AVIA- Aviation English

Aviation English Course:

Prerequisites: Ability to read, speak, write and understand English at an ICAO Level 2 (Elementary) or higher.

The Aviation English Course is designed to develop and improve English language communication skills for pilots, crew and air traffic controllers, helping students to achieve and maintain a Level 4 (Operational) according to the ICAO language requirements. Instruction can be one-to-one or in a small group setting.

Method of Evaluation:

Each student is interviewed and his or her English language abilities are evaluated according to the ICAO Rating Scale. This initial interview can be conducted in person or over the telephone. The student will fall into one of the following ICAO levels:

Level:	Suggested Course:	Hours:
Level 1- Pre-Elementary	General English until Level 2 is reached to be determined by reevaluation. See General English page.	Total hours vary
Level 2- Elementary	Aviation English course complimented by General English	72 hours
Level 3- Pre-Operational	Aviation English course to reach Level 4	36 hours
Level 4- Operational and above	An individualized Aviation English course to maintain or surpass Operational level. Specific area of concentration is determined by the student's needs.	Total hours vary

Course Contents*
Unit Title:	Topics:	Skills:	Pronunciation:
1 Aerodrome Operations	Principles of communication; ground operations	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	ICAO alphabet; numbers
2 Navigation	Trans-Pacific flight	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Past tense endings; confirming and disconfirming
3 Technology	Datalink; voice communications; flight control systems	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	/b/ and /p/; sentence stress 1
4 Wildlife	Bird strikes; animal cargo	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Word endings; sentence stress 2
5 General Aviation	Ultralights; rotorcraft	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Tonic stress
6 Health	Stress; medical emergencies	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Consonant clusters 1; intonation of lists
7 Fire	Fire risks; flammables; explosives	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	/l/ and /r/
8 Meteorology	Adverse weather	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	/ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/
9 Approaches	Approaching and landing	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Consonant clusters 2
10 Fuel	Environmental impact	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Information groups; long and short vowel sounds
11 Decompression	Emergency descent	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	Diphthongs; constrastive stress
12 Security	Suspicious behavior	Reading; vocabulary; listening; speaking	-tion, -sion endings; information groups and stress
*A detailed syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the course.

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Aviation English Course description:

The course covers all the categories needed to achieve ICAO Level 4:

Pronunciation

Structure

Vocabulary

Fluency

Comprehension (Aural)

Interaction

This course is for aviation professionals who wish to reach and maintain Level 4 (Operational) as measured by the ICAO Language Profile descriptors. The course aims to increase confidence in communication and develops the very specific skills described in the ICAO Level 4 language profile. These are the skills needed to succeed in any Level 4 assessment and also to function effectively and safely in an aviation environment.

This course does not aim to teach phraseology that aviation professionals need but it is included to provide a context for the plain English needed for communication between pilots and air-traffic controllers, and between pilots and pilots. The main focus is on the language needed to communicate in non-routine and/or emergency situations during flight operations.

The course utilizes a text, interactive lessons, video and audio clips to practice essential reading, writing, listening, speaking and observation skills. This multi-media approach to learning is meant to be as close to "real life" as possible.