Radio communication between pilots and controllers features standard phraseology in the first instance and plain English when phraseology does not suffice. The two go together, hand-in-hand: safe and efficient radiotelephony relies on both. In this blog, we explain why it is so important for ICAO English tests to directly address radiotelephony communication, and we explore some of the reasons why radiotelephony is conspicuously absent in much aviation language testing today.
What about testing?
Should ICAO level 6 be removed?
Should ICAO level 6 be removed? The problem with level 6 is not so much that it exists, it is more accurately about the circumstances and inferences that stem from it. A pilot who gets level 6 has it for life, but how do we know the pilot will stay at ICAO level 6? Language proficiency can be lost over time.