Aviation English: Communication Across Borders

1
Aviation EnglishCommunication Across Borders

• Kitty Campbell Laird
• Purdue University
• University Aviation Association
• Fall Education Conference
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 9 October, 2004

2
My Background

• Pilot
• Musician
• Sociolinguist
• ESL/EFL/ESP Instructor

3
Status of Aviation Communication

• radiotelephony limitations(analog/simplex)
• communication protocol(expected turns and
  sequence)
• restricted phraseology(purpose built vs. natural
  language)

4
History of Aviation Communication

• English was not designated as an official
  language for aviation communication
• English-only was not mandated for aviation
  communication on a global scale
• English became the predominant lingua franca of
  aviation
• prescribed restricted phraseology of aviation
  English was similar to maritime Seaspeak

5
Aviation Organizations

• International Civil Aviation Organization
  (ICAO)(United Nations Organization with 188
  Member States, promotes standards in civil
  aviation)
• Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)(each country's
  regulatory agency, in the U.S. the Federal
  Aviation Administration or FAA)

6
Major Language Related Accidents

• March 27, 1977 Tenerife (KLM/Pan Am)
• January 25, 1991 Cove Neck, NY (Avianca)
• December 20, 1997 Cali, Columbia (American)

7
Concerns with Current System

• need for minimum English proficiency beyond
  restricted aviation phraseology
• cultural awareness regarding differences in
  varieties of English
• complications in negotiation of meaning due to
  regional local variation/accent dialect
• special consideration of bilingual/multilingual
  airspace due to lack of situational awareness

8
ICAO Initiatives

• use of fair reproducable phraseology
• rating scale for English proficiency
• holistic descriptors for language performance
• proposed implementation by 2008
• review of timeline feasibility in 2006

9
Aviation English Proficency Metrics(proposed,
but not yet established)

• ESP Aviation English test
• communicative competency test
• inter-rater reliability training

10
Technical System Improvements

• Controller/Pilot DataLink (CPDLC)
• real-time speech recognizer/translator
• FANS (Future Air Navigation System)

11
Current Technical Considerations

• Air Navigation Service (ANS)(under government or
  private control)
• Air Traffic Management (ATM) system(implementatio
  n of standardized procedures)
• Air Traffic Services (ATS)(dispatch
  weather/airline, state, or private)
• Airborne Collision Avoidance System
  (ACAS)(conflict management)

12
ConclusionsAviation communication depends upon

• cooperation between aviation industry
  regulatory entities
• consensus in aviation communication and language
  policies
• wise implementation and standardization of
  technology
• global sensitivity to theinternational aviation
  community

13
Discussion QuestionsWhat barriers does the U.S.
face to realistically implement the new ICAO
language policies?

• resistance to change from pilots/ATC
• different culture, chain of command, and unions
  for pilots and ATC
• FAA phraseology sometimes incompatible with ICAO
  phraseology
• plain English based on which variety of English
  (undefined accent/dialect desired)

14
Discussion QuestionsWhat challenges does ICAO
face in assisting Member States to implement
new language policies?

• lack of standardization of training and testing
  materials between Member States
• Lack of resources for some Member States to
  develop materials and/or comply with policies
• Member States may have higher priorities for
  available funding
• commercial entities may not address needs

15
Discussion Questions

• Do the new holistic descriptors and ICAO language
  proficiency scale offer good benchmarks for oral
  English performance?
• What audio samples are needed to operationalize
  levels for stakeholders?
• What types of training and testing materials will
  be needed and what resources will be necessary to
  produce these materials?

16
Discussion Questions

• Are there examples of other ICAO SARPs that lack
  compliance or are ignored in practice?
• Do Civil Aviation Athorities typically regulate
  ICAO SARPs or do SARPs merely exist as guidelines
  which go ignored unless non-compliance is called
  into question?

17
Discussion Questions

• Is English-only for aviation communication the
  best sollution for situational awareness?
• Should a sterile cockpit be expanded to include
  English-only communications?
• In what instances might the use of more than one
  language be beneficial in countries with
  bilingual or multilingual airspace?

18
Discussion QuestionsHow will the success of
implementation of ICAO language policies impact
communication in other areas of the aviation
industry?

• maintenance
• flight attendants
• ramp personnel baggage handlers
• airline dispatch weather service providers
• ticketing agents customer service

19
Discussion QuestionsWhat can UAA do as
educators to help facilitate a smooth transition
during the implementation phase of new ICAO
language policies?

• encourage collaboration between countries and
  aviation organizations
• discourage resistance to change from the
  aviation industry
• promote discussion about resources and possible
  sollutions

20
Questions or Comments?

• Kitty Campbell Laird
• Purdue University
• e-mail Kitty_at_Purdue.edu