Circular 318 AN/180 (Language Testing Criteria for Global Harmonization)
CAPITULO 5
5. ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
5.1 An aviation language Testing Service Provider (TSP) should provide clear information about its organization and its relationships with other organizations.
5.1.1 All associations or links with other organizations should be transparent and documented.
5. INFORMACIÓN DE ORGANIZACIÓN Y DE INFRAESTRUCTURA
5.1 Un proveedor del servicio de certificación de competencia lingüística de aviación (TSP) debe proporcionar información clara sobre su organización y sus relaciones con otras organizaciones.
5.1.1 Todas las asociaciones o vínculos con otras organizaciones debe ser transparentes y documentadas.
ELTA-OPENING es una asesoría académica privada legalmente constituida que no tiene vínculos con organizaciones nacionales o extranjeras y que cuenta con la acreditación de la Dirección General de Aviación Civil del Ecuador “DGAC” para certificar de manera oficial la competencia lingüística mediante la examinación TOEFA a pilotos, controladores aéreos y operadores de estación aeronáutica a nivel nacional de acuerdo con estándares y requerimientos internacionales requeridos por la OACI.
La examinación TOEFA es de competencia lingüística, mas no de competencia operacional.
Circular 318 de la OACI:
The use of ICAO standardized phraseology is AN OPERATIONAL SKILL that is taught by qualified aviation operational specialists and is acquired to the required level of proficiency by trainee pilots and controllers during operational training. Teaching and testing standardized phraseology is AN OPERATIONAL ISSUE, not a language proficiency issue. It follows that a test designed to evaluate knowledge or use of standardized phraseology CANNOT be used to assess plain language proficiency.
Doc 9835 de la OACI:
Direct, communicative proficiency tests of speaking and listening abilities are appropriate assessment tools for the aviation industry and will allow organizations to determine whether flight crews and air traffic controllers are able to meet the ICAO language proficiency Standards.
Human Factors experts have emphasized the threat of letting our “expectations” hinder our interpretation of reality. Sometimes, a complication or an unexpected event can lead to a communication breakdown. It is important for air traffic controllers and flight crews to have sufficient language proficiency and the strategic skills to manage a dialogue through any unexpected event.
Implementation of the ICAO language proficiency requirements cannot realistically completely eliminate all sources of miscommunication in radiotelephony communications. Rather, the goal is to ensure, as far as possible, that all speakers have sufficient proficiency in the language used to negotiate for meaning. While communication errors will probably never completely go away, disciplined use of ICAO phraseology, compliance with the ICAO language proficiency requirements, alert awareness of the potential pitfalls of language, and an understanding of the difficulties faced by non-native English speakers will enable pilots and controllers to more readily recognize communication errors and work around such errors.