Specificity, Authenticity, and Inseparability: Assessing Integrated Oral Skills for Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers

Abstract

Because the stakes are so high when assessing the oral language skills of pilots and air traffic controllers, they deserve to be tested in the use of the most specific language features of aviation English and in the most authentic context of their professions. In this talk I will discuss the problem of defining language specificity for professional purposes, the problem of reproducing authentic contexts in assessments, and the problem of the inseparability of language knowledge and professional background knowledge. In terms of specificity, I will talk about “Codes of Relevance,” which relate language use to specific professional contexts. The notion of authenticity is paramount since, unless pilot and ATC test takers can relate to the professional context in a realistic manner, then the judgments we make concerning their language abilities may not be valid. Finally, I will discuss the consequences of the notion that language knowledge and professional background knowledge are theoretically and practically inseparable.