The English for Aviation Language Test (EALT) is a test of English language proficiency in the context of aviation specifically developed in response to the ICAO 2008 Language Proficiency Requirements.

The EALT is intended for flight crew and air traffic control personnel requiring the assessment and certification of their English language proficiency in accordance with the ICAO March 2008 standard. The EALT allows non-native English speaking aviation personnel to demonstrate their proficiency in the English language in the context of aviation and aeronautical communications. Although designed for operational personnel, set in the context of the operational environment, and reflecting language use in professional situations, the focus of the test is on language proficiency, not on operational procedures.

The EALT is a valid, reliable and practical test for use by the aviation industry in the language proficiency assessment of its personnel. Comprising the EALT Test of Listening and the EALT Test of Speaking, the EALT is a comprehensive test of communicative competence in which the demonstration of a candidate’s actual listening and speaking ability in English is required. Both parts of the EALTS are administered and assessed by approved and certified examiners with the candidates being rated against the criteria contained in the ICAO Language Proficiency Rating Scale and the ICAO Holistic Descriptors of operational language proficiency. Candidates are awarded their final ratings after the independent assessments of a minimum of four accredited assessors.

The EALT assesses across the full range of the ICAO Language Proficiency Rating Scale (Pre-elementary Level 1 - Expert Level 6) and in each of the six discrete features of language (pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and interaction).

Combining specialist input from subject matter experts, qualified and experienced language assessors, language trainers and aviation professionals with current research in oral language testing and assessment best practice, the EALT has been developed with detailed reference to ICAO Doc 9835: Manual on the Implementation of ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements and ICAO Cir 318-AN180 Global Harmonisation of Testing Criteria and is fully compliant with all relevant ICAO standards and recommended practices and associated supporting guidelines.

The innovative design of the EALT allows it to be customised to suit the operational aviation environment of individual candidates. These adaptations are not, in themselves, specialised tests of distinct varieties of language proficiency but have been developed as a consideration of the comfort of the test taker. There are adaptations available for flight crew and air traffic controllers, and further separate adaptations for pilots of heavy and light aircraft both fixed- and rotary-wing, and Tower, En Route and Approach controllers. The assessment criteria remain the same in all test adaptations.

The EALT is an appropriate tool for obtaining the necessary gradable language sample from which can be made accurate and reliable assessments of language proficiency for professional licensing purposes in accordance with the ICAO 2008 Language Proficiency Requirements.