Maintenance have often been a lower profile and less well defined area of English language training within Aviation. Technical English can be somewhat of a puzzle because of its simplified, concise grammatical structures. Recent technological developments (on board and ground computerization), increasing emphasis on Human Factors awareness and new FAR and EASA regulations invite a long, hard look at how the English language is taught and used in a maintenance and engineering environment.

Much has changed in the working environment of aircraft mechanics, e.g Glass cockpits, computerized documentation, FAR Parts 65/147 Optimization and Part 66, international cooperation between carriers, FAA form 1 and signing for release to service have passed their way. English language has become a indispensable tool in the aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) business.

Part 66 (Certifying Staff- Maintenance) specifies what had already become a generally accepted industry principle even if it was not always put into practice:

1. "Certifying staff should have a general knowledge of the language used within the Part 145 approved maintenance organisation including a knowledge of common aeronautical terms in the language. The level of knowledge should be such that the applicant is able to:

Read and understand the instructions and technical manuals in use within the organisation; make written technical entries and any maintenance documentation entries, which can be understood by those with whom they are normally required to communicate; read and understand company procedures; verbally communicate at such a level as to prevent any misunderstanding when exercising the privileges of their authorisation.

2. In all cases, the level of understanding needs to be compatible with the level of certification authorisation granted." (IEM 66.15(b)) Although it is not mentioned, it is a fact that the language in question is in most cases English.

The whole process and organization of release to service implies a much larger degree of personal autonomy and responsibility on the part of the AMT, as well as a larger proportion of his/her time spent on documentary tasks, than in the past. One aspect of this autonomy is greater access to and communication of information.

Previously, mechanics tended to work in their own language on translated job cards. Carriers have gradually abandoned the translation of their technical documentation into their local language for a number of reasons. It is very costly. It is a slow process that means that the translation of all revisions is always behind the actual revision causing the need to refer to the English original in any case. Each manipulation increases the probability of technical errors slipping into the documents. The carrier becomes legally liable for any such errors. Many carriers employ maintenance staff of a wide varieties of nationalities; a common working language is a necessity.

Commercial considerations are more and more important for MRO operators or maintenance stations; they must be in a position to work on third party aircraft with their specific documentation which is invariably in English. Airlines belong to alliances and often shift maintenance loads between themselves for questions of cost efficiency or availability; in these conditions they need to be able to refer to a single common language.

The airlines also tend to 'customize 'their documents less, for reasons of cost and standardization, preferring to use the manufacturers' documentation as it stands. Boeing, Airbus, ATR, Bombardier, Embraer, Saab aircraft 'speak' English.

The same concern for cost effectiveness and creating a single-language loop for both training and production, and the manufacturers' capacity to produce customized packages, also causes the carriers to standardize their training courseware and use existing CBT and Training Manual material instead of producing their own. To be effective, this choice obviously requires greater literacy on the part of the trainees.

As we saw above, MRO is fast becoming much more of a commercial activity attempting not only to save money but to make profits with the need for efficiency, reactivity and cost-effectiveness than the inevitable drag on operating costs that it was still considered to be a few years ago.

Glass cockpits, fly by wire, system monitoring, traceablity, on-board testing and troubleshooting devices, lap-top engineering have all brought with them an English-language computer interface and increased the reading load on the AMT both on board and in the hangar or workshop.

Aircraft technicians are less the specialized craftsmen they used to be and more multi-skilled operatives doing less in-depth work (very often it is enough to change a printed circuit board or a whole box or simply reset a system from the MCDU), but expected to cover a wider range of techniques and assimilate change as it occurs (modifications, revisions, on-job training, in-time training - in English). The documentation they use has changed in content and especially in presentation: cubic meters of paper documents and kilometers of microfilm have been replaced by CD ROM and on-line local or web-based documentation. Consulting several documents and finding cross references instantaneously is now possible, but has brought with it new and sometimes more demanding and selective reading habits.

Given the worldwide shortage of qualified technicians and the desire for cost efficiency, resulting in some maintenance operations being relocated, the job of the aircraft technician is becoming a more itinerant one producing teams with mixed nationalities.

Aircraft technicians use the English language, whether they are native English speakers or not, in four basic language skills : reading, writing, listening and speaking.

In terms of time spent, reading large amounts of technical documentation represents the predominant use of the language. It has been estimated that in the course of his job even an American native English-speaking aircraft technician may spend over 20% of his working time consulting written information.

Reading prevails over the other skills, to be more precise reading for information characterized by comprehension and application of maintenance manual instructions. This does not mean that reading is the only skill that should be emphasized through out the course, but it most definitely plays a significant role and should be the central point around which the other skills rotate.

The written information comes in the form of the Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM), Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC), Troubleshooting Manual (TSM), Service Bulletins (SB), Airworthiness Directives (AD), Service Information Letters (SIL), Structural Repair Manual (SRM) or Component Maintenance Manual (CMM) and Engine Shop Manual (ESM) in the case of component and engine overhaul and job cards derived from the above documents by the operator's Engineering department. It represents literally tens of thousands of pages in paper, microfilm, CD ROM or on-line form.

If AMTs have basic knowledge of the English language the grammar structures used in Technical English are easily identifiable because of redundancy and simplicity. In order for technicians to be able to carry out a given task, they must be able to analyze the grammar structure and comprehend the message it is conveying; therefore, a large part of the grammar analysis should focus on the use, as well as, the meaning of these various forms. It is essential that the students’ perception be clear, that they can distinguish between a command and a job description, hence forth, obtaining an overall view of the picture. After the reader has acquired a basic idea of how the language works, skimming should be introduced, this technique enables the reader to decide whether or not the text will be of use to him.

Vocabulary – in this type of course vocabulary can be broken down into two major categories: basic technical vocabulary and specific aeronautic terminology. If one take a glimpse of any aeronautic overhaul manual one will notice that certain abbreviations, as well as, certain terms can be found in all of them regardless of the job description.

Therefore, the course syllabus designed will have to be divided into two parts. The first part of the course will be more generic due to the fact that it focuses on the basics of English teaching; where as, in the second part of the course specific job descriptions should be dealt with more thoroughly.

In the first part of the course the students will have an opportunity to get acquainted with the language, learn basic grammar structures that will eventually be implemented in the second part of the course. Part one (Basic Technical English) may be taught by an English Language instructor. While part two should be taught by an aeronautic expert or someone that is knowledgeable enough to carry out the program properly.

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