that would hone their communication skills in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation, interaction, structure, fluency and comprehension in aviation context. The six modules are grammar, pronunciation, reading, listening, speaking and radiotelephony. There are four weekend test that would be conducted which will be used to asses the learners’ progress based from the objectives of the lessons that were taken. These weekend test were also designed to enable the learners to have a “feel” of the real ICAO approved test.

The grammar module offers discussions, exercises and other activities regarding nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and correct usage of different parts of speech. These topics are the foundation of correct sentence structure. Sentence structure on formal conversation is distinguished from structures used in radiotelephony conversations.

The pronunciation module aims to improve the way the learners produce intelligible sounds from words to phrases and to sentences. This module contains a lot of exercises developed to lessen strong regional accent with emphasis on radiotelephony and phraseology.

The reading module contains selected aviation articles with exercises with the objective of developing the learners’ comprehension and enriching their vocabulary. There are also exercises that include reading, pronunciation, vocabulary and phraseology.

As it has been mentioned, listening is the other half of speaking that constitutes communication as a whole. The listening module allows the learner to develop their listening skill by listening to recorded information, conversations, and descriptions with speakers of different accents and with distractions such as poor transmission, radio interference and background noise. The different speakers’ accents and distractions are necessary to simulate real life radiotelephony conversations.

In the speaking module, the learners undertake different exercises that would hone their speaking skill. These exercises come in the form of actual interviews, discussions, making reports, radiotelephony conversations and role plays. Apart from good pronunciation, correct sentence structure and correct choice of words, this module offers helpful tips on how to start and end a conversation, ask questions and clarifications and to share opinions.

The radiotelephony module takes on the approved procedures and phraseologies in the different phases of aircraft operations. The module also includes radio communication techniques, words and phrases that should be avoided to prevent miscommunication and to communicate effectively in routine and in abnormal situations.