| n English Asia has a strong record in helping students | | | | effective communication. Can make limited use of |
| succeed in aviation careers. In this article we will | | | | discourse markers or connectors. Fillers are not |
| explain the level of English proficiency needed to pass | | | | distracting. |
| the ICAO English test. | | | | Fluency is your ability to express yourself clearly |
| So, when it comes to Aviation English most people will | | | | without pausing too much. You should also be able to |
| tell you ICAO Level 4, but what does that really mean? | | | | use appropriate conjunctions. It is acceptable to pause |
| In layman’s terms, at ICAO Level 4 you should | | | | when changing from routine speech eg phraseology to |
| be able to listen to, read and discuss the main ideas, | | | | spontaneous (instinctive) speech in interactions. You |
| technical vocabulary and details in most professional | | | | shouldn’t um and ah too much |
| material. At this level, you are able to participate in a | | | | when thinking about what to say. |
| more sophisticated or professional conversation | | | | Comprehension |
| regarding your specialized area of expertise. You can | | | | Comprehension is mostly accurate on common, |
| generally handle predictable and unexpected topics of | | | | concrete, and work- related topics when the accent or |
| communication. | | | | variety used is sufficiently intelligible for an international |
| You need to show competence in 6 skills of the ICAO | | | | community of users. When the speaker is confronted |
| Language Proficiency Rating scale. | | | | with a linguistic or situational complication or an |
| * Pronunciation | | | | unexpected turn of events, comprehension may be |
| * Structure | | | | slower or require clarification strategies. |
| * Comprehension | | | | Comprehension of different accents or variety of |
| * Vocabulary | | | | speech is a very important skill and needs to be |
| * Fluency | | | | mostly accurate on common, concrete and |
| * Interaction | | | | work-related topics. It is expected that your |
| Let’s examine what is required for each of | | | | understanding will be slower in non-routine situations. |
| those skills at ICAO Level 4: | | | | Comprehension refers to listening comprehension |
| Pronunciation | | | | rather than reading. |
| Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation are | | | | Interactions |
| influenced by the first language or regional variation but | | | | Responses are usually immediate, appropriate, and |
| only sometimes interfere with ease of understanding. | | | | informative. Initiates and maintains exchanges even |
| This means that you have to speak in a way which is | | | | when dealing with an unexpected turn of events. Deals |
| intelligible to the aeronautical community - International | | | | adequately with apparent misunderstandings by |
| English rather than British or American English. It is | | | | checking, confirming, or clarifying. |
| acceptable that your pronunciation and accent are | | | | Another valuable skill is the ability to be able to ask |
| affected by your first language, eg Chinese and you | | | | questions to check that information is correct. The |
| are not expected to be a perfect speaker of English. It | | | | responses should be appropriate and give the relevant |
| is still expected that you will make some pronunciation | | | | information. The speed of response should usually be |
| errors, eg stressing the wrong part of the word or | | | | immediate, even in non-routine situations. |
| speaking in a broken rhythm but it’s acceptable | | | | How does an ICAO level relate to other tests like |
| as long as it only sometimes interferes with | | | | IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC? |
| understanding. | | | | Good question. If you you have an A grade in an |
| Structure | | | | English exam you’d probably be surprised if you |
| Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns | | | | failed an ICAO English test. But that’s exactly |
| are used creatively and are usually well controlled. | | | | what happens to many applicants, who have all the |
| Errors may occur, particularly in unusual or unexpected | | | | skills on paper’ but have great difficulty in |
| circumstances, but rarely interfere with meaning. | | | | communicating effectively in English — |
| Relevant grammatical structures are determined by | | | | particularly in speaking and listening. |
| language functions appropriate to the task. This means | | | | Many school systems puts too much emphasis on |
| that you need to be proficient in grammatical | | | | performance in exams, and not enough on actual |
| structures that are used in flight operations. You should | | | | functional ability — so most English courses and |
| be able to express yourself with a variety of | | | | language centres will not give you sufficient |
| alternative structures and again, it is expected that you | | | | preparation for the ICAO English test. We’ve |
| will make some grammatical errors. This descriptor | | | | seen people with IELTS band 8 scores get ICAO level |
| highlights that such errors could occur in non-routine | | | | 3 scores in an ICAO assessment. It’s very |
| situations, but the meaning is generally understood. | | | | difficult to compare other tests to ICAO. Unlike other |
| Vocabulary | | | | tests, ICAO scores are based on the lowest level that |
| Vocabulary range and accuracy are usually sufficient | | | | you achieve. You could get a score of 5 for |
| to communicate effectively on common, concrete, and | | | | Pronunciation, Structure, Vocabulary, Comprehension |
| work- related topics. Can often paraphrase | | | | and Interactions but if you only score 3 for Fluency |
| successfully when lacking vocabulary in unusual or | | | | then ICAO Level 3 is your final grade. |
| unexpected circumstances. | | | | The best way to pass an ICAO English test |
| The key words here are common, concrete and work | | | | The Aviation English courses are different because |
| related topics. You will need to know both general and | | | | they focusexactly on the skills that you need to |
| aviation related vocabulary which could include | | | | perform well in the ICAO test. But you won’t |
| everything from basic things like parts of an aircraft | | | | just train to pass the test, you’ll be able to |
| and weather conditions to health and physiology. You | | | | function in an aviation environment with greater safety |
| should also have sufficient ability to paraphrase (eg | | | | and knowledge. As you improve your English, you can |
| explain using different words) in non-routine situations. | | | | also learn about aviation and improve your technical |
| Fluency | | | | knowledge. We recommend an Aviation English |
| Produces stretches of language at an appropriate | | | | course to anyone who is a non-native English speaker |
| tempo. There may be occasional loss of fluency on | | | | starting a course of aviation training. |
| transition from rehearsed or formulaic speech to | | | | What should I do now? |
| spontaneous interaction, but this does not prevent | | | | |