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ICAO English Language Requirements

Background

The International Civil Aviation Organisation - ICAO has introduced language proficiency requirements for air traffic controllers and pilots with the intent of improving the level of language proficiency in aviation around the globe and reducing the frequency of communication errors.
Historically, insufficient English language proficiency on the part of the flight crew or the controller has contributed to a number of accidents and serious incidents, see here for more details.
The new Language Proficiency requirements apply to all international air traffic communicators in the civil sector should they be native English speakers or non-native English speakers. ICAO Doc 9835 states:

“It should not be solely non-native speakers who must work to improve air traffic communications…”

“…Native speakers of English, too, have a fundamentally important role to play in the international efforts to increase communication safety.”

ICAO Requirements

The requirements for language proficiency for operational personnel are detailed in ICAO Annex 1 – Personnel Licensing.

ICAO Language Proficiency Rating Scale

Reassessment Requirements

ICAO mandated a requirement of levels 4, 5 or 6. However they also require that the language skills of any pilots and controllers rated at:

Level 4 - need to be reassessed every three years,
Level 5 - need to be reassessed every six years, and
Level 6 - need no further assessment of English language ability (considered fluent).

Goal of the Requirements

The advantages of an elevated international standard of aviation English are:

Improved communicative understanding of all parties.
Non-standard phraseology is less likely to cause confusion.
Increased situational awareness of flight crews in relation to other aircraft, both in the air and on the ground.
A higher standard of communication internationally.
A broader range of English comprehensions by flight crews in their profession.

References

1. ICAO (2004). Document 9835.

2. ICAO (2007). ICAO annex 1 – personnel licensing.

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