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Sample tasks for the ICAO language proficiency test

Get to know every task type – with a practice ATIS, ATC instructions to read back and pictures to describe. No registration. Your answers and recordings stay on your device.

  • Describe & compare pictures
  • ATC read-back with feedback
  • ATIS listening
  • Interview questions

How to use this page: set a timer, say your answer out loud – ideally using the recording feature – and then compare it with the sample answer.

All tasks are practice exercises we created in the style of the test. They contain no original test items and do not result in a level rating.

1 · Describe a picture

Part Iapprox. 1 minute

“Please describe the picture. What can you see, and what might be happening?”

An airliner on a snowy apron. A de-icing vehicle sprays orange fluid onto the wing, a person in a high-visibility vest stands in front, a baggage cart on the left, the terminal and control tower in the background.
  • In this picture I can see …
  • In the foreground …
  • In the background …
  • It looks like …
  • I think they are …
  • Probably, …
1:00
The recording stays on your device.
Show sample answer

In this picture I can see a passenger aircraft on the apron of an airport in winter. It’s snowing and the ground is covered with snow. On the right, a de-icing truck with a raised basket is spraying orange fluid onto the wing. In the foreground, a member of the ground crew in a high-visibility vest is standing next to the aircraft, and on the left there is a baggage cart with several suitcases. In the background I can see the terminal and the control tower.

I think the aircraft is being prepared for departure. Before take-off, the crew has to make sure there is no ice or snow on the wings – otherwise the wings could lose lift.

2 · Compare two pictures

Part I · 4–6 test onlyapprox. 1.5 minutes

“Compare the two pictures. What are the similarities and what are the differences?”

Picture A: an airliner being de-iced in falling snow.
Picture A
Picture B: a sunny grass airfield where a pilot does the pre-flight check on a single-engine high-wing aircraft registered D-EXAM, a fuel truck next to it, hangar and windsock in the background.
Picture B
  • Both pictures show …
  • In the first picture …, whereas in the second …
  • The main difference is …
  • In contrast to …
  • Personally, I prefer …
1:30
The recording stays on your device.
Show sample answer

Both pictures show aircraft on the ground that are being prepared for a flight. However, the situations are quite different. The first picture shows a large airliner at a busy airport in winter – it’s snowing and a de-icing truck is working on the wing. The second picture shows a small single-engine aircraft on a grass airfield on a sunny summer day.

In the first picture a professional ground crew takes care of the aircraft, whereas in the second one the pilot is doing the walk-around on his own. The weather is another big difference: in winter, icing is one of the main risks, while in summer you might have to think about thunderstorms or high temperatures. Personally, I prefer flying in summer, but winter operations are very interesting.

3 · Aviation-related questions

Part I30–45 seconds each

In the test, the picture tasks are followed by twelve more questions. There is no right or wrong – answer in four to five sentences.

  1. What do you enjoy most about flying?
  2. Describe a flight you remember well. What happened?
  3. How can bad weather affect a flight? Give an example.
  4. Why do misunderstandings happen on the radio, and how can pilots avoid them?
  5. A passenger feels nervous before take-off. What would you tell them?
  6. What would you do if you lost radio contact with air traffic control?
The recording stays on your device.

4 · Read back ATC instructions

Part I2 radio calls

Listen to the instruction once and read it back – aloud or in writing. Our check looks for the key elements.

Radio call 1Radar to D-EXAM · 10 seconds
Show solution and transcript

ATC: “Delta Echo X-ray Alpha Mike, turn left heading two seven zero, climb to altitude four thousand feet, squawk four seven two one.”

Read-back: “Left heading two seven zero, climb altitude four thousand feet, squawk four seven two one, Delta Echo X-ray Alpha Mike.”

Radio call 2Radar to OE-DKS · 12 seconds
Show solution and transcript

ATC: “Oscar Echo Delta Kilo Sierra, descend to flight level one two zero, reduce speed two two zero knots, contact Radar on one two seven decimal niner five zero.”

Read-back: “Descend flight level one two zero, reduce speed two two zero knots, one two seven decimal niner five zero, Oscar Echo Delta Kilo Sierra.”

5 · Understand an ATIS

Part I · 4–6 test with a licence50 seconds

Listen to the fictitious practice ATIS and fill in the fields. In the test you report the information orally.

Practice ATISFictitious example · 50 seconds
Show transcript

“Stuttgart Information Echo, time one four two zero. Expect ILS approach runway two five. Runway in use two five. Transition level seven zero. Wind two four zero degrees, one two knots, gusts two two knots. Visibility one zero kilometers. Light rain. Few clouds one thousand eight hundred feet, broken three thousand five hundred feet. Temperature one four, dew point one one. QNH one zero zero eight. Advise on initial contact you have information Echo.”

6 · Short story

Part I · for student pilotsinstead of ATIS

In the test, student pilots first hear two questions and then a short story. Read the questions, then the story – and answer out loud.

  1. Why did Lisa decide to turn back?
  2. Who did she contact, and what did she find out?

It was Lisa’s first solo cross-country flight. The weather in the morning was perfect, so she took off from her home airfield at nine o’clock. After about forty minutes, she noticed that the clouds ahead were getting lower and darker. She called the flight information service and asked for the latest weather at her destination. The controller told her that there were showers in the area and that the visibility was dropping. Lisa remembered her instructor’s advice: “If in doubt, turn around.” She informed the controller, turned back and landed safely at her home airfield. Later, her instructor said it was the best decision of the day.

Show possible answers

1. Because the weather was getting worse: the clouds were lower and darker, there were showers, and the visibility was dropping.

2. She contacted the flight information service. They told her about showers in the area and the decreasing visibility at her destination.

7 · Interview

Part II10–15 minutes

The interview is about you. Answer in detail and feel free to tell examples. Also practise without visual contact, for example on the phone – in the test the examiner switches their camera off for a while.

  1. Tell me a little about yourself and your job.
  2. Where did you go on your last holiday, and what did you like about it?
  3. What do you like to do in your free time?
  4. How did you become interested in flying?
  5. If you could fly anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
  6. What will aviation look like in twenty years, in your opinion?
The recording stays on your device.

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