Plain English - expecting the unexpected

You may be sort of confused because how a person can expect something that is not expected. But to tell you the truth, pilots need to have this feeling. Ask yourself how many times you have already faced an event you had not been waiting for. I'm almost sure you would say you've faced some...

Nevertheless, you would be able to explain them to anyone the way they happened by providing details of some important points using your mother language, wouldn't you? And if you had the necessity to describe these events/situations to one of your American/British friends? Could you do it?

Now, imagine yourself as the captain/first officer of an airplane heading for any other country where the usage of English is essential, and during the approach you find your plane is surrounded by a large number of birds. How would you communicate the situation to the controller? Go ahead and try.

Did you get it? Doing it or not what I am trying to explain is why plain/general/academic English is important for communication in unexpected situations. Please read the article below.

Summary of Aviation English language

Aviation English (AE) is split into three key areas;

1. Phraseology,
2. Plain English and
3. General English.

All three areas work side by side to create language ‘moments’ in the sky and on the ground. Phraseology is the scripted communication that every pilot and controller has been trained to use. Plain English is a way to communicate simply without use of over-complex language. It may help to aid understanding and deliver the meaning of something and indeed save lives in certain situations. General English is not a specific part of many Aviation English courses but it is integrated and assumed. You need General English as the foundation before you add the building blocks to create your dream home.

The main rule is that you cannot have one linguistic area without the other. It is a fair assumption that some people discredit or rather devalue the use of ‘plain’ and General English in Aviation English, but the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) completely disagree. ICAO state that pilots/controllers at level 4 standard can “handle successfully with relative ease the linguistic challenges presented by a complication or unexpected turn of events.” After all, unforeseen events in the sky may not be as predictable as a holding pattern around London Heathrow.

Attention: Phraseology will not get you out of every situation

The official phraseology used by aviation personnel is highly specific and fine-tuned, it will form the basis of all flights, and is indeed a ‘special’ feature of Aviation English. Phraseology is the result of decades of expert knowledge due to accidents, incidents and logic. The framework needed to get from A to B safely. However, it is not enough and you need Plain and General English to get you out of strange and unpredictable problems. English is one of the most important aspects of ICAO level 4 and above language testing. For example, what if there are animals loose in the aircraft? What if there is a piece of luggage blocking the taxiway? How would you explain this to a controller in English?

Professional Aviation English practice will help you integrate all 3 aspects of Aviation English language. This is done by training you to use a wide range of language skills to get you out of those ‘sticky situations’ when you need to explain an unusual situation. The ICAO level 4 requirements state, “(this person) can often paraphrase successfully when lacking in vocabulary for unexpected circumstances.” This requirement means that you do not need to know every word in aviation or general English, but you do need to know how to get around not knowing certain vocabulary.

Why VFR into IMC?

Some accidents aren't. That is, they do not fit the definition of being unexpected or unforseen events.

The results of pilots flying VFR into instrument meteorological conditions, or VFR into IMC, really are no surprise. The most recent Nall Report, the Air Safety Foundation's annual review of accidents that is published each spring, noted that there were 33 accidents in 2001 where the NTSB reported pilots getting into clouds when they weren't on an IFR flight plan.

In a few cases there might be some extenuating circumstances resulting from unforecast weather. It's rare but it happens. In many more cases there were clear warning signs that the pilot overlooked out of ignorance or carelessness. In the majority of these crashes it appears that the pilots made the decision to launch, or continue, into weather that was clearly inappropriate for their skills or the flight rules under which they chose to operate.

An interview after the crash might unravel the thought process behind what has to be one of the highest-risk activities in aviation. Unfortunately, we don't get to talk with many of the pilots because very few survive the experience. Some possible answers: "I couldn't see the clouds into which I was flying because other clouds were obscuring my vision;" or, "The layers were pretty thin and I felt I could get on top (or underneath) before losing control;" or, "I've always been a little foggy about that temperature/dew point relationship;" or, "I've done this many times and never had a problem, until today." This last one might be the most popular.

