Icao english

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates the english proficiency examination in article 33 of the Chicago Convention.

The International Civil Aviation Organization has an English language proficiency rating scale ranging from 1 to 6. The scale is used for pilots and air traffic controllers all over the world.

Levels

  • 1 – Pre-Elementary
  • 2 – Elementary
  • 3 – Pre-Operational
  • 4 – Operational (minimum for PPL, CPL or ATPL – retest in 3 years)
  • 5 – Extended (retest in 6 years)
  • 6 – Expert (no further retest required)

More on the language scale in this document.

Note: Students of Riga Flight School are required to take the ICAO english proficiency examination prior to their first solo cross country flight.

Riga Flight School works with LevelUp International as a Language Testing Body (LTB) and issues certificates under the authority of (Austro Control) - accepted all over the world.

In house

In Riga Flight School facilities we provide an in-house ICAO english examination. The examination takes place at our facilities in Spilve Airport in Riga, the check is preformed by a Language Proficiency Examiner (LPE) in person and takes about 60 minutes. The examination has two parts: semi-direct, when the candidate is offered prerecorded random sample of audio questions, some of which contain visual aids (pictures), and a free form interview where the candidate and the LPE converse for about 15 minutes.

On-Line

Our LPE offers an online language proficiency service. The examination is carried out using zoom software. The process of the examination is very similar to the in house except that the candidate is at remote location. To take the online examination the candidate needs: .

  • computer with camera
  • zoom software
  • microphone
  • speakers

During the examination the LPE will send question links to the candidate which the latter will play on his computer. Speakers need to be used so the LPE can hear the questions being played on the candidate’s computer.

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Result

Using both methods the issuing authority (Austro Control) requires a second examiner to participate in grading. Therefore, all our exams are recorded and sent to a Language Proficiency Linguistic Expert (LPLE). Usually the candidate receives the exam result and grading without 24-48 hours.

Image description examination is provided under the authority of Austro Control