Training in the ‘English Proficient’ World

Teaching communication with multilingual learners requires diligence and attention to various cues.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 12:36 PM ET

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A male student pilot in flight training. [Credit: Strider]

Key Takeaways:

Pilots certified as English proficient can still face significant communication challenges with air traffic control due to accents or literal interpretations of aviation-specific shorthand, despite understanding the message.
Non-native English speakers often experience a cognitive delay due to in-head translation and processing, further complicating timely and clear communication in the fast-paced aviation environment.
A practical solution to these communication barriers involves adapting one's speaking style, such as mirroring a controller's cadence or even using an impression, to facilitate understanding and establish effective two-way dialogue.

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“If there is an instructor on board, they better key up!”

These were the words of a somewhat frustrated tower controller who was trying to understand the request of the Japanese learner—the young man could speak English, but apparently it was so heavily accented (to the controller’s ears), I feared the request for touch and goes came across the radio sounding like something between Scooby Doo and the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons.