From Experience to Classroom Activities: Preparing EIL Hosts for Visitors to Thailand
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Published:
Jul 22, 2021
Keywords:
English for Tourism English as an International Language (EIL) Linguistic challenges Tour guides
Main Article Content
Abstract
Through the lens of English as an International Language (EIL), this study investigates experience and linguistic challenges university students and tour guides in Thailand have when hosting foreign visitors, and how those challenges can be addressed in classroom activities. A questionnaire was distributed to 113 university students and 70 tour guides. Additionally, interviews with seven students and two tour guides were employed for data triangulation. It was found that the participants most frequently took visitors to historical places and had problems with specialized vocabulary and Thai culture-specific words. Visitors’ accent also hindered the success in hosting visitors. A two-hour session incorporating EIL tenets of communication strategies and inter-cultural sensitivity that addressed vocabulary problems was implemented with 26 students. This study is hoped to provide insights into real experience and commonly found linguistic problems for visitor hosts. This can lead to informed decision of English for Tourism course designers and teachers.
Article Details
How to Cite
Laoriandee, W. (2021). From Experience to Classroom Activities: Preparing EIL Hosts for Visitors to Thailand. REFLections, 28(2), 228–247. https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v28i2.253280
Section
Research articles
References
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Dahles, H. (2002). The politics of tour guiding: Image management in Indonesia. Annals of Tourism Research, 26, 267-293.
Davies, J. (2000). A study of language skills in the leisure and tourism industry. The Language Learning Journal, 21(1), 66-71. https://doi:10.1080/09571730085200131
Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 55-84.
Evans, K., Villarreal, D., & Loring, A. (2014, March). Teaching world Englishes to undergraduates: Tensions and pedagogical insights. [Paper presentation]. TESOL Convention, Portland, Oregon, USA.
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Ghany, S. Y. A., & Latif, M. M. A. (2012). English language preparation of tourism and hospitality undergraduates in Egypt: Does it meet their future workplace requirements? Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 11, 93-100.
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Ka-kan-dee, M., & Nonthapot, S. (2020). Language communication barriers among tourism services personnel in the upper northeast, Thailand. International Journal of Management, 11(9), 613-622.
Kalasin, S., & Charumanee, N. (2015). English needs of Thai hotel front desk staff in tourist attractions of southern Thailand in the move towards ASEAN Economic Community 2015. Journal of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, Hai Yai Campus, 7(2), 1-22.
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Pond, K. (1993). The professional guide: Dynamics of tour guiding. Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Prachanant, N. (2012). Needs analysis on English language use in tourism industry. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 66, 117-125.
Prakash, M., Chowdhary, N., & Sunayana (2010). Tour guides: Roles, challenges and desired competences: A review of literature. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Systems, 3(1), 1-12.
Purnomo, B. (2017). More than words: Strategies used by Indonesian tourist guides to interpret cultural terms in Surakarta and Yogyakarta royal palaces. Proceedings of the 1st English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC), 372-377. https://jurnal.unimus.ac.id/index.php/ELLIC/article/view/2514
Richards, L. (2005). Handling qualitative data: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019). Global Englishes for language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Salazar, N. B. (2005). Tourism and glocalization: “Local” tour guiding. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(3), 628-646.
Saxena, M., & Omoniyi, T. (2010). Final reflections: Globalization and world Englishes. In M. Saxena & T. Omoniyi (Eds.), Contending with globalization in world Englishes (pp. 211-229). Multilingual Matters.
Seidlhofer, B. (2006). English as a lingua franca in the Expanding Circle: What it isn’t. In R. Rubdy & M. Saraceni (Eds.), English in the world: Global rules, global roles (pp. 40-50). Continuum.
Taguchi, N., & Ishihara, N. (2018). The pragmatics of English as a lingua franca: Research and pedagogy in the era of globalization. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 38, 80-101.
Terestyényi, E. (2011). Translating culture-specific items in tourism brochures. SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation, 5(2), 13-22.
Wen, Q. (2012). English as a lingua franca: A pedagogical perspective. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 1(2), 371–376.
Wichaidit, A. (2014). Needs analysis in English oral communication of Thai tourist guides. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Widdowson, H. G. (1997). EIL, ESL, EFL: Global issues and local interests. World Englishes 16(1), 135-146.
Wongsawang, P. (2001). Culture-specific notions in L2 communication strategies. Second Language Studies, 19(2), 111-135.
Yasmin, M., Sarkar, M., & Sohail, A. (2016). Exploring English language needs in the hotel industry in Pakistan: An evaluation of existing teaching material. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 28(4), 202-213. https://doi:10.1080/10963758.2016.1226846
Björkman, B. (2014). An analysis of polyadic English as a lingua franca (ELF) speech: A communicative strategies framework. Journal of Pragmatics, 66, 122–138.
Brito, M. (2012). Intercultural interpretation strategies in the museum context: The case study of a guided visit to the coach museum in Lisbon. Revista Tourismo & Desenvolvimento, 2012, 437-450.
Brodersen, L. (2001). Maps as communication: Theory and methodology in cartography. Kort- og Matrikelstyrelsen.
Chan, J. Y. H. (2020). Towards English as an international language: The evolving ELT curricula and textbooks in Hong Kong. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 30(2), 244-263.
Dahles, H. (2002). The politics of tour guiding: Image management in Indonesia. Annals of Tourism Research, 26, 267-293.
Davies, J. (2000). A study of language skills in the leisure and tourism industry. The Language Learning Journal, 21(1), 66-71. https://doi:10.1080/09571730085200131
Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 55-84.
Evans, K., Villarreal, D., & Loring, A. (2014, March). Teaching world Englishes to undergraduates: Tensions and pedagogical insights. [Paper presentation]. TESOL Convention, Portland, Oregon, USA.
