English language needs for tour guiding from the perspectives of tour guiding professionals and english for tourism students from university of foreign languages hue university

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY - LE XUAN THONG ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS FOR TOUR GUIDING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF TOUR GUIDING PROFESSIONALS AND ENGLISH- FOR -TOURISM STUDENTS FROM UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY - LE XUAN THONG ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS FOR TOUR GUIDING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF TOUR GUIDING PROFESSIONALS AND ENGLISH –FOR- TOURISM STUDENTS FROM UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC.PROF.DR TRAN VAN PHUOC HUE, 2019 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - LÊ XUÂN THÔNG NHU CẦU TIẾNG ANH ĐỐI VỚI NGÀNH HƯỚNG DẪN DU LỊCH TỪ NHẬN THỨC CỦA HƯỚNG DẪN VIÊN DU LỊCH CHUYÊN NGHIỆP VÀ SINH VIÊN TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH DU LỊCH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS TS TRẦN VĂN PHƯỚC HUẾ, 2019 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: 23/11/2019 Signature Le Xuan Thong iii ABSTRACT Needs of Vietnamese and foreigners for cultural understanding, international exchange through tourism and tour guides are growing day-by-day and are realized by means of foreign languages ,especially English in Viet Nam While practicing as tour guides ,many students of English for Tour Guiding (ETG) from University of foreign languages ,Hue University (HUFL) encountered many difficulties in their internships The main reason may come from the designing of the current ETG syllabus neglecting the needs required by Tour Guiding companies The research analyzed ETG needs raised by twenty five tour guides professionals (TGPs) from their international travel companies in Hue city and thirty one English-for- tourism students from University of foreign languages, Hue University clarified tour guides and students’ difficulties and presented measures to overcome these difficulties from the perspectives of TGPs And my research questions are 1,what are the English language needs for tour guiding from the perspectives of tour guiding professionals and ETG students from HUFL, Hue University ? Basically, over 80% tour guiding professionals and 100% ETG students shared similar perspectives on normal activities of tour guides such as explaining the values of cultural and natural heritage that tour guides master with issued degrees and leading tourists to visit monuments and landscapes according to the prescribed time (Q1); 100% of TGPs and ETG students agreed on the great necessity (much and very much) of knowledge outside language to tour guiding (Q2) as 100% culture, 100% history, over 93.5% geography and over 90.3% psychology (Q3); 52% of TGPs and 77.4% of ETG students agreed on the equal importance between GE and ETG (Q4); 44% of TGPs 35.5% of ETG students agreed on the great importance of pronunciation and 20% of TGPs and 25.8% of ETG students agreed on specialized vocabulary in their workplace (Q5), 100% of TGPs and ETG students agreed on the equal importance among communication skills and sub-skills in training and 24% of TGPs and 32.3% of ETG students agreed on the great importance of listening and speaking skills and sub-skills in actual situation (Q6-Q10).2,What difficulties did iv tour guiding professionals and ETG students encounter when using English in reality?3,How should these difficulties be overcome to satisfy English language needs for tour guiding from the perspectives of tour guiding professionals and ETG students from HUFL, Hue University? The quantitative analysis was based on written feedbacks twenty five items in the questionnaire for TGPs and on thirty one ETG students’ feedbacks to the relevant questionnaire The results of the analysis can help HUFL to modify its syllabus content relating to language-supported knowledge ,balance between General English and ETG, aspects of English linguistic knowledge ,especially pronunciation and specialized vocabulary and four English language skills ,sub-skills especially listening and speaking skills and their sub-skills A research of English language needs from the perspectives of tour guide professionals in Hue city has not been until now That is the reason the research namely: English language needs for tour guiding from the perspectives of tour guiding professionals and English-for-tourism students from University of foreign languages ,Hue University comes into being v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This paper could not have been completed without the encouragement and support from a number of people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc for his continual encouragement, careful reading, critical comments and patient guidance that made my paper better and more professional My warm thanks go to all my colleagues at Diethelm travel Viet Nam and Trails of Indochina ,Viet Nam who always encourage and support me during the time I was busy with this research Finally, I would like to show my deepest gratitude and appreciation to my family, my colleagues, my close