ICAEA - Supporting the use of English for aviation safety

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ENGLISH ASSOCIATION

ENGLISH – THE LANGUAGE OF THE SKIES

DUBROVNIK 2017: WORKSHOP

“The ICAO LPRs – 10 years on: Progress or Pain?”

An exploration of what has and hasn’t worked since the introduction of the ICAO LPRs

Dubrovnik, Croatia – 24th & 25th April, 2017

ICAEA held a highly successful 2-day workshop in Dubrovnik, organised in collaboration with Croatia Control Ltd – Croatia’s ANSP. With delegates from over 35 countries, this was our most well-attended recent event.

More than a decade after the ICAO LPRs were announced in 2005, most international pilots and controllers have now been through at least two testing cycles. In this workshop we reviewed how different approaches to LPR testing have affected:

language training and the effectiveness of teaching and learning,
regulators’, airlines’ and ANSPs’ perceptions of English language proficiency and its effect on safety,
individuals’ attitudes towards the use of English in their jobs,
the effect of the LPRs on air-ground communications.

Based on feedback from our 2016 Workshop in the Azores, this event included Presentations and Workshops led by expert speakers, Q&A Panels for follow-up discussion, and networking and social opportunities.

SEE Presentations, Event Programme, Report & Photos (note: ICAEA Member login required)

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Recent ICAEA Activities

SUPPORTING THE USE OF ENGLISH FOR AVIATION SAFETY

Our Aims

Our Activities

Who we are

Awareness
To raise awareness of the role of English in aviation safety, service quality and industry efficiency.

Events
Organise an annual program of regional forums and practical, interactive workshops.

Non-Profit
Established in Europe 1991 as a worldwide, non-partisan, non-profit association.

Best Practice
To promote best practices in ELP training and testing in all sectors of the aviation industry.

Representation
Attend industry conferences to provide input on ELP standards and recommended practices.

Board
Managed and overseen by a volunteer Board of industry and language experts.

Cooperation
To provide a non-commercial platform for the sharing of expertise, experience and news.

Projects
Support projects that harmonise accepted global standards in ELP training and testing.

Membership
350+ registered Members (operations, training, linguistics) from 75+ countries.

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FUTURE EVENTS

Would your organisation like to host a future ICAEA event?

ICAEA Workshop – 2016 – The Azores

host_azores

co-supported by: APPLA and Azores Airlines

ICAEA 18th Forum – 2015 – Warsaw

host_warsaw

supported by: University of Warsaw

ICAEA 17th Forum – 2015 – Istanbul

host_istanbul

supported by: Turkish Aviation Academy

ICAEA Workshop – 2014 – Buenos Aires

host_buenosaires

co-supported by: ANAC and CIPE

Show your support for aviation safety by helping ICAEA promote English language standards within the industry.

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Join 350+ registered ICAEA Members from 75+ countries around the world. If you work in or with the industry, we invite you to join and share your expertise and experience.

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INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ENGLISH ASSOCIATION

ENGLISH
THE LANGUAGE OF THE SKIES

FEATURED

ICAEA Workshop: Dubrovnik 2017

“The ICAO LPRs – 10 years on: Progress or Pain?”

An exploration of what has and hasn’t worked since the introduction of the ICAO LPRs

Dubrovnik, Croatia – 24th & 25th April, 2017

More than a decade after the ICAO LPRs were announced in 2005, most international pilots and controllers have now been through at least two testing cycles. In this workshop, we reviewed how different approaches to LPR testing have affected:

• language training and the effectiveness of teaching and learning,
• regulators’, airlines’ and ANSPs’ perceptions of English language proficiency and its effect on safety,
• individuals’ attitudes towards the use of English in their jobs,
• the effect of the LPRs on air-ground communications.

Based on feedback from our Workshop in the Azores in 2016, this event included Presentations and interactive Workshops led by expert guest speakers, Q&A Panels for follow-up discussion, and networking and social opportunities.

SEE Presentations, Programme, Photos etc

(note: ICAEA Member login required)

UK CAA publishes CAP 1375 Research Project

Management Summary

This independent report, commissioned by the UK CAA, investigates pilot / air traffic controller communication issues as evidenced by Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MOR), and proposes best practices to reduce miscommunication affected by substandard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) language proficiency.

