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Taking the ICAO English test online

What a remote assessment involves, how to check that a provider counts for your licence, and a listening set you can start right here.

Start with the listening

Plain English recordings, the half of a remote assessment your connection can ruin.

3 recordings, 8 questions. No sign-up. Free while SkyStudy is in beta.

What a remote assessment involves

Described in general terms, because there is no single worldwide format and each competent authority approves its own assessors and testing bodies. The shape below is what remote sessions have in common; your provider states the detail.

  • A live assessor, over video

    Language proficiency is assessed in a spoken interaction with a person, and taking it remotely changes the room rather than the interaction. Expect an assessor who steers the conversation, asks follow-up questions, and pushes into situations you did not prepare for.

  • An identity check before it starts

    You are normally asked to show the licence or the identity document you booked under, on camera, before the assessment begins. Have it on the desk rather than in another room.

  • A quiet room, alone, for the whole session

    No second person, no phone, no notes on the wall behind the screen. Assessments are usually recorded, so ask in advance what is recorded, who sees it, and how long it is kept.

  • Equipment that has already been tested

    A computer with a working camera and microphone, a headset rather than laptop speakers, a connection stable enough for continuous two-way video, and whatever browser or application the provider names. Test all four on a different day, not on the day.

  • A session with more than one part

    Most formats combine a listening element, a spoken interaction about routine and non-routine flying, and often a description or scenario task. Six skills are rated separately and the overall level is the lowest of the six, so one weak skill sets the result.

  • A plan for when the connection drops

    It happens, and a provider who has run remote assessments will have a written rule for it. Ask what that rule is before you book, not while you are reconnecting.

What to verify before you book

One of these four questions decides whether the assessment is worth anything to you, and the other three decide whether the day runs smoothly.

  1. Does the authority that holds your licence accept it?

    This is the only question that decides whether the assessment counts. Approval of assessors and language testing bodies is national, so an assessment accepted by one competent authority is not automatically accepted by another. Ask the provider which authority approved them and for the approval reference, then check it with your own authority.

  2. Who issues the endorsement, and what do you receive?

    The proficiency endorsement goes on your licence, which your authority administers. Ask what the provider sends you after the assessment, what your authority then needs from you, and how long that normally takes.

  3. Which language is being assessed and recorded?

    The endorsement records the language, the level and the date it must be re-evaluated. Confirm the language on the paperwork is the one you need on the licence.

  4. What are the conditions, in writing?

    Identity documents, camera and screen requirements, whether a second camera is expected, the rule on interruptions, and the cancellation terms. A provider used to remote assessments states all of this before payment.

What the practice here is, and is not

It is

  • Free practice in your browser, with no sign-up, free while SkyStudy is in beta.
  • Listening sets with the full transcript and a teaching note on every question, revealed after you answer.
  • Speaking drills with model answers you compare against after you have spoken, never before.
  • A self-assessed mock in the trainer, rated by you against the six skills.

It is not

  • A test, an examination or an assessment of any kind.
  • A certificate, a level, or anything that can be shown to an authority.
  • An approved language testing body, or affiliated with one.
  • A prediction of how a real assessment will go.

Only an assessor certified by a competent authority, or an approved language testing body, can evaluate your proficiency and have the endorsement placed on your licence.

Frequently asked questions

Remote assessments, what to check with your authority, and what SkyStudy practice is.

Can the ICAO English test be taken online?

In many states a language proficiency assessment can be conducted remotely, over live video with a certified assessor, rather than in a room with them. Whether a remote assessment is accepted, and which providers may run one, is decided by the competent authority that issued or holds your licence, and it varies from state to state. Confirm it with that authority before you book anything, because the assessment only matters if the authority that endorses your licence recognises it.

Does taking it online change what is assessed?

No. The six rated skills are the same: pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interactions, with the overall level equal to the lowest of the six. What changes is the practical setting: your microphone, your connection and your room become part of whether the assessor can hear you clearly, which is why testing the equipment in advance is worth as much as another hour of language practice.

What do I need for a remote ICAO English assessment?

A computer with a working camera and microphone, a headset rather than open speakers, an internet connection stable enough for continuous two-way video, the identity document or licence you booked under, and a quiet room you will not be interrupted in. Providers normally name a specific browser or application and offer a technical check beforehand. Take the technical check on a different day from the assessment, so a failed microphone is a nuisance rather than a lost booking.

Is SkyStudy's ICAO English practice an online test?

No. SkyStudy is an independent study aid. The exercises on this site are practice: listening sets with transcripts, speaking drills with model answers, and a self-assessed mock. They cannot award an ICAO level, cannot endorse a licence, and are not an assessment of any kind. Only an assessor certified by a competent authority, or an approved language testing body, can assess your proficiency and have the endorsement placed on your licence.

How should I practise for a remote assessment specifically?

Practise speaking aloud into the microphone you will actually use, in the room you will actually sit in, for at least as long as the session lasts. Most of the difference between a comfortable remote assessment and an uncomfortable one is not language: it is discovering on the day that your voice clips, that the room echoes, or that you have never spoken English continuously for half an hour. The listening set on this page, and the speaking drills in the trainer, are free to run as often as you like.

The rest of the ICAO English cluster

Each page trains or explains one part of the language proficiency requirement, and every one of them is free while SkyStudy is in beta.

Back to the free ICAO English trainer

Studying for the EASA ATPL exams as well?

Aviation English runs through the whole ATPL. SkyStudy turns the full theory syllabus into exam-style question practice with spaced repetition and timed mock exams, in English, the way you will sit them. Free to start, no card needed.

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