Get English proficiency or lose your job, pilots told

New Delhi: A civil aviation regulation (CAR) on English proficiency has left pilots a worried lot. Issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it makes it mandatory for them to reach Level 4 English proficiency by March 5, 2011, or else lose their licenses. But though the CAR was issued on March 22, 2010, it’s only now, after eight months, that the DGCA has started the mammoth exercise of testing pilots (over 4,000 with airlines alone), for the first time in English. Why was it so tardy, ask sources.
This CAR follows International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines wherein pilots of non-English speaking countries must undergo a mandatory English proficiency test before the stipulated date. But to get this done, DGCA would need to first appoint examiners who have Level 6 proficiency, approve language training institutes and have examination centres all over India. A six-member board was only recently constituted for the purpose.
Incidentally, these tests aren’t simple English grammar tests. They include, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, aerodrome communication, pilot/controller interaction, etc. Student pilots would need a minimum of 100 hours of classroom teaching. And herein lies the danger, says a top language school expert in Ireland whom TOI contacted. He does these tests for pilots in China, Russia, Spain and West Asia, and said, “Suggesting 100 hours of classroom study without further clarification will leave learners without protection from unscrupulous vendors. To go from Level 1 to Level 4 itself would require 600-1,000 hours over 8-10 months.”
27/11/10 Shobha John/Times of India

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