Learn how to apply the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements with a blend of course material and online meetings in our 30-hour course.Learn how to apply the ICAO Rating Scale to test performances with our new 40-hour online rater course.
The course is a mix of self-access reading / listening activities (25 hours) and online group discussions (15 hours) led by our experienced rating team. Click here to see a full breakdown of how the course works day by day.
The course is suitable for those with a background in aviation generally who are not familiar with language testing issues, and want to know how to apply the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements for Plain English testing. It’s equally suitable for teachers or language trainers who are not particularly familiar with aviation English language testing.
The instructors have many years of experience testing aviation English, developing aviation English tests and training raters. We all have Master degrees in Language Testing from Lancaster University.
Read full details about the course here.
Please note! In order to work well, we need a minimum number of course participants. And you should read the pre-requisites here. After you register your interest for the course, we’ll be in touch to discuss details about how and when the course will proceed.
The timings of these meetings will depend on the time zones of everyone who enrolled for the course: we will do our best to accommodate everyone. The daily 3-hour meetings typically start between 0900 and 1100 UK time. But, until the meeting times are arranged, you should make yourself available throughout the whole week to join the meetings. If you cannot attend one session we can arrange to record it for you.
A full course certificate is earned through several factors. These include satisfactory completion of the rating task after the course, in which trainees must demonstrate consistent competence in the rating of speech samples, and observations from the trainers during the training sessions. We wish to see evidence of knowledge gained from the online modules and discussion of suitable linguistic evidence to justify ratings appropriately.
Deniz Türkmen (verified owner) –
As an Aviation English teacher, I have newly completed the course. The Lenguax team is highly professional and experienced, also very cooperative. We gained a deep understanding of the ICAO descriptors and learnt all the details about them. The atmosphere was very friendly and our affective filters were down throughout the course thanks to Paul and Ben. I’m grateful, and recommend the course.
DHARMENDER KUMAR –
I have just completed Rater course in Lenguax. I found all the people very nice, cooperative and knowledgeable. All the candidates were guided properly so that they could understand various parameters of assessment. I congratulate and thank Mr. Ben, Mr. Paul and Mr. Tyrone for good guidance.
Thank you all & regards
Takuya Yamamoto –
Very beneficial, and I’m glad I participated!
I have been doing lessons in aviation English with my colleagues and trainees in the airline company as a pilot, and through this course, I gained the knowledge to provide more professional advice needed during these sessions. I believe this will contribute to improving the English proficiency within our company, and I’m motivated to take further actions. Ultimately, this should lead to an even safer sky.
Regarding the lessons, I appreciated that they did not dive straight into the main topic. Instead, we started with ice-breakers that allowed participants to chat with each other. This facilitated ease in subsequent discussions. We were able to do inputs before every lesson by reading and listening to the contents, and the lessons themselves focused on outputs with some further inputs as well. This approach ensured good retention of the material.
I highly recommend this course to people who are conscious of their English level in their home country and those who want to contribute to improving the English levels of their peers!
Polina Novikova –
This is my 3rd ELP Rater Certificate! Actually I passed both on-line and face-to-face ELP courses in Leguax and both of them are very helpful! As I have linguistic background the course gave me an opportunity to develop, strengthen and practice my skills in rating. At the same time when you first look at the ICAO descriptors it really seems that you will never understand and be able to differentiate 6 from 5, or 5 from 4 :). But with the great assistance of Leguax experts who met us in Brighton, UK this time all processes went smoothly. It was great venue, perfect time and kindest people gathered together in one place.
Marc Hanefeld (verified owner) –
Excellent course for the ICAO language rating. Mentioned and accepted by my aviation authority, I booked the course, and I can say that I never regretted doing so. Lectures are absolutely brilliant, cut into small digestible pieces and inviting for “binge hearing” and supplemented by detailed material. During the course itself, the trainers created an excellent and friendly learning atmosphere. The discussion with different participants from all over the world was very interesting, and continuous progress could be registered. I feel well prepared to act as an examiner now, and I would recommend Lenguax to anyone. Awesome job, guys!