There are two scenarios regarding the impacts: out of control, typically in a spiral or with the aircraft disassembling itself after the flight exceeds VNE; and in level flight and in control, right up to the sudden stop. An example of each is offered below when a pilot goes into IMC conditions. Although it is a very serious situation and some people may consider it sort of funny, we still can use it to learn Aviation English phraseology in a totally non-routine event. 

By Bruce Landsberg

United pilots confused on runway

The fact we have to use ICAO phraseology is something really important. However, by just using ICAO phraseology, it does not necessarily mean we've done all the hard work. 

In order not to involve oneself in an incident/accident, pilots should always be vigilant especially when taxing at unknown airports. Unfortunately, even knowing all these rules there are some pilots who still keep taxing with their heads down, chatting around instead of being aware of what it is going on and around the aircraft.

So, if you are really keen on learning more and more about phraseology, do not forget that this is a two-way track, that is, you have to readback and hearback what the controller says. Therefore, I ask you to watch the video below and think of what if you were in that situation? Would you do anything different? How would you react? And what about the phraseology? Would you be able to handle that communication?

Bad Aviation English - how far it can get you

Everybody in the aviation area knows the importance of having a good command of English. Nonetheless, we still come across some miscommunications due to English-related problems. Below you will see a video where an Air China's pilot tries to communicate with JFK Ground controller. Because of his bad command of the English language he messes up everything.

FAA Runway Safety Videos - how important it is to be ready

How important do you think it is to practice listening, comprehension and writing? Well, one thing you need to know is that in order to master your aviation English you do have to work hard, break your back studying and not just cramming for the test. In fact, as far as I know if you want to do well on your ICAO test there three things you should do: practice, practice and practice.

You may have been thinking you do not have to preapre that much, you are doing great because you have studied English some time ago, you are an intermediate student as well, that is, I know how to communicate myself in several situations. But, the question here is "are you able to handle an unpredictable event?" or "are you ready for a turn of events?". Unless you have answered yes for both of the questions, you should really think twice before taking Aviation English for granted.

As a matter of fact, if you want to get ready for the test and for your life in aviation, you have to improve your listening, writing and comprehension by following the instructions and watching the videos below. So, let's get a move on it!

Sit in on the initial flight crew briefing for an international flight! Listen to the pre-departure briefing for a commuter airline flight! (Remember to check your compass and heading indicator to make sure you’re on the right runway!)

The FAA runway safety videos below are great for training your listening comprehension. They put you right in the middle of the action. Here are some suggestions for getting the most benefit:

1. Pretend you are also a member of the flight crew, and that you must understand and remember what is said as part of your job. (This is not so unrealistic or “far fetched”. It is very possible that you may one day be the first officer for an English-speaking captain–or that you may be a captain with an English-speaking first officer.)

2. Listen to the video the whole way through several times. They are all less than 6 minutes long. Try to catch the key information such as weather conditions, airport conditions, taxiways, runways, and ATIS information. Write down notes of things that you, as a crew member, would want to remember.

3. Go back and listen to the video in small segments of 10 to 20 seconds each. If you did not understand what was said, replay that segment and listen to it several times more. Often, native speakers say less important words rapidly or unclearly, leaving you to guess what they said. You will find that each time you hear it, you will be able to understand a little more of what was said, even if you cannot catch all of the words.

4. After a while, listen to the video the whole way through again. You will find that your listening comprehension has definitely improved. Then, when you have the time, go on and repeat these four steps with the other two videos.

1) Initial briefing - The setting for this video is the first-time meeting between a captain, first officer, and flight engineer who will be flying a Boeing 747 on an international charter flight.

2) Pre-Departure Briefing - This video is filmed in the cockpit of a commercial airliner where the captain and first officer are reviewing information and procedures prior to takeoff.

3) Pre-Arrival Briefing - This video takes place in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 preparing for an arrival at an East Coast airport under challenging weather conditions.

Working with Past Tenses - General and Aviation English Points

In this article we are going to explore the use of past tenses in English, by examining an incident that  happened unexpectedly during flight.  Tenses are an essential part of plain English, as you can use tenses to indicate the time and sequence that something happened.  At ICAO level 4 the requirements for structure are that:

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are used creatively and are usually well controlled. Errors may occur, particularly in unusual or unexpected circumstances, but rarely interfere with meaning.

