Team

Head

Dr hab. Anna Borowska, prof. UW

a.borowska@uw.edu.pl

She is a professor at the Institute of Specialised and Intercultural Communication, Faculty of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw. She received her Ph.D. in languages for specific purposes (University of Warsaw) and Habilitation degree for avialinguistics (University of Warsaw).

She was given a position of a seconded national expert at the European Commission in Luxembourg (2013-2015) where she took part in aviation terminology projects.

She is the author of the book Avialinguistics: The Study of Language for Aviation Purposes (2017) and the originator of a new branch of linguistics: avialinguistics that is to serve aviation purposes; co-author of the book Supporting the Training of Aviation English Trainers and Assessors: Reading You 5 by 5 (2024); and the author of the book English for Aeronautical Communication (2025).

Her research focuses on linguistic problems of aeronautical verbal communication and Aviation English training for pilots and air traffic controllers.

She is an Aviation English instructor at Łazarski Aviation Academy in Warsaw, and an examiner in Belgium, France, Poland.

Members

Prof. dr hab. Olena Petrashchuk

o.petrashchuk@uw.edu.pl

She has been with Aviation English since 2000, though her previous works were about special language testing and teaching. Her major research interests comprise professional communication in aviation, discourse analysis (radiotelephony communication), Aviation English test design and administration. She has four registered patents in Aviation English with the Test of English for Aviation Personnel (TEAP) among them. In 2004-2009 she was a research supervisor and a manager of a large-scale project aimed at the English language training and testing more than a thousand air traffic controllers of Ukraine to meet the new ICAO language requirements.

She is a co-author of the book Supporting the Training of Aviation English Trainers and Assessors: Reading You 5 by 5 (2024);

mgr Joanna Stefanowska

j.otocka@uw.edu.pl

Joanna Stefanowska has been a tutor in the Institute of Specialised and Intercultural Communication, Faculty of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw since 2005. Graduated from the Institute of Applied Linguistics in 2003 (University of Warsaw).

She is an intercultural communication expert, specializes in teaching languages for specific purposes (English and Russian), specifically in the area of law, finance & banking, and marketing, teaching translation of specialist texts, as well as andragogy. Her research interests include Business English as Lingua Franca, language interference within the confines of the former, and business discourse.

Mgr Naseer Ahmad

Naseer Ahmad is a doctoral researcher in Applied Linguistics at the University of Warsaw, specializing in Aviation English (AE) and intercultural communication. His research focuses on the impact of speech pacing and cross-cultural English accents on pilot–ATC communication. He has been awarded a prestigious grant under the STER Programme, funded by NAWA, which supports international academic mobility for doctoral students. As part of this initiative, he conducted a six-month research stay at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he engaged with leading scholars in aviation linguistics and fieldwork. His work bridges theoretical linguistics and real-world aviation safety communication.

ACRC EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS

Ana Andrade, Air Traffic Controller, Mexico
Mexican College of Air Traffic Controllers

Ana Andrade is a Class III Air Traffic Controller, Class I Aeronautical Meteorologist, translator, and pedagogue. She has operational experience in both tower and area control units, and has applied her background in pedagogy and languages to the development of Aviation English training. Through the Mexican College of Air Traffic Controllers, she designed and implemented the ElevATC programme, aimed at supporting Mexican controllers in strengthening their language proficiency. She also completed IFATCA’s English Instructor Training.