APPROACH, CONTENT & METHOD

WIDER CONSIDERATIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE CONTEXT OF AERONAUTICAL

COMMUNICATIONS

N E I L B U LLO C K

I C A E A W A R S A W J U N E 2 0 1 5 A L L M A T E R I A L & P H O T O S

C O P Y R I G H T E N G L I S H P L U S

Communicative? What communication? What Purpose?

MA - Applied Linguistics ! University of Birmingham (UK) ! Teaching Methodology & Testing Modules IATEFL ESP Journal ! Winter/Spring 2014-15 Issue 45

englishplus@bluewin.ch

WIDER CONSIDERATIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE CONTEXT OF AERONAUTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

1.  Communicative Approach 2.   Specific Purposes Language 3.   Practical competence 4.   Needs analysis 5.   Methodologies

"  Workshops - Techniques

1. COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH “Er…I’m sitting

on a chair behind a brick

wall…”

“Fastwings 789 Tower say your

position”

BACKGROUND

Chomsky - acquisition Appropriate to the context Hymes - Use v Grammar ‘Communicative competence’ = grammatical &

sociolinguistic. ‘Communicative performance’ = realization &

interaction of utterances. (Canale & Swain 1980).

APPROACH INTO PRACTICE

•  ‘Purposeful communication’ (Hedge 2000) •  ‘Real-life communication’ (Clark et al in Hedge 2000) •  ‘Subject matter’ (Anthony in Richards and Rogers 2001)

•  ‘Range of language resources’ (Read & Knoch 2009)

•  ‘Critical features of the TLU’ (Paramasivam 2013 & Harmer 2007).

APPROACH INTO PRACTICE (AVIATION)

•  ‘Highly technical and safety specific’ (Uplinger 1997).

•  ‘Not just absorbing subject matter’ (Richards & Rogers, 2001).

•  ‘Speaking, listening, and interactive skills’ (ICAO 2009).

•  Not just lists of vocabulary (Dusenbury and Bjerke 2013),

•  Communicative approach adopted (ICAO 200972010).

2. DEFINING THE SPECIFICS

WHAT ARE WE SPECIFYING?

•  Aviation English •  English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (Wang 2008)

•  ‘Plain language’ (Kim and Elder 2009)

•  NS, NNS, Expert speakers > Level 6 •  Bilingualism and multilingualism (ICAO 2010) •  Lingua Franca > ELF varieties

! Challenge traditional models (O’Sullivan 2015)

! communicative strategies & purpose built (Harding 2014)

! International operations ! Influence from/on other Languages +/+ ! Fit for purpose – not just tests!

GENERAL V SPECIFIC

General Purposes Specific Purposes isolation context education training foundation skills core specifics form function

Far (2008) Widdowson (1983)

“English of international aviation is not EGP”(Alderson 2009)

# Paraphrasing and clarification # Semi-Coded & referenced

EXAMPLE 1 EZY64LW L1 = ENGLISH

EXAMPLE 2 – DLH03P L1 = GERMAN

Effective communication = Short concise mix

of all 3 types of language

Core English non-domain specific

lexical & grammatical forms, paraphrasing of

ESP, negotiation

Radiotelephony

coded, fixed & restricted

Specific Aeronautical English

technical lexis, delexical verb collocations,

acronyms, initialisms, redundancy

KEY SKILLS

Linguistic = communicative (Hedge 2000)

! Pragmatic: usable ! Functional: how and when ! Strategic: repair, clarify, negotiation, paraphrase

Communication = speaking events (Harmer 2007)

! Transactional (exchange) ! Interactive ! Planned/unplanned

A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

Functional account of learner needs: topics, notions and concepts (Richards & Rogers 2001)

TLU domain

(Tasks) Context & content (Language) Skills

(Pragmatics and functions)

4. NEEDS ANALYSIS

CONSIDERATIONS

What does your learner need to learn? #  Focused #  Flexible # Objectives

Step by step approach # Needs analysis > context > objectives Hedge

(2000)