Relevant grammatical structures are determined by language functions appropriate to the task.  This means that you need to be proficient in grammatical structures that are used in flight operations.  It is expected that you will make some grammatical errors eg such errors that could occur in non-routine situations, but the meaning is generally understood.

This article includes short exercises for comprehension, structure, vocabulary and pronunciation. The tenses examined include:

• Past simple
• Past continuous
• Past perfect
• Past perfect continuous

Activity

Watch the above video then answer the following questions.

Comprehension questions

Are the following statements true or false?

1. The incident happened in the USA.
2. There was a problem with the pilot’s microphone.
3. The controller declared an emergency.
4. The pilot was slurring his speech because he was drunk.
5. The pilot requested vectors for Cincinatti.
6. The pilot was suffering from hypoxia
7. The pilot couldn’t control the altitude, speed or heading.
8. The aircraft crashed in Athens, Greece in 2005.

You can email your answers to exercise@aviationenglish.asia and we’ll give you some feedback.  Now let’s take a look at some of the structures used in an account of the incident.

Structure – past simple and past perfect

Past simple is used to talk about complete actions in the past.  Past perfect is used to talk about an earlier past (except when it is part of a logical sequence).  Read the following text and answer the questions.

Flight KFS-66 was enroute at approximately FL320 and had just checked-in with Cleveland’s Air Route Traffic Control Centre, when the controller noticed the microphone of KFS-66 was continuously keyed.

• Which of the above words are verbs, adjectives and adverbs?
• Which of the above phrases describe “short actions”?
• Which of the above phrases describe states or conditions?
• In what order did the above events occur?

Structure – past continuous and past simple

Past continuous is used to talk about a long action at a specific time in the past or an action at a specific time in the past that gets interrupted by something.

While the primary controller was trying (with the aid of a second pilot in another aircraft) to understand what the crewwere reporting, his colleague Stephanie Bevins tuned the radio frequency and recognised that the crew were sufferingfrom severe hypoxia.

• Which of the above are long actions and which are short actions?
• Draw a timeline to show the sequence of events.
• What is the difference between using while and when?

Structure – past simple and past perfect continuous

Past perfect continuous is used to talk about (a) something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past, or (b) the cause of something in the past.

The airplane descended to 11000 feet, where the crew of the Learjet recovered and began to respond normally again.  They subsequently confirmed that they had been sufferingfrom hypoxia.  The airplane continued to Detroit’s Willow Run Airport, where it landed safely.

• Are all the events in the above paragraph related in chronological order?
• Why does the paragraph use had been suffering instead of were suffering?

Vocabulary

• report
• suffer
• recover
• descend
• recognise
• key
• confirm
• en route
• check-in
• hypoxia

Which of the above words mean:

• a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues
• an act of reporting one’s presence
• to return to a normal state
• during the course of a journey
• to state that something said previously is correct
• to move downwards
• to give a spoken or written account of something
• to enter or operate
• to experience something unpleasant
• to acknowledge the existence of something

Pronunciation

How do you say the following verbs in their past simple form?

• report
• suffer
• recover
• descend
• recognise
• key
• confirm
• check-in

What sound do the verbs end in – /d/ /t/ or /id/ ?

Sample Questions for the ICAO English Test

There are many different types of ICAO English test. Some ICAO tests are created by independent testing institutions eg RELTA, VAET, TEA and EALTA whereas others are created and administered by airlines themselves. Some ICAO tests focus on your ability to use technical vocabulary, and what you would say in a particular situation during flight, others are more focused on plain English and your ability to talk about unexpected situations. We’ve even heard of some ICAO tests being purely conversational. With so many different types of ICAO test it’s difficult to know how you should prepare for the test.

We don’t recommend that you try and memorise expected answers to a test, but you can predict the kind of question that could be asked – particularly those that relate to giving personal information. In this article I will provide some sample test questions that you could realistically be expected to answer – not just for the ICAO English test but at many stages throughout your career.

Sample ICAO test questions

1. What’s your name and date of birth?
2. What do you like about your job?
3. How do your family feel about your job?
4. What aircraft would you most like to fly?
5. What is the best thing about being a pilot?
6. Did you ever have any doubts about becoming a pilot?
7. How did you become interested in aviation?
8. What do you do to maintain your health?
9. What is the most difficult part of your job?
10. What happened during your first solo?

