Challenges and possibilities in compiling Aeronautical English corpora: The case of the Aerocorpus

Abstract

Authentic materials are an important resource for teaching and assessment, especially when it comes to English for Specific Purposes. To this end, corpus linguistics has developed a supporting role as it provides a wide range of possibilities for extracting and exploring authentic data. With regard to Aeronautical English (AE), which refers to oral communications between pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCOs), corpora offer substantial benefits in the development of teaching and testing materials. However, putting together corpora in the context of AE faces challenges in availability, selection, compilation, and copyright issues as some countries limit access to radiotelephony communications due to their sensitive content. This paper reports the experience of compiling a collaborative corpus called “Aerocorpus” proposed during two webinars held for AE teachers and testers from all over the world. The compilation methodology aims to address the aforementioned challenges and offer alternative solutions. Despite existing limitations, we see considerable gains in using authentic materials and are looking into ways of protecting the “black box” containing sensitive information while continuing to compile the corpus, which currently features 38,135 words from 45 situations, and to make it available to a wider community of AE professionals.