Barbara Biro (verified owner) –
Excellent and remarkable in-person refresher course in Brighton.
With Lenguax, you can’t go wrong! – whether it’s an online or an in-person course.
I recommend visiting the UK though.
It gives you a chance to meet the Team, get to know your Group, socialise and visit Brighton as well.
Well structured, dynamic and thorough course with outstanding trainers.
They know what they’re talking about, but they are also capable of listening and providing great insightful advice.
I could not recommend them more.
Really enjoyed and look forward to learning more in the future, thanks Tyrone, Ben and Paul!
Julia Daina (verified owner) –
The Aviation English Rater Course is a superb introduction to AELT. It provides a detailed yet accessible knowledge base of relevant language and industry terminology, grounded in linguistic and operational expertise. The Lenguax team is highly experienced and classes were very well moderated, bringing together a variety of participants. It was a pleasure to engage with and learn from the other professionals in attendance. I wholeheartedly recommend this course, which is an excellent development tool for those providing training and working in or aspiring to work in aviation.
David Johnson –
Just to say thank you To Ben, Tyrone and Paul for the brilliant English language raters’ course. As a newbie linguist, I found the course very interesting and really well delivered. There was ample rating practice Content, and really insightful commentary. The Lenguax guide to the 9835 descriptors and levels is really useful! Thanks again guys!
Owen Robertson –
An excellent course with very knowledgeable, experienced and friendly language testing and aviation experts. The tutorials, alongside Lenguax’s materials, are an efficient way to accurately and consistently interpret the ICAO Descriptors. For anyone who is looking to get their foot in the door of Aviation English, this is the way to go! Thank you Paul, Tyrone, Ben and the Lenguax Team — I will definitely be back!
Wayne Stynder –
A masterclass in ICAO Aviation English Rating. Highly recommended. A treasure trove of knowledge delivered effectively and efficiently.
Tanya Kiss (verified owner) –
As an Air Traffic Controller I was interested in learning how to incorporate my passions for aviation, teaching and English and this course has certainly allowed me to take the first steps in achieving my goals. The course was well structured and interesting. Both Ben and Tyrone are professional, knowledgeable and interesting. They kept our class engaged throughout the course. Group discussions were valuable and well facilitated. They were also friendly, approachable and willing to assist us in any way that they could. The content of the course was clearly written and user friendly. The quizzes and examples within each module were helpful and informative. Thank you very much to my class, tutors and Lenguax for an excellent course which I would recommend to anyone interested in becoming an ELP rater.
Jasser Chahine –
I was completely taken by surprise by this course. From day two, it was clear to me that this is the new gold standard in Aviation English rating. The didactic material is detailed and easy to digest. The examples and exercises are on point and help crystallize the theoretical knowledge in a smooth and effortless way. The evidence based methodology, both in rater training and in candidate assessment, is noting short of superb!!! Being an air traffic controller and a training manager, this course ticks all the right boxes and then some. It exceeded my expectations by a long shot! This is not just a course, it is a transfer of competency and experience that is assured to arm one with the tools one needs to begin dabbling in AELT.
Even better still, Lenguax has a system to evaluate rater performance!
Nigar Karimova –
This is my second time studying Aviation English Rater Course with Lenguax! Great team and very informative course for both operations specialists and language experts!
David Davies –
My course was completed in early March 2022. I found the course to be very well designed and presented. All the Instructors are long-time English Language professionals. I enjoyed the online experience immensely. My background is Air Traffic Control, so it was beneficial to update and improve my skill set. I would have no hesitation in recommending this course to potential candidates who are considering this course. I am very pleased with the end result.
