An aircrew received non-standard; ambiguous instructions from the tower controller.

Attributes
ACN	1342076
Time
Date	201603
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	LEMD.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Widebody Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

Holding short of runway 36L in mad; we were given line up and wait behind (not under stood aircraft (AC)). None of us understood the clearance; so my 1st officer asked for clarification: 'understand line up and wait behind AC currently on the runway.' the controller answered affirmative.we began taxing on the taxiway that leads up to the end of the runway and the controller said 'hold your position'. We had only moved about 100 feet so we stopped and set the brakes. The controller then said that we were number 4 to line up behind a white [aircraft] across the runway opposite of us. Number 4 line up and wait! Really? I've never heard a clearance like that. Obviously the language barrier was definitely a big factor here. We waited for 3 AC to take off and then made a normal takeoff.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An aircrew received non-standard; ambiguous instructions from the Tower Controller.

Narrative: Holding short of runway 36L in MAD; we were given line up and wait behind (not under stood Aircraft (AC)). None of us understood the clearance; so my 1st Officer asked for clarification: 'Understand line up and wait behind AC currently on the runway.' The controller answered affirmative.We began taxing on the taxiway that leads up to the end of the runway and the controller said 'hold your position'. We had only moved about 100 feet so we stopped and set the brakes. The controller then said that we were number 4 to line up behind a white [aircraft] across the runway opposite of us. Number 4 Line up and wait! Really? I've never heard a clearance like that. Obviously the language barrier was definitely a big factor here. We waited for 3 AC to take off and then made a normal takeoff.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.