International Civil Aviation Organization recognizes English proficiency tests for the aviation personnel. Despite this, no universal test has yet to be developed for this purpose. There are only local tests available on the market. Among them is a computerdelivered English proficiency test which is administered for a globally recognized flight…

In seeking to investigate the use of "sorry" in interlanguage refusal by Thai EFL users in an intercultural communication context, the present study collected data from Thai flight attendants who served passengers on international flights for a Thai airline, so as to examine how "sorry" is adopted in refusals in the context of…

For successful English language communication, EFL students are not only required to have effective language skills for the workplace, but also be able to use the language socially. This study aims to 1) examine student progress in language achievement in the airline context and 2) to investigate student attitudes towards the use of CLT activities…

This article presents the results of a small-scale study on the linguistic landscape in the two terminals of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Thirty-one digital photos of non-identical signs out of a total of 368 'top-down' signs identified in the public space were collected, and questionnaires were administered to airport users to gauge…

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) plays a pivotal role in enhancing the communicative competence of students preparing for careers. In order to develop the ESP learning materials for ground handling students, this study focuses on the needs analysis. The needs analysis will capture two aspects: 1) The participants' perspectives on the…

Lexical metaphor functions as a rhetorical device that embellishes the texts with figurative meanings. In non-literary texts such as commercial texts on company websites, lexical metaphor can help to promote the company image and sales. It is vital in the service sector such as the airline industry where the competition is sky-high. This paper…

This study is an exploratory study, which was conducted in relation to the study of the proficiency and performance of Iranian Air Traffic Controllers: attitude, work experience, and specific Aviation English courses. Few studies have been conducted in this field. The Aviation English Courses in Iran are very similar to Content-Based Language…

The identity of a city matters in a global age. This article explores the discursive construction of the global city's identity in relation to semiotic landscape, using the construction of Shanghai as a global city as a case study. In this increasingly globalising world, Shanghai authorities have recently demonstrated the desire to establish…

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has established English Language Proficiency Requirements (LPRs) for all flight crews operating on international routes, all air traffic controllers who communicate with foreign pilots, and air professionals. The ICAO requires those who operate on international routes to be qualified at least in…

This paper aims to identify what aviation experts consider to be the key features of effective communication by examining in detail their commentary on a 17-minute segment of recorded radiotelephony discourse between a Russian pilot and a Korean air traffic controller. The segment was played to three practising pilots and three air traffic…

This article explores the issues of pronunciation and comprehension in the English as a lingua franca (ELF) context of pilot--air traffic controller radiotelephony communication, and how these are handled in the proficiency rating scale globally used to assess pilots and air traffic controllers engaging in international flight and air traffic…

Aviation English proficiency is a core competency in the global air traffic controller profession. There is, however, growing concern about the current ineffective paper-based assessment methods and the severe lack of interactive online testing for such a critical profession, one that should be ideally assessed in an authentic task and situation…

In 2003 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) strengthened the provisions that English be made available for international radiotelephony communication. ICAO also developed standards for English proficiency for international pilots and air traffic controllers. However, these standards are applied variably from country to country and…

The Lancaster Language Testing Research Group was commissioned in 2006 by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) to conduct a validation study of the development of a test called ELPAC (English Language Proficiency for Aeronautical Communication), intended to assess the language proficiency of air traffic…

This study investigates the variation in oral proficiency demonstrated by 14 Air Traffic Controllers across two types of testing tasks: work-related radio telephony-based tasks and non-specific English tasks on aviation topics. Their performance was compared statistically in terms of level ratings on the International Civil Aviation Organization…