friends and my classmates who always by my side and give me great mental and physical support Their love, support and constant encouragement gave me a great deal of strength and determination that help me during the stressful time of writing this thesis vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages Sub cover page i Statement of originality iii Abstract iv Acknowledgements v Table of contents .vii List of abbreviations xi List of Tables xii Contents of thesis CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the research 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the research 1.5 Definitions of key terms 1.6 Significance of the research 1.7 Structure of the research CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical background 2.1.1 Tourism and Tour Guide 2.1.1.1Tourism 2.1.1.2 Tour Guide 2.1.2 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Tourism and Hospitality Purposes (ET) specializing in English for Tour Guiding (ETG) 2.1.3 Needs Analysis in ETG vii 2.1.3.1 Need 2.1.3.2 Needs Analysis 2.1.3.3 Needs Analysis in English for Tour Guiding 2.1.4 Teaching ESP and Teaching ETG 2.1.4.1 Teaching ESP 2.1.4.2 Teaching ETG 2.1.5 English Syllabus for English for Tourism (specializing in English for Tour Guiding) from University of Foreign Languages, Hue University………… 10 2.2 Review of previous studies 10 2.2.1 Previous studies abroad 10 2.2.2 Previous studies in the context of Vietnam 12 2.3 Summary 13 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 14 3.1 Research design 14 3.2 Data Collection Method 15 3.2.1 Participants/Subjects of the research 15 3.2.2 Instrument: The questionnaire 18 3.2.3 Data Collection procedure 18 3.3 Data Analysis Method 18 3.4 Summary 20 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 21 4.1 Tour Guiding Professionals’ and ETG Students’ Perspectives about English Language Needs on Tour Guiding 21 4.2 Tour Guiding Professionals’ and ETG Students’ Perspectives on Actual Situation and Difficulties in Tour Guiding ……………………………………… 22 4.3 Tour Guiding Professionals’ and ETG Students’ Suggestions to Overcome Difficulties to Satisfy English Language Needs in Tour Guiding 76 4.4 Summary 81 viii CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER STUDY 82 5.1 Conclusions - Summary of the key findings 82 5.1.1 Perspectives on English language needs for Tour Guiding 82 5.1.2 Perspectives on actual situation and difficulties in Tour Guiding 82 5.1.3 Suggestions to overcome difficulties to satisfy English language needs 83 5.2 Implications 84 5.2.1 For English Department from HUFL, Hue University 84 5.2.2 For ETG students 85 5.3 Limitations and Further Research 86 REFERENCES 87 APPENDICES 90 ix None Which knowledge can support tour guiding? Culture History Geography Psychology Others (if any): How important is English for Tourism (ET), specializing in Tour Guiding (ETG) in comparison with English for General Purposes (EGP) or General English (GE)? ETG is the most important ETG is more important ETG is as important ETG is less important EGP/GE is the most important Which aspect of English linguistic knowledge is the most important to Tour Guides? Pronunciation is the most important Grammar is the most important General vocabulary is the most important Specialized vocabulary is the most important All of the above knowledge is important Which English language skill is the most important to Tour Guides? Listening skill is the most important Speaking skill is the most important Reading skill is the most important Writing skill is the most important All of these skills are important Which listening sub-skill is necessary for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-listening skills Most Listening to tourists’ needs Listening to face-to-face conversations Listening to reservation details A lot Moderate Least At least Listening to telephone conversations Listening to personal details of the tourists Listening to topics tourists are interested in Others (if any): Which speaking sub-skill has been required for tour guiding, and how much? speaking sub-skills Most A lot Moderate Least At least Moderate Least At least Moderate Least At least Inquiring tourists’ needs Taking reservations (in eating, sleeping, air tickets ) Giving tourists directions Suggesting travel information (information about tourist attractions, insurance, money exchange Making small talks to tourists Asking for tourists’ information Providing information about travel plans (tour programs, itineraries Giving details about transportation Making presentations about scenic spots 10 Others (if any): Which reading sub-skill is essential for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-reading skills Most A lot Reading articles from tourism magazines Reading news related to tourism Getting detailed information of tourists’ documents (passport, visa, insurance papers) Reading information from emails and internet related to tourism Others (if any): 10 Which writing sub-skill is necessary for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-writing skills Most Writing emails A lot Writing travel plans Writing travel timetables Writing reports about tourists Producing tourism documents, leaflets and brochures