Do you have to pass an exam on the north American continent for operating the radio ? In Germay we have to own the "Restricted Flight Radiotelephone Operator's Certificate" (this is _not_ my translation, it's printed on the certificate itself :-) _before_ you are allowed to enter any other examination on your way to the PPL.
The requirement in Canada is almost identical: we have to pass the PSTAR (a written examination) to get our student pilot's permit, and we also need to pass a simple test for the Radiotelephone Operator's License (Restricted), and pass a class 3 medical. A student is not allowed to solo without all three of those.
I don't think that they have the same requirement in the U.S., but I haven't noticed that they're any worse on the radio.
I'm also based at a busy airport with a lot of airline traffic, so talking with ATC has never been an issue: as a student pilot I could negotiate a complicated clearance long before I could manage a crosswind landing. People who train at uncontrolled strips sometimes seem a little intimidated by ATC, and you'll see some 500-hour+ pilots make a 50 nm detour around controlled airspace (or fly dangerously low underneath it) just to save a couple of radio calls.
All the best,
David
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