Another English test before you can be a flight attendant

I do agree to a certain extent the sentiments in the letter to the editor today regarding the move by Air Asia to make it compulsory for flight attendants to sit for the Test of English for International Communication. It is as the letter said, a most timely, courageous and relevant move.

I do wonder however, whether this means that those who pass their English exams at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level are not up to standard. It does seem so if Air Asia needs them to sit for another test. Another test even though the applicant has passed his English at the SPM level does indicate in a sense that the examination standards are low, unreliable and untrustworthy. The employer has assumed that six years of primary and five years of secondary level learning the English language at school may be not enough to make one competent to be hired with the company. The company has put doubts on the language competency of the applicants and in an oft handed way, the examinations board.

This move to have another test should be a wake up call to the examinations board to look again at the standards of the current English language syllabus and whether those who passed are really capable of handling themselves in the real world in that language. We have to face the facts that reality demands potential employees to have attained a certain level in the command of the language before they are deemed to be capable of handling a job. Those who failed the test will have to abandon their ambitions and dreams in their chosen career. They have to improve themselves first before trying again at a future date.

I'm sure it is quite a let down to be told that you are ineligible for the job even though your certificate shows a pass in the language. Eleven years of studying the language has come to nought and the applicant has to take a step backward and rethink whether he really wants the job. If he does feel that another period of studying the language is worth his time then he will of course put in the effort. Otherwise, he will find other jobs that do not have standards as stringent as Air Asia.

Image from skill-guru