The Emery-Roberts Benchmark English Test for Aviation (BETA) is a quick and cost-effective benchmark language test for aviation operations personnel (pilots and air traffic controllers). It produces a sufficiently accurate measure of language proficiency to allow organisations (airlines, air traffic control centres, training centres) to:
- Determine current proficiency levels of operations personnel
- Set a budget and develop a programme for language training
- Place pilots and controllers in suitable language training programmes
- Select appropriate language training courseware for classroom use and self-access (CBT/WBT)
- Diagnose particular language training needs of individual pilots and controllers.
Test Construction
BETA is based on the recommendations of ICAO Document 9835, Manual on the Implementation of the Language Proficiency Requirements. It tests plain English in a work-related context (Section 2.7.3) and language proficiency in unexpected situations (Section 2.7.4). It is designed to elicit a sample of the communicative functions of the language of radiotelephony (Appendix B, Part I) and the priority lexical domains of aviation English (Appendix B, Part III).
Test Use
BETA is an initial benchmark test of plain English. It is not a test of operational procedure, technical knowledge or radiotelephony phraseology. BETA should only be used for benchmarking personnel, and should not be used for licensing.
Test delivery and structure
BETA is a direct face-to-face test between an interlocutor and a pilot/controller and lasts from ten to twelve minutes. There are three parts to the test:
Part One – Introductory interview
Part one takes two to three minutes and gives the candidate an opportunity to ‘warm up’. The candidate is asked interview-style questions on familiar work-related topics.
Part Two – Plain English Readback
Part two takes two to three minutes and introduces listening comprehension of range of international accents. There are ten short plain English utterances in the context of aviation operations and radio-telephony communications. The candidate hears each utterance in turn and is required to describe what they hear after each one.
Part Three – Description and discussion
Part three takes three to four minutes and allows the candidate to demonstrate his/her ability to produce longer turns through extended description and discussion. In this final part the candidate is required to describe in detail an image of a non-routine or emergency situation in aviation operations. To conclude, the candidate is asked a series of discussion questions related to the image.
Test results
BETA candidates are assessed according to the ICAO Rating Scale and Holistic Descriptors by trained and experienced language raters. To monitor reliability, twenty percent of all tests are re-rated by a team of international raters from both aviation and language professions. Candidates receive a score in each of the six ICAO language profiles, Pronunciation, Structure, Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension, Interactions. All BETA tests are recorded and archived for future reference.
