EATC is designed to improve the English ability of non-native speaking air traffic controllers to perform duties in English. Class content includes a wide range of English used in International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air-traffic control, to include familiarisation with ICAO and FAA standards. Participants on this course will be trained to meet the ICAO language proficiency rating scale of Operational Level 4 or higher.

The Operational Level (Level 4) is the minimum required proficiency level for radiotelephoney communication.
Non-native speakers and native speakers of English must demonstrate a minimum language proficiency at ICAO Level 4 (Operational) as a licensing requirement.

For air traffic service personnel and pilots whose first language is not English, testing will be required to determine language proficiency according to the ICAO Proficiency scale. Personnel will need to demonstrate ability to use the language specific to all aspects of radiotelephony communication. Personnel who demonstrate proficiency at:

ICAO Level 6 ( Expert) will not be required to demonstrate subsequent language proficiency.
ICAO Level 5 (Extended) will need to be retested every six years.
ICAO Level 4 (Pre-operational) will need to be retested every three years.
ICAO Level 3 or below will need specific Aviation English language training to reach the minimum ICAO Operational level.

Although these standards became applicable in November 2003, all ICAO Member States have been given until March 2008 to fulfil the necessary training requirements to allow personnel to meet mandatory testing and licensing requirements.

This course is designed to enable pilots or air traffic controllers to:
- meet the minimum ICAO Operational English proficiency level (Level 4)
- participate in ground-air communication effectively in English
- recognise and use ICAO phraseology
- recognise and use plain English in a range of non-routine flight and ground contexts
- communicate effectively in English in common in-flight and on-ground situations.