Pan Am Academy Selects Carnegie Speech For English Language Training

PITTSBURGH, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Speech, the leader in the development and distribution of English assessment and instruction software, today announced a global agreement with Pan Am International Flight Academy. Carnegie Speech's patented language learning technology will now be used at the Academy's training centers in the Unites States and abroad, to increase English proficiency within the aviation field.

Miscommunication between airline pilots and air traffic controllers who do not share the same native language can, and have, caused fatal accidents that could have been prevented. This is why the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the agency responsible for international air travel safety and development, issued new recommendations to improve English-language training. Now, all pilots flying internationally, and all air traffic controllers providing services to international flights, must have a minimum level of spoken Aviation English skills known as "Operational Level 4".

"In the multilingual field of aviation, misinterpretation of a word or phrase can be a deadly link in the chain of events from takeoff to landing," said Gary LaGuardia, Director of English Training at Pan Am Academy. "We believe Carnegie Speech delivers the best solution for teaching our pilots not only to speak English, but to be understood and communicate effectively, mitigating the risk of error due to language barriers."

To help students meet and surpass the ICAO requirements, Pam Am will integrate Carnegie Speech's "NativeAccent" technology and "Climb Level 4 Aviation English" software with their programs, creating an end-to-end English training solution.

• NativeAccent technology, developed by Carnegie Melon University, is the only language learning technology that assess a student's speech, diagnoses their individual condition and then prescribes a specific tutoring plan to address the diagnosis.  This method enables a student to improve spoken-English skills 100 percent after just 10 hours of use.
• Climb Level 4 software embeds the NativeAccent technology in a comprehensive, aviation-specific software product that prepares aviation professionals for ICAO Level 4 proficiency testing.

Both products feature patented "Pinpointing" technologies that take into account a user's first language, gender and proficiency to enable a highly-granular analysis and real-time remediation of spoken-English errors.

"Because Carnegie Speech individually assess and tutors pilots at the phoneme level to improve their word stress, grammar, fluency and pronunciation, we are able to teach them not just to parrot words and phrases, but to effectively communicate in the most intense, non-scripted scenarios that pilots face throughout their careers," said Paul Musselman, CEO of Carnegie Speech. "This is the key to implementing successful language learning and improving the safety and future of the growing aviation industry."

About Carnegie Speech
A global leader in the development of spoken language training software, Carnegie Speech prepares enterprises and individuals to speak and understand new languages through personalized, immediate and pinpointed language analysis and instruction. Incorporating the linguistic expertise and technical innovations developed through decades of research at Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute, Carnegie Speech maximizes the effectiveness of spoken language instruction while minimizing training time and expense. From spoken language training to facilitate commerce and enhance education, to mission-critical communications to improve safety and security, Carnegie Speech products are used by Business, Aviation, Government, Education and Health Care enterprises that depend on effective spoken language communications. Carnegie Speech is based in Pittsburgh, PA and its primary investors include Osage Venture Partners, Golden Seeds and New York Angles. Visit www.carnegiespeech.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Brittany Fraser, 212-896-1251, [email protected]

SOURCE Carnegie Speech