English Education and Communication Studies: Ambiguity in the International Airway.

In the airline industry, English is now the accepted medium of communication for all air traffic controllers and pilots. For international flights it is of vital importance to hundreds of airline passengers that English be spoken clearly and properly to execute proper procedures and to act decisively and safely. Airspeak, aviation English, or air traffic control English is the English of international civil aviation. Airspeak is English in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation--but some of the vocabulary is technical and specialized. International agreements supposedly assure that all pilots are trained in this English, and cockpit conversations are monitored to assure that the rules are followed. Miscommunication in Air Traffic Control has serious consequences. To explore what approach would work best while teaching Aviation English, a case study was conducted based on interviews with 11 pilots at a Mandarin-speaking airline and an attitudinal study of those same pilots aimed at pinpointing their English language and communicative needs. Several foreign and domestic captains were also interviewed, as well as two foreign flight instructors. Findings suggest that there are four characteristics of the target language (English) which are termed difficult: register, speed of communication, written design, and nonnative English speaking comprehension. Also found was that there are two possible impediments to successful language learning: the learner's attitude, and the lack of opportunity to practice the target language. (Contains 15 notes and 17 references.) (NKA)