We are very pleased to announced that ICAEA will be holding its next forum on 8th and 9th November 2012 in Brasilia, kindly hosted by ANAC, the Brazilian CAA, on the theme, "Training and Testing: Is there a common aim?". Registration is open click here and Adrian Enright, who is leading the organisation of the forum, will be giving us further information very shortly.
The ICAEA Board held its AGM, hosted by PANSA, in Warsaw on 8th and 9th March; a summary of the minutes can be read in "Board Meetings". click here
"Open the window and let in the fresh air"
Austro Control hosted an ICAO European & North Atlantic regional workshop on Language Proficiency Requirement (LPR) implementation in Vienna from 21st to 23rd February 2012 with great generosity, warmth and quiet efficiency. The workshop was primarily intended for regulators' representatives and LPR focal points in the region and 30 States were represented. It is encouraging to see how each workshop builds on the previous ones and achieves more focus, frank exchange and constructive outcomes. For more, click here
15/12/2011 - ICAO / ICAEA Rated Speech Samples Training Aid (RSSTA) Update
The 21 samples generated in the first rating phase of the RSSTA (September 2010 - February 2011) have now been handed over to the IT specialists at ICAO. A BETA version of the RSSTA has been created which is now undergoing testing and refinement before public release. We hope the RSSTA w ill be ready in early 2012.
The second rating phase of the RSSTA (August 2011 - December 2011) is now complete. This involved 20 raters working with an additional 54 speech samples, creating a further 2,646 rating data. Analysis is now underway, and we expect to hand over a second batch of reliable rated speech samples to ICAO in the New Year.
Members of the RSSTA project panel are now working on commentaries to accompany each of the speech samples on the ICAO website. We hope to have some commentaries ready in the second quarter of 2012.
We hope to have more news on the RSSTA soon.
ICAO test endorsement process
Two proficiency tests are currently (1st March) in the process of being evaluated for endorsement, several others have applied to undergo the endorsement process and yet more have opened an account and are taking the pre-evaluation questionnaire. The ICAO test endorsement site can be found at www.icao-aelte.org
UN NGO status
A plenary session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council in New York has confirmed the NGO status of ICAEA . I hope that, once our current heavy agenda is behind us that we will be able to build on this status to provide support, expertise, awareness-raising and teacher training within the bounds of our remit in the developing world. Here is the text of the document transmitted by the UN. click here
