The need to investigate the communication skills of specific participants usually arises upon demand from the stakeholders, including the employers, passengers, clients and others. The common reasons for stakeholders to consult course developers or language practitioners regarding developing a specific purpose course include poor language proficiency and lack of professional communication skills amongst personnel whose jobs require efficient communication. The needs analysis (NA) method is often used to explore the necessary communication skills at the workplace, including business, medical and aviation. In aviation, the aviation English program content is based on the stakeholders’ communication requirements. Having said that, there are two main objectives of this study. Firstly, this study aims to investigate the importance of English as a medium for communication amongst AVM personnel serving in local and foreign-based companies within Malaysia. Secondly, it aims to determine the spoken and written communication activities that aviation management personnel are frequently involved in the aviation industry. Based on the findings, the NA revealed that the English language is vital in developing professional communication skills among AVM trainees as they require English proficiency for speaking and writing activities.

In the quest to develop an exceptional Aviation English (AE) module for aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs), it is imperative to determine the specific English language learning needs of those majoring in aircraft maintenance. This study aimed to identify the English language skills AMEs use in their workplace. Meanwhile, the findings allowed module developers and language instructors to tailor a content-specific module that met future AMEs' language needs and helped improve their language proficiency. The qualitative study was performed at the University Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT). Data were collected using three types of instruments, namely i) interviews; ii) interaction analysis, and iii) text analysis. Based on data collected from six respondents, the findings showed that AMEs require special attention in improving their writing and technical writing ability. Besides, reading is another skill that needs special attention. Those involved in aircraft maintenance must read technical manuals, give instructions, and have good comprehension ability to minimise miscommunication and misinterpretation. Furthermore, although listening and speaking skills are exceptional skills, maintenance engineers' need to master reading comprehension and writing is more than other engineering-related positions. The investigation revealed that aircraft maintenance trainees must be equipped with relevant language skills. The findings would help course module developers and language instructors produce modules that meet the aviation trainees' needs.