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Perceptions of English Language Use at Tourist
Hotels in Taiwan
Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying HsuPresenter: Wei – Ting Chien
Date: Oct 8, 2009
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Citation
Shieh, W. (2009). Perceptions of English Language Use at Tourist Hotels in Taiwan. Paper presented at the 26th International Conference on English Teaching and Learning in the R. O. C.
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Introduction
A good command and fluent use of English is an essential key to assuring the success of the hospitality service
(Shieh, 2009)
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Introduction
In order to cultivate qualified hospitality personnel into the workforce for the future, most of the college and university Hospitality Management Departments, require students to take a half-year to one-year off-school internship to gain field experiential learning experiences
(Shieh, 2009)
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Purpose of study
to examine the perceptions of university seniors on the hotel English use upon completing their required one-year internship
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Research Questions(1)What are the English language needs that students perceived during their internship?
Business CorrespondenceBusiness Emails
FormsMessages
Writing
Professional articlesBusiness Correspondence
Work Manuals
Reading
Dealing with enquiriesSpeaking
Job reportsGuests’ enquiries
Listening
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Research Questions(2) How well do the students perceive concerning their English language performance during their internship?
Speaking4
Writing3
Listening2
Reading1
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Research Questions
(3) What workplace English that the students perceive as high in needs yet low in their performance?
Speaking skills revealed a higher importance yet lower performance.
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Methods
Questionnaire survey(80 distributes, 73 returned)
Instrument
1 year internshipFront OfficeHousekeeping DepartmentFood & Beverage Division
Requirement
Hotel management major Participants
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Methods
Importance of linguistic skills
Self-assessed language
performance
Demographic information
Questionnaire(constructed with
HEPA)
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Reflection
2.What important criteria of curriculum should be much concerned in Hotel English courses of hotel management department?
3.How do teachers help students’ language proficiency to be already to enter the workplace?