Conclusions

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 508.

Has ICAO opened Pandora's box in creating requirements for global testing in aviation? Are its impacts one long tale of woe? Will you take the train the next time you travel? It is time to recall a few facts which may help place things in perspective. Like the railways in the nineteenth century on a national level, aviation has accelerated a standardised awareness of time and space at a planetary level and been one of the main motors of technological and economic change. Whether for better or for worse it is an integral part of our world system. In the process, aviation has generated some far-reaching results:

Statistically, aviation remains the safest form of travel. More concerted efforts and funds are devoted to improving safety and security in aviation than in any other field of human activity.

Not only has aeronautical technology driven research which has had important beneficial effects in other areas, but the aviation industry pioneered an awareness of and research into human factors and team resource management which has directly benefited practice in operating theatres, high-speed trains and nuclear power stations.

The bottom line of the Language Proficiency Requirements is safety. It is beyond doubt that in a multi-cultural, yet highly regulated, society with an exponential growth in air travel, enhanced and more reliable communication is a vital component of a safer world.

To conclude by returning to a standpoint of applied linguistics and language testing, the case of global language testing in aviation may have singular significance. Not only may it suggest a model for the way in which our society feels it needs to ensure linguistic competence beyond an academic context in specific areas of activity where the accurate and reliable use of language is critical, using purposefully designed assessment tools, but it is indicative of our more developed awareness of the essential role effective oral communication plays at the heart of an increasingly complex and technological world.