When you start an ICAO Aviation English course it is very important that you start a course at the correct level. This is because:
The difficulty is that the ICAO scale is not of equal length, eg the time needed to improve from level 3 to 4 is much longer than the time needed to improve from level 2 to 3. Therefore it is very important that you take an ICAO Placement Test before you start a course so you can find out exactly where you are on the ICAO English scale.
This is true even if you have already had an assessment from an ICAO rater. You need to find out if you are in the upper or lower sector of the band, and which specific skills need to be improved.
The ICAO Aviation English course divides each of the ICAO English levels into upper and lower levels.
The ICAO Placement Test is used to determine exactly which level course you need, and which skills need to be improved.
The test has two parts: a 60-minute online test and a 10-minute telephone test so you can be sure that it is accurate.
The language test is appropriate for pilots, controllers, flight-deck personnel, cadet pilots and ab initios. The ICAO Placement Test is different from an actual ICAO English Test in that it is suitable for trainees who have not yet learned specific aviation phraseology. The test measures English language proficiency, not subject-specific knowledge.
The test is also suitable for people who want to find out where they are on the ICAO scale before they attend an ICAO English test to see if any English training is needed.