DEFINING THE NEEDS

•  Discussion with learner •  Discussion with organisation •  Diagnostic Test

!  ICAO rating scale areas ! Radiotelephony ! Specific Coded/Referenced ! General language

LEARNING CYCLE

OBJECTIVE

NEEDS ANALYSIS

METHODOLOGY TECHNIQUES

AND MATERIAL

LEARNING

5. METHODOLOGY

PRINCIPLES OF METHODOLOGY

‘Once you know the objectives you can define the method’ (Sarmento 2011)

•  12 research-based principles (Brown 2002). $  Meaningful learning – content AND context $  Intrinsic motivation – relevance & meaning $  Communicative competence – real world

ELE OR SME?

!  ‘Language presented exclusively in professional situations’ (Kukovec 2008)

!  ‘Responsibility to realise Ss needs’ (Khosravany et al 2014)

!  ‘Content familiarity & background knowledge’ (Gong 2008)

!  ‘Exact situation to function properly’ (Harmer 2007)

!  ‘Content centred learning / Authentic language & contexts’ (Brown 2002)

!  ‘SMEs should have a ‘sense’ for language’! (Vidokvic/Macnamara 2015)

!  ‘The assistance of domain or subject matter experts is critical (Kim, 2013; Hutha, 2009; Read & Knoch, 2009).

RESEARCH FOR ELES FROM SMES

!  ATC – Radar, Tower, ACCs, FDP, ATFM !  AOU – Aerodrome operational area !  AFS – Fire station !  Snow team! !  Met Office !  Aero Club / Airline – simulator !  Engineering base !  RTF classes !  Flightdeck – familiarisation flight !  Pre-flight checks, walkaround !  Your students

SEE YOU AFTER LUNCH…

% TECHNIQUES % MATERIAL

IN THE CLASSROOM

Swiftair 123 cleared for takeoff

Er… OK, thanks we can now get airborne, you’ve been a great help….

THE PROCESS

1.  LEARNING 2.   TECHNIQUES 3.   ACTIVITIES 4.   MATERIAL

GROUP DISCUSSION

FEEDBACK

Processing > Spontaneity > Ease > Nuance

Level 3

Spontaneity

Processing, translating

(gaps, breakdown,

L1 use)

Level 4

Ease

Spontaneity (clarify, repair)

Processing (paraphrasing negotiation)

Level 5 Nuance (idioms)

Ease (at length)

Spontaneity (paraphrasing)

Processing

Level 6

Nuance (register)

Ease (natural flow)

Spontaneity (includes

processing)

Hedge 2000, Brown 2007

THE LEARNING PROCESS

TECHNIQUES

•  Language Level – just above •  Learning Strategies – individual (Rubin’s 14) •  Error Correction and Feedback – Global / “Say again” •  Activities – Vary •  Analysing Speech Acts for Oral Production - Guided

•  Code Switching – identify plain L in dialogue •  Gap Fill Activities – adapt from course books •  Functional Language – lexis/structure by functions •  Materials Preparation – SMEs (Troncoso) •  Speaking Tasks – (Thornbury’s 6 elements)

Brown (2000), Hedge (2007), Thornbury (2008), Breul (2013), Uplinger (1997), Paramasivam (2013).

ACTIVITIES

#  Vocabulary !  Standard course & activity books !  Units on subjects (Met, navigation) !  Discussion and use of lexical items !  Compounds and collocations

#  Structure !  Activity books > adapt for context & function

ACTIVITIES

# Fluency !  Reduce fillers & hesitation !  Increase confidence

#  Interactions !  Personal experiences !  Role play

RESOURCING MATERIAL

Radiotelephony (Doc 9432) •  Role play •  Non-visual •  SMEs

Language (Doc 9835) •  Skybrary •  Chirps •  Aero Safety world •  Accident reports

MATERIAL - UNITS

MATERIAL – ROLE PLAY

MATERIAL – LEXIS / STRUCTURE

MATERIAL

YOUR LEARNERS

1.  Language – what? 2.   Practical skills – which? 3.   Needs analysis – how? 4.   Methodologies – why? 5.   Techniques – what? 6.   Material – where?

