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Hahaha! What you're saying is completely reflected in the interviews I conducted too. That's why I think it's really important for CFIs to learn engagement skills (and be patient of course!)

Just to clarify, I'm basing that comment on research (quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews) I have done with 32 Japanese and 56 Chinese ab initio cadets. These are Asian nations. Hence the comment.

And I'm assuming you're a native English speaker? Just goes to show the challenges of comprehension. (Imagine being a non-native speaker too!)

The ability to paraphrase understanding is essential, but more important is the courage to speak up. This is why I advocate cultural acclimatisation lessons to make explicit the learning expectations involved. Western CFIs need and value engagement, but for Asians (for example) to question a...

Occupational hearing loss is a BIG issue for pilots!

Haha. Touche (there's some French thrown in too!). Ab initio sounds better than 'beginner student' (to my ears)

Yep I agree that familiarity with accents is essential. That would be a funny transmission!

Hi there. The ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements came into effect in 2011 due to over 1000 deaths in which poor language proficiency was a contributing factor.

Yes. Clear pronunciation is super important over the radio. I think you need to get used to different accents in your airspace and this helps a lot.

Hi there. Your concerns regarding non-standard phraseology are shared by others I've talked to. I'll look up the Mexican test. It sounds like it is only speaking. My tests have listening and reading in them too (so objectively scored) as well as the speaking, which is scored against the ICAO...

Hi there, I definitely think focussing on the essentials of RTF and phraseology is the way to go in the inital stages of training. But there needs to be more than a minimum language proficiency developed over time in order to be able to deal with non-routine situations, non standard clearances...

Hi there, In most American universities that offer aviation, there are generic language test requirements like TOEFL, TOEIC and IELTS. However, these are for academic English, not aviation English. That's why I have created tests specifically for ab initios from overseas training in English...

Yep. It's pretty daunting to imagine learning in a foreign language with all the cognitive load of flying the aircraft. The rote learning stuff is so true. There needs to be true understanding as the foundation of comms.

Hi Capn Jack, No. Not me. Thankfully I'm a native speaker, but I still found RTF challenging! I'm a PhD student doing research into the language needs of ab initios. What you say mirrors exaclty what CFIs in NZ say too. Thanks for connecting.

Hi all, For the instructors out there who are training ab inito pilots who don't have English as their first language, what would you say are the biggest (language) challenges for these students/for you? Also, for non English speaking ab initios, what do you find difficult in your practical...