Designing an Aviation English Instructors Training Course

OLENA PETRASHCHUK

University of Warsaw, ACRC

Poland

Discussion

The training modules of the course could be developed in accordance with the competency profile. In the Table
1 below one can see the name of the competence and its corresponding materials to be learnt / taught.

NAME CONTENT
Aviation language competence Radiotelephony phraseology; plain English in aviation
context
Communicative competence Cooperative and culturally sensitive radiotelephony
communication
Technological competence Flight operation and air traffic control, aircraft and
aeronautical equipment
Assessment competence Language Proficiency Rating scale ESP teaching
competence ESP teaching skills adapted to AE instructors’
needs
Table 1 AEI competencies and contents

In the next Table 1 the documents and other possible resources are presented. They can be used for developing
the thematic modules.

NAME RESOURCES
Aviation language competence ICAO Doc 9835, Annexes 1, 6, 10, 11; NAA documents;
textbooks available
Communicative competence Articles and manuals describing language
misunderstandings in radiotelephony communication;
cooperative principle in interaction, cultural identity in
professional communication
Technological competence ICAO doc. 9432, 4444; other materials available including
personal familiarization with the working settings
Assessment competence ICAO Doc 9835; Cir 318; textbooks on testing [e.g., Testing
for teachers by Huge], speech samples with ICAO language
proficiency levels
English for Aviation Purposes (EAP) teaching competence ESP teaching skills adapted to AE instructors’ needs; ICAO
Doc 9835; Cir 323; textbooks on ESP [e.g., English for
Specific Purposes by T. Hutchinson & A.Waters]
Table 2 AEI competencies and materials

It is important to keep purposeful training, which means focusing on each AEI competence. Therefore, it is
recommended to develop thematic modules according to the names and content of the competencies. Thus, teaching
Module ‘Aviation language competence’ will provide Aviation language knowledge [standard phraseology, ICAO lexical
domains and basic grammar structures, idiomatic language under a lexical domain], to be exposed to various accents in
radiotelephony communication, practicing in radiotelephony comprehension and use, etc.
 Teaching Module ‘Communicative competence’ will make it possible to familiarize AEIs with communicative
functions in radiotelephony communication, to develop awareness of discursive-interactional strategies, to understand
the role of cultural identity, to understand language behavior in emergency situations, etc.

The Module ‘Technological competence’ will focus on special training by the aviation specialist as an
introductory short term course to familiarize AEIs with aviation equipment, procedures as well as practicing the use of
terminology.

The Module ‘Assessment competence’ will have to introduce AEIs to language testing theory and practices
within ICAO recommendations, to familiarize with ICAO language proficiency descriptors, typical speech samples,
practicing at language proficiency levels identification; practicing in test task design for formative and summative [end-
of-course] assessment, etc.

The Module ‘EAP teaching competence’ will enable the AEI to gain more knowledge on teaching special
language, to practice communicative teaching skills focusing on specific aims of AE, e.g., pronunciation training,
simulations, code switching in role-plays. The Module should also be focused on basic knowledge on special materials
selection and syllabus design, methods to collect the learners learning needs, etc.