Of course, your answers will be different from your colleagues so memorisation isn’t going to help. And yes, some people (not our students) really do try to memorise answers! You are going to need to be able to answer questions for yourself and in the correct tense, with suitable articles, prepositions and clauses.

You will also need sufficient plain English vocabulary to answer common questions. In short, your assessor will be able to find out a lot about your level of English by how you answer simple questions. So let’s practice grammar by looking at the questions above – consider which are about the past, which are about the present, and which are about the future? How would you answer them?

ICAO English test answers

These are some answers to questions asked in an ICAO English test. What do you think the questions were? The answers don’t necessarily relate to the questions above.

1. June 25th
2. Definitely the F14 Tomcat because of the swing wings
3. Being able to visit many different locations around the world.
4. I experienced some unexpected weather conditions.
5. They are very supportive but it requires a lot of hard work to maintain relationships.
6. As part of military service.
7. Ever since I was a child.
8. I used to collect model aircraft when I was a boy and I became fascinated about how they work.
9. Pampulha airport
10. Trip airline

Do not fail the ICAO English Test

People often look for advice about how to pass an ICAO English test, but don’t very often think about how they could fail it. Strictly speaking you can’t “fail” an ICAO test but you might not meet the required standard, which is for all intents and purposes … not good.  In this article I am going to point out some of the reasons you might under-perform in an ICAO English test. There are many different types of ICAO test and I’m not talking about any particular one but my advice applies to all of them. 

Reason One: Not realising the importance of English in aviation

Although you might think that time spent in the aviation English classroom can’t be as exciting as time in an aircraft – it’s not necessarily true. Aviation English is a valid and essential part of flight training for many non native speakers, regardless of their age and experience. Your future career prospects could depend on your proficiency in English. You might scrape through an english test with ICAO level 4 but remember that is the bare minimum requirement.  What level of English do you need to really advance in your career? What level of English do you need for truly safe flight operations?  Many tragic air disasters have been attributed to communication difficulties.  If you want to perform well in an ICAO English test a good first step is realising just how important quality Aviation English training is.

Reason Two: Not giving yourself sufficient time to prepare for an ICAO test

Learning English takes time and the more time you allow for yourself the more likely you are to perform well in the test. Cramming might work for preparing for an exam that tests knowledge but learning a language is different.  You need time to internalise the language, pronunciation is a muscular skill that takes time to develop.  There are some academic theories supporting intensive courses but in my experience intensive courses are only beneficial to those at a very early or very advanced stage. If you are at an intermediate level of English I recommend that you take your time over a course. You will probably enjoy learning English more if you don’t have time pressure.

Reason Three: Doing the wrong type of English course

This is quite tragic as we have heard stories about people who have enrolled on 18 month courses (paid in advance) with brand name English schools who fail to improve at all. It’s even more tragic as their English often gets worse because of the environment they learn in. If you are serious about an aviation career you need Aviation English. Other types of courses and coffee shop English tutors might be cheaper but they will ultimately waste your time and money because they do not effectively address your needs. General English has its place in Aviation English – it’s an essential part but should be practiced within a meaningful context.  This is true whether you are a commercial pilot or ab initio. And when you have the exciting world of aviation, where there are developments and dramas every day, why would you waste time on anything else?

Reason Four: Teachers using inappropriate learning materials

Creating authentic Aviation English learning materials takes a lot of time, specialist knowledge and skill from the Aviation English teacher. There are very few Aviation English learning materials available commercially so Aviation English teachers need to hand craft them to suit your needs. General English course books are designed to appeal to as many people as possible and then mass produced and shipped all over the world. They serve a purpose in that they make General English teachers’ lives easier because they can recycle the lessons with many different students – putting the teacher’s comfort ahead of your learning needs.  Regardless of whether you are in ground school or an experienced pilot you should be using English that is relevant to your life and an experienced Aviation English teacher will be able to create interesting lessons that allow for sufficient practice of that type of language.