Paolo Gramigna (verified owner) –
I was certified as a Rater at an alternative provider about ten years ago, and I have performed nearly 2.000 Tests. Still, I felt it necessary to refresh and update my skills formally and professionally. I enrolled in the Lenguax course and was led through a very detailed and accurate study, covering all aspects of Rating. I’m not a Linguist but a Commercial Pilot; the course helped me hone my linguistic skills to assign the correct level to all candidates. I strongly recommend that all Raters refresh their knowledge by following a periodic refreshing course, and the Lenguax one is the best I’ve seen in all my experience.
Firas Sallam (verified owner) –
As an aviation training expert attending this course I can say that the course was incredibly valuable. The course was a well planned flight with gradual climb to the desired “level”. The course goals were practically designed and we could reach them through the daily activities, notes and tips by the instructor.
Additionally , the course exercises were very relevant to the topics and provided great feedback towards improvement. The hands-on experience were very essential to the success of this course and allowed us to think more critically and analytically about ICAO Language Proficiency Rating skills.
I thoroughly appreciated the use of concrete examples of previous airmen tests who scored various LP levels, those examples were as reference
points throughout the course to adjust our rating skills.
I would highly recommend this instructor and course.
FRANCISCUS DE HAAS (verified owner) –
Amazing Course for Aviation English Examiners. Ben is an excellent instructor, he gave the course in a dynamic and interactive way, so everyone participated many times. All the examples presented were very clear, applicable to the real Aviation environment. As a Pilot flying for seven airlines around the world during my 39 years career, I got a clear understanding of the evidence for rating. Sure this course will help me giving accurate and fair ratings to the candidates.
Gregory Marston (verified owner) –
This fantastic course guided me to be able to conduct AELP assessments within Australia. It was very well structured, insightful and delivered in both a meaningful and gentle way. 10/10 Lenguax.
Brett Wallick (verified owner) –
I’ve been rating ICAO exams for many years already, and Lenguax’s Online Aviation English Rater Course is by far the best training of its type I’ve ever seen. This 5-day course was extremely well presented by an incredibly well-qualified (yet affable and good-humored) team of instructors (thanks Tyrone, Ben, and Paul), and the online course content modules were engaging and useful.
I would strongly recommended this course to anyone interested in becoming an Aviation English Rater — they need not look any further. Well done, Lenguax!
Kristos Konstandopoulos (verified owner) –
I found the Aviation English Rater Course to be very thorough and informative. Combined with the professional team of trainers that Languax has, it has given me a very clear understanding of the principles and skills that need to be applied in the assessment of candidates. Full credit to the team at Lenguax for being able to clearly apply the complexities of the ICAO requirements to a more practical application of the same.
I will certainly be returning to Lenguax every 12 months to maintain my recency and currency for this course.
Graham Barr (verified owner) –
An excellent course, thank you very much Ben, Tyrone, Paul and others involved with the raters course.
I found the course to be interesting and very well structured allowing one to develop ones skills in an organized and logical manner. It was fascinating to hear and discuss ratings and assessments with individuals from many other countries and to get an understanding of their approach to this function.
I would highly recommend Lenguax’s Aviation English Examiners Course to anyone serious about training and testing English in aviation.
John Accorinti (verified owner) –
I attended the rater’s course as part of my recurrent training and I’m very satisfied with it. Paul, Tyrone, Ben and the rest of the team did an amazing job developing an excellent course. I particularly liked the structure of the course: the online materials, the analysis of tests and the way the ICAO descriptors were included in our rating sessions. The online sessions and discussions with colleagues from different countries and backgrounds were fun, stimulating and useful, and it helped me to better structure and perform the tests I have to score. I can definitely recommend it !
Sandeywison Silva (verified owner) –
Amazing course guided by the best teachers and tutors I have ever had the chance to interact with. At the same time that the lessons were meticulously prepared to build the knowledge from scratch brick by brick were also created for those who already have experience in the role. Long story short, through interesting self study experience provided by the online modules and the dynamic and cheerful zoom meetings I had the chance to enhance my ideas and concepts towards Aviation English Rating. I would like to leave here my positive recommendation for those who are looking for a serious and well prepared company to invest his\her intellectual capital.
Thank you Lenguax team for everything.
