Abstract:

Directly or indirectly students have been learning from each other since gaming was introduced in the 1960s. At the Technical University of Ostrava those interested in the field of aviation have been able to supplement their studies at school using a variety of gaming software available on-line. This paper examines how gaming software, focused on airport management, maintenance and controller-pilot scenarios, can be used in the language-learning classroom to improve students’ ability to communicate in English. It more specifically considers the role of ergonomics, decision-making and short-term memory studies, and how the mind focuses and filters out information when red flag words, denoting more serious situations, are used in aviation. In order to do this different scenarios are set up in which aircraft are placed in various conditions from where flying is completely safe to situations where there are different degrees of danger, and are indicated by such red flag words as heart attack or engine failure. It draws its conclusions using an air traffic control game for a group of ten to twenty-five students, who along with the teacher have monitored and recorded mistakes and observations made in using aviation phraseology during their lessons.

Keywords:

Red flag words, ergonomics, call signs, readback, hearback.