Topic 22 english in my future career

Today English is one of the major languages in the world.

English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England, in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English began in the 17^th century, with the first settlements in North America. Above all, it is the great growth of population in the United States assisted by massive immigration in the 19^th and 20^th centuries that has given the English language its present standing in the world.

People who speak English fall into one of three groups: those who have learned it as their native language; those who have learned it as a second language in a society that is mainly bilingual; and those who are forced to use it for practical purpose – administrative, professional or educational. One person in seven of the world's entire population belongs to one of these three groups. 75% of the world's mail and 60% of the world's telephone calls are in English.

Geographically, English is the most widespread language on Earth, second only to Mandarin Chinese in the number of people who speak it. It is the language of business, technology, sport, and aviation.

As a future aviation specialist, I'm convinced of the importance of language ability in international civil aviation, particularly in light of the recently approved ICAO requirements that pilots, air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators 'demonstrate the ability to speak and understand the language used for radiotelephony communications'. I am also aware of the vital consequences this requirement have for license application, currently employed controllers and pilots, English language instructors and programming administrators, policy makers and, most importantly, aircrews and their passengers.

A three-day symposium on the new ICAO language proficiency requirements took place at ICAO headquarters, Montreal, from 1 to 3 September 2004. The symposium focused on the new language proficiency requirements for aviation personnel that take effect in 2008. It is intended for managers from government, airlines and air traffic services providers that will be responsible for implementing the new requirements, as well as training entities that may wish to provide aviation language training and testing services.

Topic 23 some large airlines in the world

I'd like to speak about British Airways (BA), the national flag carrier of the United Kingdom. British Airways is the largest airline in the United Kingdom based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations.

The airline was founded on 31 March 1924 as Imperial Airways Limited. The British Airways Group was formed on 1 September 1974 through nationalisation by the (then) Labour Government from two large London-based airlines BOAC and BEA and two much smaller regional airlines Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle. The airline was privatised in February 1987.

For a number of years the airline had a large Boeing fleet, but in November 1998 it placed its first direct order for Airbus aircraft. The company's next order was the start of its replacement of its long haul fleet, ordering Airbus A380s and Boeing 787s in 2007. The centrepiece of the airlines long haul fleet is the Boeing 747-400, the airline is the largest operator of this type in the world. BA was one only two operators of the supersonic airliner Concorde with the daily service between Heathrow and New York JFK. With the Paris crash in 2000, the September 11 attacks and escalating maintenance costs, the future of Concorde was limited despite the expensive modifications after the crash. The last day of its Saturday-only London Heathrow to Barbados Concorde flight was on 30 August 2003. The airline still owns 8 Concordes which are on long term loan to museums in the UK, U.S. and Barbados. The British Airways fleet includes 231 aircraft as of 23 December 2008.

British Airways flies to 7 domestic destinations and 143 international destinations in 63 countries across all 6 major continents. The airline offers either three or four classes of service on the long haul international route serviced by B747, B767 and B777 aircraft. 'World Traveller' (Economy Class), 'World Traveller Plus' (Premium Economy) and 'Club World' (Business Class) always feature. All Boeing 747 aircraft and most Boeing 777 aircraft are fitted with First (First Class).