ICAEA - International Civil Aviation English Association

9th ICAEA FORUM 2008

Testing for ICAO compliance: Best practice in aviation
English proficiency assessment
7 May – 10 May 2008

Over 100 delegates from 33 countries attended the 9th ICAEA Forum ‘Testing for ICAO compliance: Best practice in aviation English proficiency assessment’ which began with the association’s Annual General Meeting on the afternoon of 7 May and ended at lunch after two accreditation meetings and a tour of Warsaw on Saturday 10 May.

The Forum lived up to its name; in the fullest sense it was a true forum or exchange of views and information. It enabled those who attended to consider testing from every angle: from the regulatory point of view with Nicole Barrette-Sabourin (ICAO), from theoretical and academic standpoints of best practice with Magdalena Vecerova (Eurocontrol consultant), Angela ffrench and David Booth (Cambridge ESOL), methodologically by seeing how four different test providers saw the design and administration of their tests (ELPAC, RELTA, TEA and VAET) and through the eyes of four different test users. ICAEA was extremely fortunate to have so much expertise and experience under one roof. Finally, everyone was also able to familiarize themselves with the latest aviation English publications and services in the exhibition area.

The ensuing discussions were of a remarkably high quality: lively and well-informed. The warmth, friendliness and enthusiasm of all those present reflected the generosity of our hosts, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, and demonstrated perfectly what ICAEA is all about.

You will find the full proceedings of the forum below. Hyperlinks from the programme will take you to the papers and presentations.

We are all looking forward to meeting again soon.

 In organising its events and publishing their proceedings ICAEA is offering a forum for those members of the aviation community involved in the use, training and testing of English to express and exchange views in an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect in the interests of the community as a whole. The views expressed and the materials presented during the forum and reported in the proceedings are the authors’ own and are in no way endorsed by ICAEA or by any other third party.