Do pilots communicate in the air?

Yes, as Psyvolt says, they can communicate with each other by radio. Obviously the crews of any other aircraft in the area can hear what they are saying, along with ATC, so in busy traffic areas anything other than short business-related messages are disapproved of.

How do pilots communicate over the ocean?

When flying over the ocean — where they are out of radar range — pilots often rely on satellites to communicate with air traffic controllers on the ground. Satellites, of course, fly along a fixed path in Earth’s orbit. Therefore, they can send and receive data to airplanes over the ocean.

How do air traffic controllers listen to pilot readbacks?

The latter is supposed to listen to the pilot’s readback and catch any readback errors. Of course, errors can go unnoticed, especially in a congested airspace. Efforts are underway to shift routine conversations to “datalink” via satellite, where air traffic controllers can communicate with pilots via text messages.

How do pilots communicate with ATC while in flight?

Typically, both while the aircraft is on the ground and airborne, communications with ATC is only a Push to Talk radio call away. Pilots often use cell phones to pick up instrument/departure clearances if they are on an airport without an operating control tower or can’t raise ATC on their radio while on the ground.

What skills do pilots need to become an international pilot?

For all pilots and air traffic controllers, it requires proficiency in aviation phraseology. Since March 2011, ICAO also requires general English language proficiency for pilots and controllers flying internationally or interacting with international flights.

Why do pilots have such a hard time with English?

Faulty English is just one of them and restricted to areas with international flights or pilots. Use of non-standard phraseology may or may not be due to lack of English proficiency. There are also stuck microphones which block an entire frequency and there is frequency congestion where a pilot cannot get a word in.