Reason Five: Starting an English course at the wrong level

As pilots you may feel pressure to keep up with your colleagues who might have had different experiences in learning English. The truth is that you won’t lose face by starting at a lower level – just accept that you have had different experiences and have different strengths, English proficiency being one of them.  So, if you take a Placement Test and find that you are at a lower level than your friends or colleagues don’t feel any shame in starting a course at a lower level.  Similarly if you have a higher ability than your colleagues you shouldn’t hold yourself back – the result of starting a course at the wrong level is that you will find it too easy and get bored, or find it too difficult and get frustrated – then lose motivation.

Also be aware that franchised schools often try to sell courses that are longer than you really need.  Even worse is when a school gives you a ten minute computer placement test and then tells you your starting level without any assessment from an English teacher. Instead a consultant who knows nothing about learning English (or how to speak it) tells you your starting level and then how to improve. It’s the blind leading the blind. Usually the student finds a course difficult and struggles consistently and the teacher doesn’t have the heart to tell them that they are at the wrong level, so the student quickly loses motivation.

Get it right: How to perform well in an ICAO Aviation English Test

Motivation is a very important factor in learning English. The genre of aviation is also incredibly motivating for most people so don’t let your passion be affected by making one of the mistakes listed above. Aviation English  teachers are skilled in ensuring that learners are keen, motivated and developing good study habits.  Take advantage of our enthusiasm and arrange a free consultation.  We’ll introduce you to an effective course and study plan that is right for you.

by Michael Egerton

Keep your English up to date - Make my Day

Of all the mediums that influence language, I think film is the one that has the most effect. Not so much from the point of view of pronunciation and grammar. I don't think we pick up very many sounds and grammatical instructions from the films we see – but the catchphrases. Right from the earliest days of film, catchphrases have been extracted from the film medium and "make my day" I think is one of the most famous.

Well, you may remember it, it's Clint Eastwood, isn't it, playing Dirty Harry in the film Sudden Impact. He invites an armed thug to take him on and Clint Eastwood is holding a very big gun – so he's just waiting for the thug to do something horrible, and he says "go ahead, make my day!".

Well it just caught on, it spread in meaning – people started using it, of course not with guns in their hands, they started using it within a sort of ironic circumstance. To say "make my day" means "do something that'll really please me". It implies a really big deal or something like that. In fact Clint Eastwood himself, when he was being elected mayor of Carmel, went round the whole of his little town, his little city, with a T-shirt on - "elect me mayor – make my day!"

Listen to the audio here and make your day!

Keep your English up to date - Staycation

These days people have less and less money to spend on luxuries, things like holidays, for example. So, when they have some time off work, some are choosing to stay at home, instead of flying, or driving perhaps to the beach or mountains, maybe to another country. It's a staycation, a combination of the words stay and vacation.

Particularly if you live in a big city, you might not get time to enjoy everything that it has to offer in terms of entertainment – to go to the theatre, to concerts or just to go sightseeing. So a staycation might be an attractive idea.

Other reasons to take a staycation might be having very young children, or perhaps you want to make some home improvements, like redecorating. In any case, a staycation will almost certainly save you money! I have some friends from the US who come over to London every year or so and stay with me – so I regularly take some time off and have a staycation. Sometimes I visit them in Seattle, and they have a staycation. Listen to the audio

Air Baltic Pilot Interview Preparation

Air Baltic Interview is a two day assessment. Day one consist of Human Resource questions. 25 general ATPL questions, 25 Operational Procedure questions. If the applicant hold a type rating on Air Baltic's fleet, then there will be some technical questions on that specific type. 

Technical Interview with a TRE, this can be done on day one or day two. The first day is finished with a sim assessment. Day two consist of psychological tests, such as IQ tests. 

Below is a list of questions that has been asked during Air Baltic pilot assessments. Latestpilotjobs.com doesn't guarantee that the exact questions below will be asked during your assessment. 