Others (if any): II TOUR GUIDING PROFESSIONALS’ PERSPECTIVES ON ACTUAL SITUATION AND DIFFICULTIES IN TOUR GUIDING IN HUE CITY 11 Which type of knowledge outside of language has been required to tour guiding, and how much? Type of knowledge Most A lot Moderate Least At least Culture History Geography Psychology Others (if any): 12 Which aspect of English linguistic knowledge has been required for tour guiding, and how much? Types of English linguistic knowledge Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Pronunciation Grammar General vocabulary Specialized vocabulary Others (if any): 13 Which English language skill has been needed for tour guiding, and how much? Type of English skills Most A lot Moderate Listening skill Speaking skill Reading skill Writing skill Others (if any): 14 Which listening sub-skill has been needed for tour guiding, and how much? listening sub-skills Most Listening to tourists’ needs A lot Moderate Least At least Listening to face-to-face conversations Listening to reservation details Listening to telephone conversations Listening to personal details of the tourists Listening to topics tourists are interested in Others (if any): 15 Which speaking sub-skill has been required for tour guiding, and how much? speaking sub-skills Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Least At least Inquiring tourists’ needs Taking reservations (in eating, sleeping, air tickets Giving tourists directions Suggesting travel information (information about tourist attractions, insurance, money exchange Making small talks to tourists Asking for tourists’ information Providing information about travel plans (tour programs, itineraries Giving details about transportation Making presentations about scenic spots 10 Others (if any): 16 Which reading sub-skill has been needed for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-reading skills Most A lot Moderate Reading articles from tourism magazines Reading news related to tourism Getting detailed information of tourists’ documents (passport, visa, insurance papers) Reading information from emails and internet related to tourism Others (if any): 17 Which writing sub-skill has been required for tour guiding, and how much? Writing sub- skills Most A lot Moderate Writing emails Writing travel plans Writing travel timetables Writing reports about tourists Producing tourism documents, leaflets and brochures Others (if any): 18 Which cultural difficulties did Tour Guides encounter when practicing working with international tourists, and how much? Cultural difficulties Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Some misunderstandings existing in the culture of tourists but not in the culture of Vietnamese people Some misunderstandings when mentioning sensitive issues related to taboo, religion, politics, views of tourists' country Some misunderstandings due to inaccurate or subjective comparisons, explanations on some cultural-related issues by way of speaking or writing Some misunderstandings and misinterpretations when tourists are allowed/ are not allowed to visit spiritual places Some misunderstandings in tourists’ wearing clothes and choosing cuisine Others (if any): 19 Which difficulties did Tour Guides encounter in listening skills, and how much? Difficulties in listening skills Most Listening to reservation details incorrectly Listening to tourists’ telephone calls unclearly Listening to tourists’ needs incompletely Listening to tourists’ non-standard pronunciation, regional dialects, unfamiliar accents A lot Moderate Others (if any): 20 Which difficulties did Tour Guides encounter in speaking skills, and how much? Difficulties in speaking skills Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Talking about reservations unclearly Explaining about prices inexactly Explaining transportation unclearly Explaining travel information incompletely Explaining tourists’ needs vaguely Talking about tourist attractions incompletely Others (if any): 21 Which difficulties did Tour Guides encounter in reading skills, and how much? Difficulties in reading skills Most A lot Moderate Reading and understanding unclearly travel contracts, contract letters, emails Reading and understanding vaguely information about tourists’ full name patterns, religious titles Reading and understanding minimally tourism news and documents Reading and understanding inexactly information about tourist destinations, tourist attractions Others (if any): 22 Which difficulties did Tour Guides encounter in writing skills, and how much? Difficulties in writing skills Most Writing e-mail in wrong formats Writing advertisements about tourism, travel contracts uneasily Writing travel itinerary, travel plans vaguely Writing reports about tourists incoherently Others (if any): A lot Moderate Least At least III TOUR GUIDING PROFESSIONALS’ SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES TO SATISFY ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS IN TOUR GUIDING IN HUE CITY 23 Suggestions to English Department, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University Suggestions on the selection of students for ETG programs Suggestions on the qualifications, working experience and teaching methods