DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 15 fully certified Chinese air traffic controllers are re-learning their jobs --- in English, the official language of international aviation.

"We want every controller in China to speak English and control airplanes in the year 1998," explains Yan Jianzhong of the China Civil Aviation Authority.

China's aviation industry is among the fastest growing in the world.

"This is a big problem to us because ... English is very difficult for us to learn," says Yan. "Many controllers are 30-40 years old and it's more difficult for them."

The Chinese controllers have eight weeks to increase their English proficiency by 20 percent. In most cases that's good enough for them to be able to communicate safely with other pilots and fellow controllers.

They learn 500 or so key phrases --- things like: "descend to 2,000 feet" and "confirm visual sighting of the runway." They spend hours in front of radar screens and talking on the radio.

In another classroom, student pilots who speak fluent English have their planes directed by the Chinese controllers.

Pilots and air traffic controllers are supposed to work together as a team. Usually things go well. But during an emergency, time becomes critical and language barriers and breakdowns in the air traffic control tower and the cockpit can have deadly consequences.

"We have everything from a heart attack victim needing an ambulance standing by on the runway to full hydraulic failures with bird strikes," says instructor Keith Parkman. "And the controller has to listen. They're not expecting this to happen of course. They have to listen. They have to understand. They have to react."

But controllers are only part of the aviation safety equation. In another classroom at Embry-Riddle, pilots from more than a dozen nations are learning so-called "aviation English." They're using toy planes to simulate take-offs and landings, following commands given in English. Both the controllers and pilots are encouraged to immerse themselves in the language.

"It's an intensive program with five hours of classes a day, plus a full social, cultural calendar every afternoon and weekends with American buddies, and that intensive environment gives them ... an English speaking environment all the time," says Embry-Riddle's Kathleen Matthews.

International aviation experts say language barriers should never be an issue for pilots and controllers. But agree that too often, they are. The classes at Embry-Riddle are aimed at making flying safer by insuring that everyone's speaking the same language.

Based on a report from CNN's Business and Travel and Beyond. The segment appears weekdays on Early Edition at 7 AM (ET) and on Morning News at 10 AM (ET).