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Training in the ‘English Proficient’ World

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

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

Key Takeaways:

  • Pilots, particularly non-native English speakers with accents, often face significant communication challenges with air traffic controllers despite being certified "English Proficient."
  • Misunderstandings stem from literal interpretations of aviation shorthand, the cognitive load of translation, and varying accents or cadences that can hinder clear communication.
  • A successful strategy to overcome these barriers was demonstrated when a learner pilot adapted their speaking cadence and accent to match the controller's, leading to improved mutual understanding and effective two-way communication.
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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.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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