ICAO Requirements

The ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements

In September 2003 the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a division within the United Nations, announced changes to provisions strengthening language proficiency requirements. These requirements will come into effect from March 2008.

All pilots operating on international routes and all air traffic controllers who communicate with foreign pilots will need to have their English language proficiency formally assessed. The ICAO language proficiency requirement requires that pilots and air traffic controllers be able to communicate proficiently using both ICAO phraseology (ICAO Doc. 9832) and plain English (ICAO Doc. 9835).

ICAO has established six levels of language proficiency:

ICAO Level 6: Expert
ICAO Level 5: Extended
ICAO Level 4: Operational
ICAO Level 3: Pre-Operational
ICAO Level 2: Elementary
ICAO Level 1: Pre-Elementary

The minimum language level for licensing purposes is ICAO Level 4. To be assessed at ICAO Level 4 or above, a pilot or air traffic controller must achieve Level 4 in all six of the ICAO skill areas: Pronunciation, Structure, Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension and Interactions.

The strengthening of the provisions occurs as a result of changes to ICAO Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in several Annexes:

Annex 1:

Aeroplane and helicopter pilots, air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators shall demonstrate the ability to speak and understand the language used for radiotelephony communications to the level specified in the language proficiency requirements in the Appendix.

Annex 1 also contains an Appendix: the ICAO six-band Language proficiency Rating Scale.

The Appendix states that: The language proficiency requirements are applicable to the use of both phraseologies and plain English.

Annex 6:

Operators shall ensure that flight crew members demonstrate the ability to speak and understand the language used for aeronautical radiotelephony communications as specified in Annex 1.

Operators shall ensure that flight crew members demonstrate the ability to speak and understand the language used for radiotelephony communications as specified in Annex 1.

Annex 10:

ICAO standardised phraseology shall be used in all situations for which has been specified. Only when standardised phraseology cannot serve an intended transmission, plain language shall be used.

The air-ground radiotelephony communications shall be conducted in the language normally used by the station on the ground or in the English language.

The English language shall be available, on request from any aircraft station, at all stations on the ground serving designated airports and routes used by international air services.

Annex 11:

An air traffic service provider shall ensure that air traffic controllers speak and understand the language(s) used for radiotelephony communications as specified in Annex 1.

The Manual on the Implementation of ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements

ICAO has published a guidance manual (Manual on the Implementation of ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements, Doc. 9835) to highlight the changes to the language requirements and provide the aviation industry with an overview of what the changes mean.

According to Doc. 9835 a language test used to assess language for the ICAO Language standards should:

be aviation-specific (not assess general English proficiency) and be related to the language of radiotelephony which pilots and air traffic controllers use in their work
assess language based on the criteria established in the ICAO Language Proficiency Rating Scale
not assess a knowledge of phraseologies, but must assess communicative ability in both phraseology and plain Language
assess speaking and listening skills directly (not assess language knowledge indirectly, or assess reading and writing ability).

ICAO also requires the personnel assessed at Level 4 and Level 5 be retested, at recommended intervals of 2 years of Level 4 and 6 years for Level 5.