English for Air Traffic Controllers

Introduction

English for Air Traffic Controllers is an online course, consisting of 56 units of English, and providing approximately 60 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards the specialisation of air traffic control. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking, and pronunciation.

Gramatika

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Use present and past tenses correctly
  • Use the appropriate conditional forms to talk about situations and consequences
  • Use the present perfect to describe a link between past and present events
  • Use going to and will to talk about future predictions and intentions
  • Use the passive form correctly
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns

Žodynas

By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 120 expressions used in air traffic control.

Skills

By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and air traffic control contexts.

Unit summary

Module 1

  • Gramatika: Present tenses
  • Žodynas: Key aviation and ATC terms
  • Skaitymas: A brief history of aviation and air traffic control
  • Klausymasis: An overview of the roles and responsibilities of air traffic controllers
  • Rašymas: My journey to Air Traffic Control
  • Kalbėjimas: Discussing experiences and motivations for working in ATC
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Gramatika: Past tenses
  • Žodynas: Basic ATC terminology and concepts
  • Skaitymas: Understanding the structure and organization of ATC
  • Klausymasis: Controllers and pilots communicating in routine situations
  • Rašymas: Crafting clear, concise, and informative ATC messages
  • Kalbėjimas: Practicing standard ATC phraseology
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Gramatika: Going to and Will
  • Žodynas: Weather-related terms and phenomena
  • Skaitymas: The importance of weather in aviation and ATC
  • Klausymasis: Weather briefings and updates
  • Rašymas: Interpreting TAFs
  • Kalbėjimas: Summarising and reporting weather conditions
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Gramatika: Present perfect
  • Žodynas: Airspace classifications and navigation concepts
  • Skaitymas: The structure and management of airspace
  • Klausymasis: Providing navigation instructions to pilots
  • Rašymas: Documenting and reporting route deviations and incidents
  • Kalbėjimas: Confirming and clarifying route information
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Gramatika: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Žodynas: Emergency situations and procedures
  • Skaitymas: Case studies of past aviation incidents and accidents
  • Klausymasis: Managing in-flight emergencies and coordinating assistance
  • Rašymas: Writing incident reports and debriefing statements
  • Kalbėjimas: Providing clear instructions and reassurance during emergencies
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Gramatika: First conditional
  • Žodynas: Key ICAO terminology and concepts
  • Skaitymas: Understanding ICAO regulations and their impact on ATC
  • Klausymasis: Controllers and pilots adhering to ICAO standards
  • Rašymas: Reflecting on the role of ICAO in personal ATC experiences
  • Kalbėjimas: Discussing the importance of international standards in aviation
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Gramatika: Passive
  • Žodynas: Human factors and their impact on ATC performance
  • Skaitymas: The importance of managing stress and fatigue in ATC
  • Klausymasis: Controllers discussing challenges and coping strategies
  • Rašymas: Developing a personal plan for addressing human factors
  • Kalbėjimas: Sharing personal experiences related to human factors
  • Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 8

  • Gramatika: Second conditional
  • Žodynas: Career-related terms and concepts
  • Skaitymas: Advancement opportunities and skills development in ATC
  • Klausymasis: Controllers discussing their career paths and future goals
  • Rašymas: Drafting a professional development plan for career advancement
  • Kalbėjimas: Setting personal goals and identifying areas for growth
  • Pronunciation: Hope and Hop + connected speech

Follow-up

Students completing the English for Air Traffic Controllers course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.