Actual English for Hospitality Industry From Foreign Hotel Guests in Thailand: A Case Study of Ayutthaya Province

Abstract

Effective and appropriate communication in the hospitality industry needs more than language knowledge. This study aims to 1) explore the needs of conversational English of front office staff in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand; and 2) analyze the expressions spoken by foreign tourists in Ayutthaya. To discover the needs of English language learning, the questionnaire has been used with 32 front office staffs who have worked as the receptionists from 7 months to 15 years. The questionnaire comprises of two essential skills for conversation: listening and speaking. It revealed that the needs of listening skill under the topic of Requesting General Service was at the highest (X=4.4, S.D.=0.8); while the most needs of speaking skill was with Apologizing and Expressing Condolences (X=4.4, S.D.=0.7). Furthermore, the structured interview questions were designed in accordance with the highest needs of Requesting General Service. It was then used with 35 foreign tourists who travel on their own currently travelling in Ayutthaya provice. The results showed the actual frequently used expressions which later grouped and rearranged. Finally, they were utilized as examples in the English language manual in order to let front office staff feel familiar with the actual expressions in hotels. Therefore, the front office staffs should improve their speaking and Listening skills the most in order to send effective messages to their foreign guests. The data from the findings could improve the front office staffs in Thailand by helping them develop English for communication in hospitality industry.



Author Information
Rujika Thammalaksamee, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Thailand
Suwaree Yordchim, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Thailand
Kantavee Wiengsima, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Thailand

Paper Information
Conference: ECLL2020
Stream: Approaches

This paper is part of the ECLL2020 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Thammalaksamee R., Yordchim S., & Wiengsima K. (2020) Actual English for Hospitality Industry From Foreign Hotel Guests in Thailand: A Case Study of Ayutthaya Province ISSN: 2188-112X The European Conference on Language Learning 2020: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-112X.2020.9
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-112X.2020.9


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Posted by James Alexander Gordon