WITH ENGLISH AS HIS SECOND LANGUAGE; PLT THOUGHT HE WAS CLRED TO LOWER ALT WHEN PNF WAS OFF FREQ. HE BEGAN DSCNT AND TCASII CALLED TFC BEFORE COORD WITH ATC REVEALED PROPER ALT.

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THE FO WAS PF; THE CAPT WAS PNF. THE DEST ARPT WAS VFR; WITH A SCATTERED CLOUD LAYER. 10 MINS BEFORE LNDG; THE PNF 'LEFT' THE PF WITH ATC COMS RESPONSIBILITY AND CONTACTED COMPANY AT THE DEST ARPT. WHEN THE PNF 'RETURNED;' THE PF BRIEFED HIM THAT WE WERE TO DSND TO 5000 FT. PNF NOTICED A TCASII TARGET AT 11 O'CLOCK; 5 MI; AT 5000 FT. PF STARTED A DSCNT TO 5000 FT; AND PNF ASKED PF ABOUT THE TFC AT 5000 FT. PF DIDN'T RESPOND. PNF THEN TOLD PF TO LEVEL OFF WHILE PNF QUERIED ATC ABOUT CLRNC. PF LEVELED OFF AT 5700 FT; AND TCASII CALLED 'TFC; TFC.' ATC THEN STATED THAT THE CLRNC WAS TO MAINTAIN 6000 FT. CREW THEN SPOTTED THE TFC ABOUT 2-3 NM AT THE NOSE; PASSING L TO R. PF RETURNED TO 6000 FT. REST OF FLT UNEVENTFUL. I SUSPECT THAT THE FACT THAT THE PF WAS FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY AND ENGLISH WAS HIS SECOND LANGUAGE. WHILE HIS ENGLISH WAS APPARENTLY QUITE GOOD; IT SEEMED THAT THE OCCASIONAL NONSTANDARD PHRASEOLOGY AND/OR RAPID SPEAKING CTLRS CONFUSED HIM. (I OBSERVED THIS WHEN HE WAS PNF LATER.) I SHALL BE MORE WARY OF SUCH SUBTLETIES IN THE FUTURE.