Santiago PRIETO (verified owner) –
Simply great.
A week of eye-opening, in-depth exploration of the LPRs, doc 9835, and the grey lines that divide the levels.
I am extremely grateful for going through the training.
William Dunn (verified owner) –
Extremely satisfied with the rater’s course. It was very well organised, with an abundance of self study materials and ample opportunities to practice rating in the face to face sessions (via Zoom). The structure of the course was great, taking each of the six ICAO descriptors and cumulatively building them up until we could consider all of them simultaneously in our rating process. The daily contact sessions had a very supportive atmosphere and had all the benefits of working in a group to reach a common objective, just like in a real classroom! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Lenguax’s training to anyone!
Thanks and good luck to all 🙂
Barbara Biro (verified owner) –
A MUST!! For anyone who is serious about English Language Testing and/or Aviation English Rating no matter how much experience they have.
It’s a very thorough, practical and well managed course led by fantastic professionals.
I found the exercises during the online lessons very interesting and challenging. – the lovely group and family atmosphere helped a lot!
The additional (interactive) content on the website is also very clear and useful; it helps the student raters deepen their knowledge and prepares them for the upcoming lesson as well.
The group discussions give a real-life feeling – it’s interesting to see how much we influence each other and also how harsh or lenient we are compared to other raters.
I’m confident that this course provides a solid and essential base for raters. Thanks so much to Paul and the team for sharing their knowledge with me and guiding me in the right direction in order to become a successful rater.
Looking forward to the annual refresher!
Good luck to all!
Jörg Werner (verified owner) –
The course showed how important it is to strive for greater things. The family atmosphere made it very easy for us to follow the lessons. Thanks to all!
Harald Schwertfeger (verified owner) –
A great learning experience and a lot of fun with a highly motivated group of students!
I did not expect to be confronted with so much academic background knowledge, but it definitely makes sense to achieve consistent scores. This course motivated me to better structure and document all the tests, which I have to score.
Well done Paul! Thank you
Anthony Cherfan (verified owner) –
There is no doubt about the high quality of the course. The material available before and during the course has made it so easy to learn the content of a subject that is not the easiest. Paul has yet again demonstrated an amazing knowledge in facilitation and course content preparation. I can easily say that with this well organised training, I have gained a solid knowledge and structure of the ICAO ELP rating.
Evelyne Vidal (verified owner) –
Excellent online course!
I loved the way it is designed and delivered – being to the point, well-structured and well-researched.
I learned a lot of “hows” and “whys” and I enjoyed the use of the authentic material with a wide range of nationalities, accents, fluency and language levels of course!
An added bonus was the audio/script coverage on the main learning material and the pdf form of downloadable “cheat sheets” to help ensure competent and reliable rating.
Great value for money – so a big thank you!
Evelyne Vidal – Certified Aviation English Trainer ex Cabin Crew
Damon Freeman (verified owner) –
Well done Paul, Tyrone and the Lenguax team on developing an excellent course for raters. The material is very informative and well presented and the online interaction and discussion with colleagues from different parts of the world and backgrounds were very valuable. A worthwhile course to take that I can recommend. Thank you!
Alexandru Roman (verified owner) –
Very useful course to pass for English language raters, it gives you a deeper understanding of ICAO rating scale descriptors which we applied throughout the course. Thanks to a highly qualified team of trainers who helped me through the complexities of Aviation English rating!
Marcus Alder (verified owner) –
As an Air Traffic Controller for over 20 years I was looking to develop my skill set. I have always been interested in language and the Aviation English Rater qualification seemed like a logical choice. A colleague pointed me in the direction of Lenguax. The course was conducted over 5 days and covered in detail all the required elements of Aviation English Language rating with numerous test examples to quantify the lessons. The course was well presented by the instructor who provided detailed advice and encouragement. By the time the final assessment came around I felt as prepared as I had ever been for an assessment and I’m pleased to say I can now call myself an Aviation English Rater. Anyone considering taking this step in their career development need look no further than Lenguax.