Language proficiency requirements of the international civil aviation organization

Abstract

The ICAO language proficiency requirements adopted by the ICAO Council in March of 2003 directly address the first two of these language-in-aviation issues, and addresses indirectly the third issue, the use of two languages in a single operating environment. In brief the recently adopted ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements are found in Annex 1-Personnel Licensing; Annex 6-Operation of Aircraft; Annex 10- Aeronautical Telecommunications, Volume IICommunication Procedures including those with PANS status, and Annex 11-Air Traffic Services, and they accomplish the following: Strengthen the requirement that the English language be available to international flights; Establish clear minimum proficiency level requirements for flight crew members and air traffic controllers; Introduce an ICAO language proficiency rating scale applicable to native and non-native speakers; Clarify the requirement for the use of both plain language and ICAO phraseologies; Standardize on the use of ICAO phraseologies; Recommend a testing schedule to demonstrate language proficiency and; Provide for service provider and operator oversight of personnel compliance. This work outlines the new standards and discusses implications for training and assessment. Keywords: aviation communication, ICAO, English language proficiency.