The key problems identified by this investigation are:

1. Readback-hearback errors (by both UK and non-UK pilots and controllers);
2. Call sign confusion (by both UK and non-UK pilots and controllers);
3. Language proficiency below ICAO minimum standard (non-UK pilots and controllers);
4. Situational awareness reduced due to multilingual radiotelephony (RT), multiple language used and heard on the radio;
5. Non-standard phraseology use (by both native and non-native English speakers);
6. Grounds to suspect cheating on aviation English exams;
7. Grounds to suspect that some non-native English speakers are not being tested, but instead are granted ICAO Level 4 certificates on ‘sweetheart’ deals (handshakes, via friends, etc.);
8. ICAO levels of language proficiency, especially Level 4, are not robust enough to ensure appropriately clear pilot / controller communication;
9. Poor MOR / language-related reporting culture and underreporting of language proficiency issues by UK pilots and controllers.

published: 21 March 2017

READ the full report at UK CAA website

FAA Draft Advisory Circulars on ELP

FAA English Language Standard for an FAA Certificate Issued Under 14 CFR Parts 61, 63 & 65

Advisory Circular: 60-28B

This advisory circular (AC) introduces the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation English Language Standard (AELS) and provides guidance to applicants, airmen, training organizations, Designated Examiners (DE), and flight and ground instructors on how to determine that an applicant for an FAA certificate or a person holding an FAA certificate meets the FAA AELS.

Comments due: 27 February, 2017

Part 141 Pilot Schools, Application, Certification, and Compliance

Advisory Circular: 141-1B

This advisory circular (AC) provides guidance for Part 141 pilot school applicants and others interested in the certification standards and requirements for certification under Part 141. This revision updates information found in AC 141-1A, Pilot School Certification, dated February 18, 1993, including additional information on compliance with Part 141, and includes a chapter on Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements for Part 141 pilot schools.

Comments due: 3 April, 2017

READ the Draft ACs at FAA website

Brazil's Working Paper to ICAO Assembly

Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) has submitted a Working Paper about the Language Proficiency Requirements for discussion at ICAO’s 39th Triennial Assembly in Montreal, 27 September to 7 October, 2016:

The need for revision of Annex 1 Language Proficiency SARPS for Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers

“The adoption of the Annex 1 Language Proficiency Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in 2003 represented a considerable progress towards safer radiotelephony communications. However, applied linguists, language testing scholars and experienced test developers and assessors have identified in the past thirteen years some serious deficiencies in the ICAO language proficiency policy, which may significantly impact safety.

For this reason, experts have recommended that the policy should be reviewed. This paper provides a brief discussion of the main weaknesses identified in the ICAO policy related to the language proficiency requirements for pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs). It highlights the importance of having a clear definition of the abilities that should be assessed as well as the necessity of native speakers also being formally evaluated on their abilities to use the language effectively and to manage communication successfully.”

from the Executive Summary of ANAC’s Working Paper – August 2016

READ the complete Working Paper

ICAEA Workshop: The Azores, Portugal – 2016

NEWS

ABOUT ICAEA

Our Aims

Awareness
To raise awareness of the role of English in aviation safety, service quality and industry efficiency.

Best Practice
To promote best practices in ELP training and testing in all sectors of the aviation industry.

Cooperation
To provide a non-commercial platform for the sharing of expertise, experience and news.

Our Activities

Events
We organise an annual program of regional forums and practical, interactive workshops.

Representation
We attend industry conferences to provide input on ELP standards and recommended practices.

Projects
We support projects that harmonise accepted global standards in ELP training and testing.

Who we are

Non-Profit
ICAEA was established in Europe 1991 as a worldwide, non-partisan, non-profit association.

Board
ICAEA is managed and overseen by a volunteer Board of industry and language experts.

Membership
We have 350+ registered Members (operations, training, linguistics) from 75+ countries.

ICAEA 17th Forum: Istanbul, Turkey – 2015

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ICAEA Membership

ICAEA Workshop: Buenos Aires, Argentina – 2014

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ENGLISH ASSOCIATION

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ENGLISH ASSOCIATION

ENGLISH – THE LANGUAGE OF THE SKIES

ENGLISH – THE LANGUAGE OF THE SKIES

ENGLISH – THE LANGUAGE OF THE SKIES

DUBROVNIK 2017: WORKSHOP

“The ICAO LPRs – 10 years on: Progress or Pain?”

NEWS

Recent Posts

All Posts

Recent ICAEA Activities

SUPPORTING THE USE OF ENGLISH FOR AVIATION SAFETY

Our Aims

Our Activities

Who we are

Join us on LinkedIn

Find us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

FUTURE EVENTS

Would your organisation like to host a future ICAEA event?

JOIN US

Membership

Mailing List

FEATURED

ICAEA Workshop: Dubrovnik 2017

“The ICAO LPRs – 10 years on: Progress or Pain?”

UK CAA publishes CAP 1375 Research Project

FAA Draft Advisory Circulars on ELP

Brazil's Working Paper to ICAO Assembly

NEWS

Recent Posts

ABOUT ICAEA

Our Aims

Our Activities

Who we are

CONNECT WITH ICAEA