of ETG teachers/lecturers Suggestions on ET, ETG syllabus, materials Suggestions on ETG internships, practicing in the workplace, attending to seminars sharing working experience in tour guiding by tour guiding professional Some others (if any): 24 Suggestions to (international) travel agencies, companies Suggestions on recruiting tour guides for tour/travel programs Suggestions on fostering professional skills and ETG to tour guides and training ETG students in internship programs 3.Some others (if any): 25 Suggestions to Tour Guides Suggestions on overcoming cultural difficulties in tour guiding Suggestions on overcoming English linguistic knowledge in tour guiding Suggestions on overcoming English communication skills in tour guiding Some others (if any): THE END APPENDIX Students QUESTIONNAIRE For the 4th-year students of English for Tourism This questionnaire only serves the study of the MA research title ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS FOR TOUR GUIDING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF TOUR GUIDING PROFESSIONALS AND ENGLISH -FOR -TOURISM STUDENTS FROM UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY All personal information (if any) is kept confidential Some questions may be answered in more than one option (by marking √) PART A PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Age: Gender: English level: Working/learning experience (How many years of using English): PART B I.ETG STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS What are Tour Guides' normal activities? Leading tourists to visit monuments and landscapes according to the prescribed time Guiding tourists in their required languages Explaining the values of cultural and natural heritage that tour guides master with issued degrees Managing a group of tourists to see sights for a tour day Others (if any): What knowledge outside language is necessary to Tour Guides? Very much Much Very little Little None Which knowledge can support tour guiding? Culture History Geography Psychology Others (if any): How important is English for Tourism (ET), specializing in Tour Guiding (ETG) in comparison with English for General Purposes (EGP) or General English (GE)? ETG is the most important ETG is more important ETG is as important ETG is less important EGP/GE is the most important Which aspect of English linguistic knowledge is the most important to Tour Guides? Pronunciation is the most important Grammar is the most important General vocabulary is the most important Specialized vocabulary is the most important All of the above knowledge is important Which English language skill is the most important to Tour Guides? Listening skill is the most important Speaking skill is the most important Reading skill is the most important Writing skill is the most important All of these skills are important Which listening sub-skill is necessary for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-listening skills Most Listening to tourists’ needs Listening to face-to-face conversations Listening to reservation details Listening to telephone conversations A lot Moderate Least At least Listening to personal details of the tourists Listening to topics tourists are interested in Others (if any): Which speaking sub-skill has been required for tour guiding, and how much? Speaking sub- skills Most A lot Moderate Least At least Moderate Least At least Moderate Least At least Inquiring tourists’ needs Taking reservations (in eating, sleeping, air tickets Giving tourists directions Suggesting travel information (information about tourist attractions, insurance, money exchange Making small talks to tourists Asking for tourists’ information Providing information about travel plans (tour programs, itineraries Giving details about transportation Making presentations about scenic spots 10 Others (if any): Which reading sub-skill is essential for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-reading skills Most A lot Reading articles from tourism magazines Reading news related to tourism Getting detailed information of tourists’ documents (passport, visa, insurance papers) Reading information from emails and internet related to tourism Others (if any): 10 Which writing sub-skill is necessary for tour guiding, and how much? Writing sub-skills Most Writing emails Writing travel plans A lot Writing travel timetables Writing reports about tourists Producing tourism documents, leaflets and brochures Others (if any): II ETG STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON ACTUAL SITUATION AND DIFFICULTIES IN TOUR GUIDING IN HUE CITY 11 Which type of knowledge outside of language has been required to tour guiding, and how much? Type of knowledge Most A lot Moderate Least At least Culture History Geography Psychology Others (if any): 12 Which aspect of English linguistic knowledge has been required for tour guiding, and how much? Types of English linguistic knowledge Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Pronunciation Grammar General vocabulary Specialized vocabulary Others (if any): 13 Which English language skill has been needed for tour guiding, and how much? Type of English skills Most A lot Moderate Listening skill Speaking skill