Peter, can I have my next exam with you as examiner please 
I understood that you can do the LPE test as often as you like, as long as you pay the exam fee.
So you could give it another go if you’re not satisfied with the result
When I did the test, the training center was using the Relta test
The results where recorded and sent to Australia for evaluation.
I had the impression that it was next to impossible to get Level 6 for a non-native English speaker using the Relta test.
lenthamen wrote:
I had the impression that it was next to impossible to get Level 6 for a non-native English speaker using the Relta test.
I don’t know that test, but in the face-to-face test I did, the passing rate was not very high either. On the day I took the test we were ten candidates, of which, if I remember correctly, only three got level 6. Another 3 got level 5. Many of the candidates were military helicopter pilots at the end of their career who were in the process of getting civilian licenses. They had spent lots of time abroad, certainly talking English a lot. But that didn’t guarantee their pass.
Well, level 4 is passing, FWIW. 5 or 6 are just icing on the “pass” cake.
I have never understood the rationale behind multiple levels for LPE.
Why do you need to be re-examined more frequent if your level is lower? An exam doesn’t make you a better English speaker.
Also I find it questionable that the Training Center that has a commercial interest, rates the exam.
They need returning customers so they have no interest in giving you Level 6.
lenthamen wrote:
I had the impression that it was next to impossible to get Level 6 for a non-native English speaker using the Relta test.
According to the Relta website, it is impossible for anyone to get level 6 using their test, for administrative reasons:
ICAO recognises RELTA for Pilots Heavy (IFR) up to Level 5, as it conforms with ICAO’s stringent requirements and standards.
It is one of only two English language proficiency tests conducted worldwide to be recognised by ICAO’s Aviation English Language Test Service (AELTS). (AELTS does not currently evaluate the validity of Level 6 assessment in English language proficiency tests.
lenthamen wrote:
Also I find it questionable that the Training Center that has a commercial interest, rates the exam.
They need returning customers so they have no interest in giving you Level 6.
But you could say the same about every flying examiner (especially IR and/or typerating which you need to take every year). For each checkride you fail, he can sell you another one. But this is not what they do in the real world!
lenthamen wrote:
The results where recorded and sent to Australia for evaluation.
To ‘Straia’? Serioulsy? You gotta be kidding, mate 
!
My understanding is that level 6 is ‘general conversational English’ and has little or nothing to do with aviation. Hence the chat about a picture, etc.
@Peter (whose pet hate seem to be southern European controllers….): I doubt many of them have level 6, although having flown extensively in Spain I know that while some are atrocious, others are excellent. What’s annoying there is rather the, shall we call it ‘uneven’, quality of English.
One of my (few – luckily) mistakes was that I once said “formulas” instead of “formulae”.
You should complain You were prefectly correct to use “formulas”! Nothing wrong with it at all, and is what most native speakers would use in conversation.
The word formula has two possible plural forms, formulae and formulas. The traditional distinction is that formulas should be used in general writing and formulae in mathematical and scientific contexts, but analysis of the Oxford English Corpus shows that formulas is increasingly the dominant form in both technical and general uses.
Rwy20 wrote:
No, the Swiss won’t accept language proficiency exams from other countries (if it states a level 6, you will only get a 5, and they don’t accept exams from certain countries at all IIRC).
Same thing in France – or so I hear. And I doubt even @Peter would not get Level 6 in France. I think it would be extremely interesting to have someone like @Bordeaux_jim or @Jojo sit the French ELP exam just for the heck of it and see if they manage to get Level 6.