Air Baltic Technical Questions with TRE

1. What do you do if you have engine failure? 
2. What do you do if you have a com failure?
3. What do You do if You find a crack in the airframe of the aircraft during the walkaround?
4. What do you do if you lose an engine after V1?
5. You are Pilot Not flying and notice, on final, that the speed is high! What do you do?
6. Questions might be asked on Approach chart out of Riga?
7. Questions might be asked on SID charts out of Riga?
8. What is a DA?
9. What is a MDA?
10. What is MSA?
11. What happens with temperature and pressure when a warm front passes through?
12. How does a wet runway affect your takeoff?
13. What is MZFM?
14. Sometimes Questions will be asked on the previous aircraft flown or trained in!
15. What kind of engine does it have?
16. How does the landing system works in that type of aircraft?
17. Tell me about the Electrical System?

Air Baltic Human Resource Questions 

1. What do you know about Air Baltic?
2. Why do you want to join Air Baltic?
3. How do You feel about moving to Riga?
4. What salary do you expect?
5. What are the three best things about you?
6. What is the negative side about you?
7. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
8. What can you contribute to Air Baltic?
9. Why did you want to be a pilot?
10. Why do you wan to leave your current job?
11. What did you like about your training?

Air Baltic Sim Assessment 

Simulator sessions at Air Baltic varies depending on the applicants Experience. Non rated pilots usually takeoff and practice some general handling such as, steep turns, climb/descent, maintaining speed and altitude. Radial tracking, NDB tracking (QDR, QDM) fallowed by an ILS approach. 

Type rated pilots on B-737 might expect a departure out of Riga RWY 36/18 fallowed by a VOR/DME or ILS. Expect a single engine approach and a lot of hand flying.

Air Baltic Technical Questions and quiz on Boeing 737 Classic

1. To use the APU for air conditioning, on the ground/engines shut down, -3/4/500 series aircraft, you should select?
2. What happens If the Left DUCT OVERHEAT light illuminates on the B737-300/500 aircraft?
3. What is the maximum differential pressure (pressure relief valve operation)?
4. The cabin Altitude Warning horn will sound When?
5. The maximum cabin differential pressure for take-off and landing is?
6. When does the outflow valve switch controls the main outflow valve?
7. What are the positions of air conditioning pack switch?
8. When ARMED when will the emergency exit lights automatically come on?
9. The emergency exit lights and signs are powered by?
10. With the Battery Switch ON and no AC power connected, available cockpit lighting includes?The passenger cabin Emergency Exit light switch is located at?
11. What powers Emergency Exit lights?
12. What happens if some of the electric power is lost?
13. How does the Isolation valve operate?
14. What is Electrical in isolation valve?
15. What is pneumatic in isolation valve?
16. Each fuel tanks contains? AC or DC fuel pumps
17. The CFM56-3 N1 rotor section consists of?
18. The Engine Fire Extinguisher system contains?
19. What should be the first action in the event of a Fire Warning?
20. During the Engine Fire drill, the pneumatic ISOLATION VALVE switch should be selected to? 
21. What is the power source for the APU Fire Detection?
22. What it the power source for the Wheel Well Fire Detection?
23. What is the power source for the Lavatory Smoke Detector?
24. What is the power source for the Engine Fire Extinguishing system?
25. The AC STANDBY BUS power can be supplied from?
26. What is the battery voltage range in Boeing 737 Classic?
27. If, in flight, both engine generators fail, the APU generator should be connected to?

Qatar Airways Cabin Crew interview

The assessment can be for two or three days, depending on how you applied. If you are going there during the open day then you should expect a three day assessment. If you have applied through Qatar Airways website and have been short - listed then expect a 2 day assessment, the first day open house will be excluded.

Cabin Crew Open Day - Day 1:

The first day is just an open day, a kind of information session. The recruitment officers will make a representation about Qatar, Doha and Qatar Airways. then you will have a chance to ask some questions. At the end they will collect C.V.s and while doing that few basic questions will be asked.

The questions are:

1. Do you have any experience as a Cabin Crew?
2. How old are you ?
3. What are you doing at the moment?
4. Do you live here? or are you here for vacation?
5. After handing over you C.V.s to the recruiters you will need to wait for their phone call. Make sure you give them an updated phone number. If you are from aboard they will tell you to give them the phone number to the hotel or a good friend perhaps.

