Do We Understand

Each Other Better?

English language proficiency requirements: ATCO’s point of

view

Standard Phraseologies Non-standard situations Personal experience

2Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Level 4. – Is it enough?

Yes for most non-standard situations Some situations require higher level

3Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Maintaining Level 4

Speaking and listening practice Aviation-specific content

“Use any opportunity to have speaking and listening practice and look fro aviation specific content”

4Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Maintaining Level 4

PodcastsAudio Example.

5Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

listen-to-english.com

Maintaining Level 4

Seminars with pilots

6Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Maintaining Level 4

Audio Example 2.A pilot requests QBB

7Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

METAR

QBBDo you know the letters? What do they stand for?

ACARS

OCA

Maintaining Level 4

Familiarization flights

8Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Maintaining Level 4

Seminars with ATC colleagues

9Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Maintaining Level 4

International projects Refresher courses

10Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Maintaining Level 4

Most effective way of education and self-education:

everyday listening to podcasts,a refresher course once a year,

two-tree seminars a year with pilots of different airlines,

a meeting with foreign ATC colleagues once a year ,

flights in the cockpit (perhaps once every two years).

11Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Next generation of ATCOsA person applying to be an ATCO has to be at

level 4, preferably at level 5No need to study phraseologies in the class as a

special subject

12Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

SummaryToday foreign pilots and Russian ATCOs understand each other better than a few

years ago.

13Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

SummaryLevel 4 is quite enough for standard and

most of non-standard situations, but sometimes level 5 is desirable.

14Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

SummaryLanguage proficiency should be

maintained with the help of various activities: listening to podcasts, refresher courses, seminars with foreign pilots and

ATCOs, familiarization flights.

15Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

SummaryHigher level of English language

proficiency may be gradually achieved by proper selection of cadets for education

and proper selection of employees for operational units followed by proper

training.

16Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

17Elmar Alexandrov, St.Petersburg ATS Center

Thank you for attention