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Ghany, S. Y. A., & Latif, M. M. A. (2012). English language preparation of tourism and hospitality undergraduates in Egypt: Does it meet their future workplace requirements? Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 11, 93-100.
Hino, N. (2018). EIL education for the Expanding Circle: A Japanese model. Routledge.
Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the Outer Circle. In R. Quirk & H. Widdo wson (Eds.), English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures (pp. 11-30). Cambridge University Press.
Ka-kan-dee, M., & Nonthapot, S. (2020). Language communication barriers among tourism services personnel in the upper northeast, Thailand. International Journal of Management, 11(9), 613-622.
Kalasin, S., & Charumanee, N. (2015). English needs of Thai hotel front desk staff in tourist attractions of southern Thailand in the move towards ASEAN Economic Community 2015. Journal of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, Hai Yai Campus, 7(2), 1-22.
Kasper, G., & Kellerman, E. (1997). Communication strategies: Psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives. Longman.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007a). World Englishes: Implications for international communication and English language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007b). The communicative strategies of ASEAN speakers of English as a lingua franca. In D. Prescott (Ed.), English in Southeast Asia: Varieties, literacies and literatures (pp. 118-137). Cambridge Scholars.
Klaudy, K. (2003). Languages in translation: Lectures on the theory, teaching and practice of translation. Scholastica.
Lew, A. (1987). A framework of tourist attraction research. Annals of Tourism Research, 14. 553-575. https://doi:10.1016/0160-7383(87)90071-5
Magablih, K., Abulhaiha, L. A., & Saleh, M. A. (2010). Interpretation strategies used by Jordanian tourist guides to handle cultural specificity in tourism material. TEAM Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 1-12.
Marlina, R. (2014). The pedagogy of English as an international language (EIL): More reflections and dialogues. In R. Marlina & R. A. Giri (Eds.), The pedagogy of English as an international language: Perspectives from scholars, teachers, and students. (1st ed., pp. 1-19). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06127-6_1
Matsuda, A. (2012). Teaching materials in EIL. In L. Alsagoff, S. L. McKay, G. Hu & W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Principles and practices for teaching English as an international language (pp. 168-185). Routledge.
Matsuda, A. (2019). World Englishes in English language teaching: Kachru’s six fallacies and the TEIL paradigm. World Englishes, 38(1-2), 144-154.
Matsuda, A., & Friedrich, P. (2011). English as an international language: A curriculum blueprint. World Englishes, 30(3), 332-344.
Mauranen, A. (2007). Hybrid voices: English as the lingua franca of academics. In K. FlØttum (Ed.), Language and discipline perspectives on academic discourse (pp. 243-259). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language. Oxford University Press.
McKay, S. L. (2012). Principles of teaching English as an international language. In L. Alsagoff, S. L. McKay, G. Hu & W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Principles and practices for teaching English as an international language (pp. 28-46). Routledge.
McKay, S. L. (2018). English as an international language: What it is and what it means for pedagogy. RELC, 49(1), 9-23.
Ministry of Culture กระทรวงวััฒนธรรม. (2021). แหล่่งโบราณสถาน [Historical places]. Retrieved from https://digital.m-culture.go.th/artandculture.html.
Ministry of Tourism and Sports. (2020). Tourism receipts from international tourist arrivals. Tourism Statistics 2019. https://www.mots.go.th/more_news_new.php?cid=521
Ministry of Tourism and Sports. (2021). Domestic tourism statistics [classify by region and province 2020]. Tourism Statistics 2020. https://mots.go.th/more_news_new.php?cid =594
Pond, K. (1993). The professional guide: Dynamics of tour guiding. Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Prachanant, N. (2012). Needs analysis on English language use in tourism industry. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 66, 117-125.
Prakash, M., Chowdhary, N., & Sunayana (2010). Tour guides: Roles, challenges and desired competences: A review of literature. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Systems, 3(1), 1-12.
Purnomo, B. (2017). More than words: Strategies used by Indonesian tourist guides to interpret cultural terms in Surakarta and Yogyakarta royal palaces. Proceedings of the 1st English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC), 372-377. https://jurnal.unimus.ac.id/index.php/ELLIC/article/view/2514
Richards, L. (2005). Handling qualitative data: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2019). Global Englishes for language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Salazar, N. B. (2005). Tourism and glocalization: “Local” tour guiding. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(3), 628-646.
Saxena, M., & Omoniyi, T. (2010). Final reflections: Globalization and world Englishes. In M. Saxena & T. Omoniyi (Eds.), Contending with globalization in world Englishes (pp. 211-229). Multilingual Matters.
Seidlhofer, B. (2006). English as a lingua franca in the Expanding Circle: What it isn’t. In R. Rubdy & M. Saraceni (Eds.), English in the world: Global rules, global roles (pp. 40-50). Continuum.
Taguchi, N., & Ishihara, N. (2018). The pragmatics of English as a lingua franca: Research and pedagogy in the era of globalization. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 38, 80-101.
Terestyényi, E. (2011). Translating culture-specific items in tourism brochures. SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation, 5(2), 13-22.
Wen, Q. (2012). English as a lingua franca: A pedagogical perspective. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 1(2), 371–376.
Wichaidit, A. (2014). Needs analysis in English oral communication of Thai tourist guides. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Widdowson, H. G. (1997). EIL, ESL, EFL: Global issues and local interests. World Englishes 16(1), 135-146.
Wongsawang, P. (2001). Culture-specific notions in L2 communication strategies. Second Language Studies, 19(2), 111-135.
Yasmin, M., Sarkar, M., & Sohail, A. (2016). Exploring English language needs in the hotel industry in Pakistan: An evaluation of existing teaching material. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 28(4), 202-213. https://doi:10.1080/10963758.2016.1226846