Press Release

Issued by CAE Oxford.

May 10, 2012

The English Test for Aviation (ETA), owned and managed jointly by Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA) and Emery-Roberts (ER), has become the first, and so far the only, Aviation English test to receive a conditional endorsement from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) under the newly-established test endorsement mechanism.

The purpose of this mechanism is to verify whether tests of Aviation English can meet ICAO's demanding criteria for high quality language assessment and to indicate to potential users how well individual tests reflect the organisation's mandated Language Proficiency Requirements (LPR). This new endorsement for the ETA, and the associated recognition by ICAO, complements the existing ETA regulatory approvals and is testament to the resources and expertise invested by OAA and ER over the past 4 years to develop a high quality and innovative language testing system specifically for pilot assessment.

The ETA provides for the assessment of private, commercial and airline transport pilots, and offers users a highly cost-effective means of determining English language proficiency. The test measures a pilot's ability to understand plain English in international RT communications, to interact with air traffic control in non-routine situations and to communicate in face-to-face situations on issues related to flight safety.

Commenting on ETA becoming the very first English test to achieve this highest level of endorsement, OAA's Managing Director – Ab initio Training, Anthony Petteford stated "For the ETA to be the first test in the world to receive ICAO endorsement is a major success for OAA & ER and gives due recognition to our efforts to develop a truly innovative and affordable testing system for use by airlines and individuals worldwide. We are delighted with the ICAO announcement, which now gives us the necessary platform to further develop our Aviation English capabilities and activities over the coming months."

Henry Emery, Director of Testing at Emery-Roberts, added "It is a great honour for the ETA to have received an endorsement from ICAO, which is a further validation of our efforts to provide quality – and therefore, safety – in language testing for pilots. We are proud to be a participant in a mechanism which will undoubtedly have a positive and lasting impact on standards in language testing for aviation."