Test development training for ASECNA

Latitude is delighted to have been selected by EFATAM to provide aviation English test development training on its behalf for l'Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation Aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar (ASECNA).

This autumn, two three-week intensive courses for ATCOs tasked with administering ASECNA's in-house language testing programme will be delivered in the historic city of Norwich in the UK in partnership with Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE).

Training will cover the fundamentals of language testing and test development in the context of the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements with specific reference to ICAO Doc 10197: Test Design Guidelines. The participants will benefit from NILE's first class training environment and language immersion through homestay accommodation and aeronautical site visits as well as an advanced training syllabus equipping ASECNA with the knowledge and skills to prepare and deliver language testing and assessment for operations personnel across the organisation’s 17 member states.

We are very proud to be working in support of safe radiotelephony communications in Africa.

AFM Aero interview

Latitude’s Managing Director, Henry Emery, was recently interviewed by AFM Aero in their Pilot Training Leadership Series. Henry talked about his career in aviation English and gave a background to Latitude Aviation English Services before discussing trends in aviation training and the role of AI, and the outlook for the industry. You can listen to the interview here.

Training for Uzbekistan Airways

We are pleased to announce that Latitude has been chosen by Uzbekistan Airways to deliver advanced training for the airline's language teaching and testing team. A bespoke 70-hour course will be delivered in summer 2024 as a blend of e-learning and instructor-led training in partnership with Norwich Institute for Language Education in the UK. We're very much looking forward to taking a deep dive into aviation language teaching pedagogy and instructional and test task design, all in the context of radiotelephony communication in accordance with the ICAO LPRs.

Checkpoint listening and reading report

We are pleased to publish a report on the performance of the Checkpoint listening and reading assessments. In summary:

1. Analyses conducted in 2015:

   • Estimated Checkpoint's reliability to be between 90.2 and 100% with a standard error of measurement of between 1.7 and 3.2%;

   • Showed that it is impossible to make accurate judgements about listening ability or reading ability on the basis of a spoken performance; separate measurement of listening, reading and speaking skills is essential; and

   • Showed Checkpoint's listening and reading items to be discriminating well between candidates of low, medium and high ability.

2. Rasch analyses conducted in 2024:

   • Showed that Checkpoint's listening and reading items:

     • Cover a range of difficulty which is well-suited to the ability of the candidate population; and

     • Measure effectively with many items close to or at values ideal for measurement;

   • Resulted in revision of four of Checkpoint's 96 listening and reading items to further enhance their measurement properties.

You can download the report here.

Latitude supports EUROCONTROL with successful ICAO recognition

We were delighted to be selected by EUROCONTROL to coordinate and prepare the submission to ICAO for recognition of ELPAC for pilots. Led by Latitude’s Henry Emery and Andrea Howard, work began in January and involved review, collation and preparation of test documentation, development and administration procedures and evidence for test validity and reliability. The submission has now been reviewed under ICAO's Aviation English Language Testing System and has resulted in successful recognition of ELPAC for Pilots for a period of three years.

ELPAC for pilots is currently the only language test in the world to be recognised by ICAO for its quality. The successful recognition of ELPAC for pilots is a clear demonstration of EUROCONTROL's commitment to the highest standards in aviation language testing. Our congratulations go to the ELPAC and its partners, the Zürich University of Applies Sciences and Enovate of Norway.

EATS 2023

Latitude’s Managing Director, Henry Emery, will be representing ICAEA with a talk on the Test Design Guidelines at the European Airline Training Symposium in Lisbon, Portugal from 8th-9th November 2023.

Keynote speech at 10th GEIA seminar

Latitude’s Managing Director, Henry Emery, will be giving a keynote speech and workshops on radiotelephony role play in aviation language teaching and testing at the 10th GEIA seminar in São José dos Campos, Brazil from 2nd-5th October 2023.

ICAEA conference

Latitude’s Managing Director, Henry Emery will be running workshops on radiotelephony role play in aviation language teaching at the The International Civil Aviation English Association (ICAEA) conference in Istanbul from 18th-20th September 2023.

Croatia Control selects Latitude

We're pleased to announce that Croatia Control has selected Latitude's Command e-learning to help ATCOs refresh and maintain their operational language proficiency. Accessible on all devices, Command e-learning provides 24 units of interactive aviation English training enabling personnel to:

• Listen to plain English in a variety of aviation contexts, from safety briefs and training events to radio interviews, podcasts and discussions

• Listen to non-standard air-ground communications

• Develop structure, vocabulary, and plain language for radio communications.

As part of the package, Latitude is providing a branded learning management system through which ATCOs engage with course content and Croatia Control's language support team can monitor progress and download reports.

We are delighted to be working with Croatia Control and to help its air traffic control personnel maintain aviation English for safe and efficient aeronautical communications.

Learn more about Command here.

Hub'Air chooses Latitude

We’re pleased to announce that Hub'Air has chosen Latitude to support its students as they prepare for airline pilot training. Under the partnership, students sign up for Checkpoint, our web-based assessment of listening, reading and speaking which they can take remotely. Depending on scores in Checkpoint, students may proceed directly to flight training, or elect to develop their language proficiency through Foundation e-learning with optional virtual instructor-led training.

The partnership allows Hub’Air, the students and their sponsors to manage language proficiency in advance of flight training, therefore minimising risk and maximising the chances of success.

For more than 20 years, Hub'Air has trained hundreds of airline pilots who have joined companies such as Air France, Emirates, Luxair, Brussels Airlines, Qatar Airways, Corsair, TUI, Cargolux, Easyjet, Ryanair, DHL and Private Jets. We’re pleased to welcome Hub’Air to our growing list of users of Checkpoint and Foundation.