Captain Joe takes his English proficiency check online with Tim, an examiner at German Aviation Training (GAT), who lets him screen record the whole session. He says the certificate is required for pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals working internationally, that airlines want to see it on your licence, and that you can get it before finishing your PPL or CPL.

Why the test exists and how it works

According to Captain Joe, ICAO introduced the test after real accidents and near misses involving pilots and controllers who passed basic English tests but could not hold a conversation or stay with standard phraseology. Since 2008 examiners rate pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interaction, and you are only as strong as your weakest category. That is why Tim spends half of the exam in conversation. The process has six steps: book a slot online, send an ID such as a driving licence and a short data protection form, receive the confirmed date by email, take the exam over Zoom in roughly 30 to 35 minutes, receive four PDF documents with your level within 24 hours, and hand them to your licensing authority, such as the FAA, the LBA or the CAA, or to your airline's licensing office.

Inside the recorded exam

After an audio check, Tim starts the mandatory recording and asks Joe to state his name and confirm he is fit for the test. The first task is describing an aviation picture: Joe guesses Munich Airport from the tower and mentions two follow-me cars and a Lufthansa A350 in the new livery. Captain Joe says the examiner only wants to hear you speak and will not mark you down for mixing up a 747-400 and a 747-8. In the listening part, Tim plays aviation questions, such as how Joe got his first cockpit job, and you can ask for a question to be repeated with say again. Joe answers with stories he knows well. The aviation part ends with an ATIS and two ATC calls, where he has to read back an instruction and pick out details such as the temperature or dew point. The second part is a ten minute interview about hobbies, travel and work, ending with Joe asking Tim a question. Tim names the Aero show in Friedrichshafen. If you do not reach Level 6, you are rated Level 5 or 4, and you can retake the exam.

Five do's and five don'ts

His do's are to write down answers the day before to questions such as how you got into aviation and your most memorable flight, to book a time that suits you and watch out for jet lag on a layover, to use reliable Wi-Fi without a VPN and keep a headset ready, to have pen and paper for the readbacks and ATIS, and to keep a glass of water nearby. His don'ts are speaking as fast as possible or using unnatural slang, leaving your phone on, taking the exam in a noisy place, saying aircrafts or informations, and answering in very short sentences, because the examiner then has nothing to assess.