At the airport, or, About aviation language in the didactics of Dutch as a foreign language

At present, people travel more often, spend more and more time at airports and airplanes have become one of the fastest and most important means of transport in today's world. They are made to book a ticket, to get to the airport and to find themselves in the terminal. They need to check-in and have a short conversation with the ground staff. They have to go through the safety controls and wait in the departure lounge for the moment of boarding, board the plane where passengers are welcomed by a cabin crew representing one of many airlines. Therefore, it is obvious that all people related to a given flight should be able to communicate with one another effortlessly. Without a doubt, English is the dominating language of aviation. There are many English words, phrases and commands which are typical of communication between pilots, traffic air controllers, ground personnel, cabin crew members, etc. It also seems that English sometimes dominates in communication with passengers. However, in the Dutch language, many English terms have their equivalents. The English pronunciation, grammar and spelling are adapted to the Dutch system. The problem is that the Dutch aviation language hasn’t found its way to the didactics of foreign languages. This paper discusses the necessity and significance of giving more attention to aviation language in the classroom and gives examples of exercises, which can be use in the didactics of Dutch as a foreign language.