[lg policy] Upcoming Conference to Focus on Aviation Communication and Safety (and the role of language in safety issues)

Thu Feb 22 15:42:42 UTC 2018

 Upcoming Conference to Focus on Aviation Communication and Safety
[image: Deborah CircelliI]Deborah Circelli
<https://news.erau.edu/headlines/international-conference-at-embry-riddle-may-9-11-addresses-language-issues-to-improve-aviation/#>
/
Feb 21, 2018, 2:42 PM
0
<https://news.erau.edu/headlines/international-conference-at-embry-riddle-may-9-11-addresses-language-issues-to-improve-aviation/#fb-comments>

*“Aviation is a global enterprise and does not happen in a bubble immune
from cultural differences, miscommunication and the challenges created by
inadequate aviation English skills.” *— * Embry-Riddle Assistant Professor
Elizabeth Mathews*

The international conference, “Building on the International Civil Aviation
Organization’s Language Proficiency Requirements – Communications as a
Human Factor”
<https://www.icaea.aero/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ICAEA-ERAU-Conference-2018-Provisional-Programme_v2.pdf>
is hosted by Embry-Riddle on May 9-11. To learn more about the conference,
go to www.icaea.aero.

The International Civil Aviation English Association
<https://www.icaea.aero/> (ICAEA) conference at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona
Beach Campus <http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/about/index.html> will look into
the effects of language and culture on communication as a human factor; the
language needs of the wider aviation profession; incorporating
communication strategies into best practices for training and testing and
considerations for future policy developments in language and communication.

New perspectives on aviation English training and testing will be discussed
in the conference, which will include plenary presentations, Q & A panels,
interactive panel presentations, practical workshops, informal poster
sessions, and networking and social opportunities.

Twenty-four presenters and speakers are coming from throughout the U.S. and
other countries, such as Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia,
Germany, Kenya, Slovenia and West Africa.

Participating organizations include airlines, manufacturers, civil aviation
authorities, air navigation service providers, and academic institutions
such as Embry-Riddle, Georgia State University and others.

“Aviation is a global enterprise and does not happen in a bubble immune
from cultural differences, miscommunication and the challenges created by
inadequate aviation English skills,” said Elizabeth Mathews, Embry-Riddle
assistant professor of Aerospace and Occupational Safety
<http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/degrees/bachelor/aerospace-occupational-safety/index.html>,
who is on the board of the ICAEA. “The conference will bring people
together to discuss these topics, including how to improve training, the
standardization of aviation English testing, and the investigation of
language factors and more.”

The keynote speaker, Capt. Daniel Maurino, a well-known and
long-serving International
Civil Aviation Organization’s <https://www.icao.int/> human factors and
safety specialist, will open the first day of the conference with his
presentation on “The Role of Communication in Human Factors.”

Maurino is an international leading authority on flight safety, human
factors and safety management systems. In his current role, he has advised
the Civil Aviation Authority of Argentina on a five-year project leading to
the implementation of State Safety Programme of Argentina and is presently
advising the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of Argentina on the
transition to a multimodal safety investigation agency.  Maurino, who flew
for Aerolíneas Argentinas for 17 years, is also an advisor to the Spanish
Civil Aviation Authority and is a safety management instructor for Airports
Council International and the International Air Transport Association.

After more than 40 years of aviation human factors as a discipline, Mathews
said understanding language as a human factor lags behind industry’s
understanding of other human performance issues. She will present “A
Linguistic Review of Aviation Accidents,” at the conference.

“With an increasingly multicultural industry, it is more important than
ever to understand and address language and communication factors
appropriately,” said Mathews, who is also a former linguistic consultant
for the ICAO. “The International Civil Aviation Organization’s
Language Requirements address pilot-controller radiotelephony
communications, but do not address the English language communication needs
when English is the common language of two non-native English speakers
sharing the same cockpit, or the English language needed for maintenance
safety and for flight training.”

Mathews is part of a team at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach and Worldwide
Campuses <https://worldwide.erau.edu/> reviewing databases of aircraft
accidents to determine the role communication factors may have played.

The research is just one part of Embry-Riddle’s overall Language as a Human
Factor in Aviation Safety
<https://news.erau.edu/headlines/language-plays-a-greater-role-in-aviation-accidents-than-the-industry-may-realize/>
(LHUFT) Initiative to heighten awareness, improve aviation safety and
enhance future investigations.

The initiative and LHUFT Center <https://commons.erau.edu/db-lhuft/>
involves partnerships with Georgia State University and Pontifical
Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul. The work includes joint research
projects; developing curriculum for aviation English; advocating for best
practices in aviation language training, teacher training and testing
programs, which are currently unregulated; and becoming an industry leader
for language in aviation research and expertise.

Some other topics at the conference include “Exploring Intercultural
Factors in International Pilot-Air Traffic Controller Communications”;
“Recognizing Misunderstandings: Developing Communication Strategies for
Non-Native English Speaking Personnel,” “Notes from the Field: Making the
Case for Enhanced English Language Standards for Pilots” and “English in
the Aviation Maintenance Industry - The Impact on Safety and an Exploration
of the Need for Standards.”

Other Embry-Riddle speakers include Jennifer Roberts, Aviation English
Specialist for Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus in the College of
Aeronautics, who will conduct a workshop on “Training to Develop
Communicative Competence” and Aline Pacheco, recent visiting research
scholar at Embry-Riddle, who will discuss “Inter-Cultural Issues in Air
Ground Communication: A Case Study – Triggers for Miscommunication.”
Aviation language and safety consultant, Capt. Enrique “Rick” Valdes,
retired from United Airlines, who is working with Embry-Riddle on reviewing
databases of aircraft accidents, will also have a panel presentation.

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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