Objectives and competences
Course objectives:
• Expand specific tourism concepts and vocabulary
• Further improve students' English-language competence in terms of all four skills (speaking, writing, reading and listening), focusing on certain formats (formal correspondence, customer service, etc.)
• Encourage students to consider and discuss tourism-related topics in a foreign language
• Facilitate team-work and problem solving in pairs/groups
• Train students further on how to build a good PPT and deliver an effective presentation in the English language
• Revise selected grammatical issues in the context of tourism texts, and consolidate them
Competences gained by the students:
• Improved communication skills in the English language
• More confident communication in English especially about tourism-centred topics
• Improved team-work skills (listening, communicating, collaboration, critical thinking, leadership, problem-solving, time-management)
• Passive and active use of expanded tourism vocabulary (reading, listening, speaking, writing)
Content (Syllabus outline)
English for special purposes (vocabulary development):
• Main types of formal correspondence: letters, emails, okrožnice and faxes
• Writing formal emails (structure, vocabulary, length, politeness, hyperlinks)
• Business etiquette in a globalized world
• Negative messages and persuasive messages (complaining about a service & apologizing to customers)
• Describing your country/region/city
• Natural features and activities for tourists
• Writing appealing promotional materials using 'guidebook phrases'
• Five types of cultural tourist
• Describing museum exhibits and monuments, talking about (works of art)
• Marketing vs. advertising; the marketing mix
• Analysing your product: SWOT
• Case study: Cultural tourism and SWOT of a destination
• How to make an impact with your presentation
• 'Signposting' your talk (phrases for effective presentations)
• How to avoid death by Power Point in your audience
• Discussing developments in tourism in recent decades
• Writing from notes
• Understanding the negative effects of mass tourism and overtourism, and the many-fold positive effects of sustainable tourism development
• Case study: Cross-border responsible tourism
• Creative tourism videos: Why do they work?
• The essentials of a 'good' story, and social networks
• Visual storytelling & influencers
• Various accommodation options for tourists
• Describing hotel facilities and services, and MICE venues
• Hotel jobs
• Needs of business travellers
• Conference equipment and facilities
• Planning a conference
• Culture guide
• Talking from prompts
• Understanding the impacts of the pandemic
• Giving numbers in English
Grammar:
• Conditional clauses
• Linking expressions
• Revision of the tenses
• Describing change and consequence (current trends, past trends; result/consequence)
• Modal verbs (possibility and obligation in tourism)
• There is / there are (describing facilities)
• Relative clauses, relative pronouns
Learning and teaching methods
This course uses a range of teaching and learning methods, including:
• Flipped learning (students prepare for each class in advance on the basis of instructions in Moodle, using English for Tourism Professionals 1: Study Materials)
• Individual work by students (60 lessons per semester)
o Preparing for classes
o Mandatory mid-term assignments (essays, presentations)
• Seminar work in class (30 lessons per semester):
o PPT presentations (by the teacher and students)
o Watching videos
o Listening to audio clips
o Reading and writing
o Discussions
o Case studies
o Practial language work in pairs and groups
o Role-play
o Research- and problem-based assignments in teams
o Exercises of mixed types (vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar)
o Field work
o Guest lecturers – tourism experts
o Students' texts error analysis and correction
o Storytelling
o Mock tests (written, oral)
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding
Study results are shown in a student:
• Understanding English texts and conversations (reading and listening) related to the topics covered
• Confidently and intelligibly speaking and writing about tourism-related topics covered
• Mastering several situations in professional and everyday life in English
Transferable/key skills and other attributes:
• Understanding of discussed professionally relevant topics
• Application of newly learnt vocabulary
• Usage of newly acquired language skills
• Consolidated command of the covered aspects of English grammar
Readings
Gradivo v spletni učilnici Moodle (Materials in the Moodle)
Božinovski, B. (2022). English for tourism professionals 2: Study materials for year 1 (semester 2): professionally oriented bachelor programme ‘Modern tourism practices’ = Angleščina za turistično stroko 2 (106 p.). Fakulteta za turizem. https://estudij.um.si/
Online Oxford Learners' Dictionary https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/.
Online Collocation Dictionary https://www.freecollocation.com/.
Priporočena dodatna literatura/Recommended additional literature:
Peter Strutt, Iwona Dubicka, Margaret O'Keeffe (2016). English for International Tourism, Intermediate Coursebook, Pearson.
Miriam Jacob, Peter Strutt (2006). English for International Tourism, Course Book, Longman.
Miriam Jacob, Peter Strutt (2006). English for International Tourism, Workbook, Longman.
Seznam dodatnih študijskih materialov in revij bo razdeljen študentom ob začetku predavanj. // A list of additional study materials (published texts, journals, etc.) will be distributed when the module begins.
Prerequisits
Knowledge of the subject English for Tourism Professionals 1.
Additional information on implementation and assessment Written examination. 30%
Oral examination. 20%
Active coursework. 50%
A student passes the course when each segment of the course is graded with a positive grade.
Possibility to pass a colloquium exam