Reading skill Writing skill Others (if any): 14 Which listening sub-skill has been needed for tour guiding, and how much? Listening sub-skills Most Listening to tourists’ needs Listening to face-to-face conversations A lot Moderate Least At least Listening to reservation details Listening to telephone conversations Listening to personal details of the tourists Listening to topics tourists are interested in Others (if any): 15 Which speaking sub-skill has been required for tour guiding, and how much? Speaking sub-skills Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Inquiring tourists’ needs Taking reservations (in eating, sleeping, air tickets Giving tourists directions Suggesting travel information (information about tourist attractions, insurance, money exchange Making small talks to tourists Asking for tourists’ information Providing information about travel plans (tour programs, itineraries Giving details about transportation Making presentations about scenic spots 10 Others (if any): 16 Which reading sub-skill has been needed for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-reading skills Most A lot Moderate Reading articles from tourism magazines Reading news related to tourism Getting detailed information of tourists’ documents (passport, visa, insurance papers) Reading information from emails and internet related to tourism Others (if any): 17 Which writing sub-skill has been required for tour guiding, and how much? Sub-writing skills Most Writing emails A lot Moderate Least At least Writing travel plans Writing travel timetables Writing reports about tourists Producing tourism documents, leaflets and brochures Others (if any): 18 Which cultural difficulties did ETG students encounter when practicing working with international tourists, and how much? Cultural difficulties Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Some misunderstandings existing in the culture of tourists but not in the culture of Vietnamese people Some misunderstandings when mentioning sensitive issues related to taboo, religion, politics, views of tourists' country Some misunderstandings due to inaccurate or subjective comparisons, explanations on some cultural-related issues by way of speaking or writing Some misunderstandings and misinterpretations when tourists are allowed/ are not allowed to visit spiritual places Some misunderstandings in tourists’ wearing clothes and choosing cuisine Others (if any): 19 Which difficulties did ETG students encounter in listening skills, and how much? Difficulties in listening skills Most Listening to reservation details incorrectly Listening to tourists’ telephone calls unclearly Listening to tourists’ needs incompletely Listening to tourists’ non-standard pronunciation, regional dialects, unfamiliar accents Others (if any): A lot Moderate 20 Which difficulties did ETG students encounter in speaking skills, and how much? Difficulties in speaking skills Most A lot Moderate Least At least Least At least Least At least Talking about reservations unclearly Explaining about prices inexactly Explaining transportation unclearly Explaining travel information incompletely Explaining tourists’ needs vaguely Talking about tourist attractions incompletely Others (if any): 21 Which difficulties did ETG students encounter in reading skills, and how much? Difficulties in reading skills Most A lot Moderate Reading and understanding unclearly travel contracts, contract letters, emails Reading and understanding vaguely information about tourists’ full name patterns, religious titles Reading and understanding minimally tourism news and documents Reading and understanding inexactly information about tourist destinations, tourist attractions Others (if any): 22 Which difficulties did ETG students encounter in writing skills, and how much? Difficulties in writing skills Most Writing e-mail in wrong formats Writing advertisements about tourism, travel contracts uneasily Writing travel itinerary, travel plans vaguely Writing reports about tourists incoherently Others (if any): A lot Moderate III ETG STUDENTS’ SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES TO SATISFY ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS IN TOUR GUIDING 23 Suggestions to English Department, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University Suggestions on the selection of students for ETG programs Suggestions on the qualifications, working experience and teaching methods of ETG teachers/lecturers Suggestions on ET, ETG syllabus, materials Suggestions on ETG internships, practicing in the workplace, attending to seminars sharing working experience in tour guiding by tour guiding professional Some others (if any): 24 Suggestions to (international) travel agencies, companies Suggestions on recruiting tour guides for tour/travel programs Suggestions on fostering professional skills and ETG to tour guides and training ETG students in internship programs Some others (if any): 25 Suggestions to ETG students Suggestions on overcoming cultural difficulties in tour guiding Suggestions on overcoming English linguistic knowledge in tour guiding Suggestions on overcoming English communication skills in tour guiding Some others (if any): THE END