Aviation English

Pass Your Message • August 8, 2021

Intro: technical details

As explained by EUROCONTROL, "air traffic controllers rely on ICAO standardized phraseology in everyday situations however in an unexpected situation they may have to use plain English and they may have to shift between using standardized phraseology and plain English in order to adequately deal with and support the flight crews." (Source: ELPAC).

Candidates for air traffic controllers (ATCOs) are required to "speak and understand the English language to a high standard, ideally ICAO level 5" (to quote HIAL's 2019 Information Pack for Candidates). There are six ICAO levels:

Level 6: Expert
Level 5: Extended
Level 4: Operational
Levels 1 – 3: Non-operational

Pilots are required to achieve Level 4, ATCOs often Level 5. Not every native speaker gets Level 6 though.

How is it tested

Ab-initio candidates may be tested using the FEAST test battery which includes English Language Listening and Comprehension as part of FEAST 1. The tests are computer-based. The FEAST 1 test, which also tests basic cognitive abilities in decision-making, planning, logical reasoning, memory, visual perception, attention, multi-tasking and spatial orientation, can take between 2.5 and 4 hours (with at least one 10-minute break), depending on how many components of the test are used by your organisation. (Source: EUROCONTROL FEAST info page.) FEAST tests are used by 50 organisations worldwide, including Global ATS and HIAL in the UK. NATS switched to another test battery, AON or cut-e tests.

The ELPAC (English Language Proficiency for Aeronautical Communication) test, also offered by EUROCONTROL, is the only test on ICAO page that conforms with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for Language Proficiency Requirements (LPR). It can be taken online with Global ATS and tests pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interactions between the pilot and the controller (the candidate). Only speaking and listening are tested, not reading or writing. More information on the ELPAC test for air traffic controllers can be found on the EUROCONTROL website.

How to achieve Level 5

Attend a course. Global ATS runs Aviation English courses for entrants with at least Pre-Intermediate (ICAO Level 2) English.
Study at home. Buy the Flightpath (<- affiliate link) book with 3 CDs and 1 DVD, new or second hand, and study on your own.
Get conversations. Find an Aviation English teacher and meet online (Zoom, Skype). I recommend Russ, an ex-ATCO from NATS who is a qualified and experienced English teacher.

There are less typical ways to improve your general English:

Listen to native speakers on YouTube, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning courses, listen to the LBC radio. You will grasp some English naturally without thinking about grammar. You will also get used to the rhythm and patterns of the language and its intonation or melody also called accent.
As you are listening, start repeating what they say straight away. The point is to get your face muscles used to a new combination of sounds. It is of little use if you have a perfect sentence in your head but struggle with pronunciation. The muscles in your face need to be trained to make those sounds with ease.
Use English at home to describe what you are about to do, communicate with friends and family, switch your computer and mobile phone default language to English.

Watch list:

How to acquire any language NOT learn it - 57-minute video
English with Gill - grammar, vocabulary and culture explained slowly by a London-based teacher with 30 years experience.

Image: Landing at Heathrow (own photo).

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Which GCSEs?

By Pass Your Message • August 15, 2021

Young people interested in becoming air traffic controllers often ask which GCSEs they should take. In the UK, pupils can choose the subjects they want to study. GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education . Selected subjects are studied for two or three years, with exams sat at the end of the third year (year 11). Older candidates can study for a year privately, online or with a college and sit exams at a college or exam centre. NATS only require candidates to have completed general education with "5 GCSEs at Grade 4 or Scottish National 5’s Grade A-C including English and Maths . - Equivalent qualifications are accepted." (source: NATS Careers page ). English and Maths are the prerequisites for training using an apprenticeship route (with Global ATS ), where the candidates' training would be funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Candidates without GCSEs in English and Maths would be required to study them alongside studying for their ATC qualification and sit exams before "taking their end point assessment" (source: Institute for Apprenticeships ). I wouldn't leave GCSEs for that time as the ATC training will be intensive enough. HIAL (in Scotland) also require " Mathematics and English at Standard Grade Level (or equivalent)" (source: 2019 Information Pack for Candidates - Ab Initio ATCO, p. 5) which is equivalent to GCSEs in England. They add "qualifications in science , technology or higher level mathematics could also be beneficial." Apart from English and Maths, the most important thing are good grades. Choose subjects you can excel in, or work really hard to get good grades in subjects that don't come natural to you. HIAL say "The training process to become an ATCO is intensive and demanding, therefore we are also looking for evidence of your ability to undertake this level of study." (source: the 2019 Information Pack, p. 5). You can take e.g. English, Maths, Computer Science, Combined Science or Physics or Geography, and a modern language. If you are coming from another country, you can choose to study your first language and it is not considered cheating although it may feel like it for native English speakers. Since both ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers) are prepared to accept equivalent qualifications, ASK THEM to be 100% sure before sitting any other qualification instead of regular GCSEs such as a GCSE English Equivalency Test . These tests can be sat at any time of the year, online from home or paper-based, with results 10 working days later, and a 2-day fast track available. Could be a real solution for older candidates _if_ the results were accepted. Ask your ANSP before paying any money. Ask even if they are not recruiting at the moment. In terms of ANSL (Air Navigation Solutions Limited, currently providing services at Gatwick and Edinburgh - 2021), they used to require A-levels but as they have changed their training provider from their own college in Germany to Global ATS in England, the minimum requirements might change in the future too and be lowered to GCSEs. There are no guarantees and it is absolutely their right to require whatever level of education they see fit for whatever reason. Comparing to airlines, some airlines sometimes used to only recruit pilots with degrees but at other times the same airlines had lower requirements, possibly depending on the job market and pilot availability. Similarly, there are no guarantees that GCSEs will be sufficient at NATS and HIAL in the future. Below is a breakdown of GCSE results in 2015-2016 (by Ofqual ; contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0).