Assessment Day - Day 2

The candidates that recived the phone call the previous day will attend day 2. At this day you will be given a written English test, which needs to be finished in 45 minutes. The test has few sections. a) The first section might be a couple of questions with multiple answers. b) Then a short essay about yourself and, c) another essay about a topic they give.

a) The first section in the test is made up mainly of questions about words and their alternative meanings. Since Qatar Airways change the words frequently in this section of the English test, we are unable to inform you with the exact words been asked.

b) In this section give them a brief, short essay about yourself and your goals.

c) The topic that you might see are the following:

• What was the most difficult situation in your life and how did you handle it?
• Tell us when u have given 5 star customer service?

During the test candidates will be called one by one to reach a specified height, the height is 210 cm. Gentlemen should reach it standing normally on your feet and for ladies they can stand on the fingertips. Applicants might go through a weight and height measurement.

The First Group Activity:

After the essay candidates will be divided in two groups to discuss a certain topic. This is a group activity. The topics that has been discussed are:

1. Organize a honeymoon.
2. How to plan the itinerary for a family.
3. Discuss the most recent situations that took place around the world.
4. Discuss the economic crises and how to deal with it.During the discussion with other candidates, recruiters from Qatar will be walking around and observing each candidate.
5. After the discussions the recruiters will make their first shortlisting. Half of the group will not be successful.

The Second Group Activity:

Once again candidates will be divided into two groups and discuss about situation that may happen on board an airplane. Candidates need to find a solution to the problems discussed. 

Problems that has been discussed are:

1. Find a solution to overbooking
2. Passenger complaining of chest paint
3. A mother of a 4 year old allowing her child to run around the cabin
4. The smell of cigarettes in the toilet
5. The Captain saying he is hungryIt is strongly recommended during your group discussion to smile a lot, be nice and respectful to other people and don't try to be a group leader. Give the recruiters a message that you are very easy to get along with, and easy to adjust to a group.

If candidates are successful during the second group activity they will be invited for a panel interview. This is the final interview and will take place the next day (assessment day 3).

The question that will be asked during you final interview are the following:

1. Tell us about yourself
2. Do you have a cabin crew experience ?
3. Why do you want to become a cabin crew ?
4. Do you have any experience doing a customer service job ?
5. Tell us about a bad experience with a customer and how did you deal with it
6. Give us an example of good customer service and bad customer service?
7. What's the one thing that you dislike in a friend?
8. What would you do if you find that particular attitude in your friend? etc
9. Tell me a time where you have had to provide good customer service?
10. Have you lived and shared accommodation before with anyone? if yes, how did you experience it?
11. Which nationality do you think you will not get along with?
12. Are you parents happy you are applying for this job?
13. Tell us about Qatar Airways?
14. How big is our fleet size? And what type of aircraft we operate?

Successful candidates will get their results after 2-4 weeks.

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Differences between Like and As

LIKE

The structure of the sentence is usually: VERB + LIKE + NOUN / PRONOUN.

He speaks like a native speaker.

She looks like a supermodel.

AS

The structure of the sentence is usually: AS + SUBJECT + VERB.

Nobody sings as she does.

They went to the party as they were.

It is very common in American English to use LIKE instead of AS. However, it is generally considered informal to use it in this way.

We play football like champions do.

Another use of AS is to say what the role/function of a person/thing is.

He started work as a carpenter.

She used the tapestry as a decoration in her living room.

LIKE vs. AS

Be careful, in similar sentences that use LIKE and AS, the meanings of each sentence are very different. For example:

As your boss, I must warn you to be careful. (I am your boss.)

Like your boss, I must warn you to be careful. (I am not your boss, but he/she and I have similar attitudes.)

AS IF

In English we also use as if to make comparisons. However it has a few distinct characteristics to its use:

1. The verb after AS IF is always in the past subjunctive, no matter what tense the sentence is.

2. If the verb BE directly follows AS IF, we use were for all personal pronouns.

He looks as if he knew the answer.

(The verbs LOOKS indicates this sentence is in the present – but the verb after AS IF – knew - is in the past subjuntive).

She walks as if she were a supermodel.

(The verb after AS IF – be – has been changed to were and not was).

He boarded the airplane as if he were a seasoned traveller.

He spends money as if he owned a bank.