SOURCES

•  Skybrary www.skybrary.aero •  CHIRPS www.chirps.co.uk •  Aero Safety World -

http://flightsafety.org/aerosafety-world-magazine/past-issues

•  ICAO Docs http://www.icao.int/publications/Pages/default.aspx

•  http://www.icao.int/publications/Pages/default.aspx •  Aviation English Hub •  https://aviationenglishhub.wordpress.com/ •  Aviation Glossary http://aviationglossary.com/

REFERENCES - 1 Alderson, C. J. (2009). Air safety, language assessment policy, and policy implementation: The

case of aviation English. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 29, 168–187.

Breul, K. (2013). Language in aviation: The relevance of linguistics and relevance theory, LSP Journal, 4 (1), 71–86.

Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching. White Plains, MY: Prentice Hall.

Dusenbury, M. & Bjerke, E. (2013). Predictive power of English testing: Training international flight students. The Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 23(1), 12–22.

Harding, L. (2014) Adaptability and ELF communication - Next steps for communicative language testing, Plenary speech at IATEFL TEASIG conference, Grenada, October 2014.

Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching. Harlow: Pearson Longman.

Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Huhta, A. (2009). An analysis of the quality of English testing for aviation purposes in Finland, Australian Review Of Applied Linguistics, 32 (3), 26.1–26.14.

International Civil Aviation Organisation. (2010). Doc 9835 Manual on the implementation of ICAO language proficiency requirements. Montreal: ICAO.

International Civil Aviation Organisation. (2007). Doc 9432 Manual of radiotelephony. Montreal: ICAO.

REFERENCES - 2 Khosravany Fard, H., Khosravany Fard, A, & Baghi, B. A. (2014). An analytical evaluation of aviation English

textbook. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 4 (1), 61–70.

Kim, H. (2013). Exploring the construct of radiotelephony communication: A critique of the ICAO English testing policy from the perspective of Korean aviation experts. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 2 (2), 103–110.

Kukovec, A. (2008). Teaching aviation English and radiotelephony communication in line with the newly established ICAO language proficiency requirements for pilots. Inter Alia, 1, 127–137. Retrieved June 22 2014 from http://www.sdutsj.edus.si/InterAlia/2008/Kukovec

Paramasivam, S. (2013). Materials development for speaking skills in aviation English for Malaysian air traffic controllers: Theory and practice. Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 1 (2), 97–122.

Read, J., & Knoch, U. (2009). Clearing the air: Applied linguistic perspectives on aviation communication. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 32 (3), 21.1–21.11. 

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rubenbauer, F. (2009). Aspects of oral communication in aviation. Aachen: Shaker Verlag.

Sarmento, S. (2011). What makes a good aviation English teacher’. Aviation in Focus, 2 (2), 3–5.

Thornbury, S. (2008). How to Teach Speaking. Harlow: Pearson Longman.

Uplinger, S. (1997). English language training for air traffic controllers must go beyond basic ATC vocabulary. Flight Safety Foundation: Airport Operations, 23(5), 1–5.

Wang, A. (2008). Reassessing the position of aviation English: From a special language to English for specific purposes. Iberica, 15, 151–164.

BIOGRAPHY – NEIL BULLOCK •  20 years in Air Traffic Control and Airside Operations in the UK •  13 years as English teacher (Business/aviation) in France & Switzerland. •  Based in Switzerland: •  independent English Teacher and test development specialist in the

aviation world. Rater training, test development and exam administration on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation as well as an aviation English teacher and ELPAC ELE for the air traffic control organisation, Skyguide.

•  MA in Contemporary French Studies •  MA in Applied Linguistics (dissertation on test development in aviation) •  TEASIG co-ordinator for the English Teachers Association of Switzerland •  IATEFL TEASIG committee (webinars) •  Member of IATEFL ESP SIG, ALTE, EALTA and ICAEA.