Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide to Case Study and Student Activity – Northern Ireland Tourist Board: Meet and Greet There is one student ‘main’ activity related to the Meeting and Greeting Overseas Visitors case study based on materials produced by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in 2006 about ‘Meeting Expectations’. For information about current activities of the NITB (including destination images, virtual tours, audio tours, market intelligence reports) visit: www.nitb.com (for the trade) and www.discovernorthernireland.com (for consumers).

The case study is useful for any students studying Hospitality, Leisure or Tourism (HLT). It introduces students to some of the activities of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, provides some examples of useful phrases in English, French, German and Spanish, and gives details about what French visitors want.

Student ‘Main’ Activity – NITB: Meet and Greet The scenarios in this activity provide students with practice in dealing with customers and in using communication and inter-personal skills. Students can work by themselves (at a computer or from a worksheet), in pairs, or in small groups. Once students have had a chance to prepare what they might say in each situation, teachers may find it helpful to organise role plays as part of formative or summative assessment. When assessing students’ performances teachers may find it helpful to use a checklist of criteria. A copy can be kept as part of the evidence requirements and a copy given to the student to provide written feedback. Awarding body guidance should be followed for summative assessments. Students should be encouraged to evaluate their own performance and, if appropriate, provide feedback to other students.

Format of the Student Activity The format in which the activity has been created allows students working at a computer to listen to customers speak in French and German. If computer access is restricted, teacherscould play the extracts to the class using a laptop or class computer. NB German/French isnot the first language of these visitors and the audio extracts are spoken by non-nationals.The situations can also be used for any other foreign languages, with students deciding for themselves what the customers would say and then working out how to reply and how to deal with each request. Teachers will need to talk to students about which foreign language to use. The activity can also be used to practice delivering good customer service using English; particularly useful for students who are new to customer service or for whom English is not the first language.

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Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Level and Techniques The situations in tasks (a) to (e) involve simple language skills. They are on a separate page from tasks (f) to (h), where the scenarios and language are a little more complicated. Teachers may prefer to reserve tasks (f) to (h) for students who are more fluent. Nevertheless, students whose ability to speak a particular language is very limited are often able to understand, or work out, what a customer wants. Teachers may wish to demonstrate to students a number of techniques that can be used to help communication, for example pointing to signs within the hotel that use graphics instead of or in addition to text; referring to a map; writing information down (particularly numbers and directions); making use of the photos, graphics and text in a hotel leaflet to help comprehension; pointing to the dishes (images and/or text) on a menu; showing the customer a list of key phrases that he/she can point to etc.. It is also important to encourage students to aid communication by speaking slowly and clearly, establishing eye contact, being aware of body language and so on. If students are learning a language as part of their course, it may be possible for the activity to be undertaken during a language lesson. If students are not studying languages, Hospitality and Catering teachers may still be able to involve Modern Languages colleagues or colleagues with knowledge of other foreign languages, so that they can help students to work out what they will say, play the part of the customers in the role plays, and/or assess students’ performances in the role plays.

‘Help Sheets’ for Activity Scenarios The final section of this Guide for Teachers contains some ‘Help Sheets’. The next two pages (pp3-4) provide transcripts of the spoken French and German made available in the activity, ending with a broad translation into English. Pages 5 to 6 of the Teachers’ Guide contain some suggestions for what the receptionist might say when dealing with the customers. These suggestions are again given in French, then German, followed by a broad translation into English. At the end of the Teachers’ Guide (p7) is some additional French and German vocabulary and phrases that may be useful. These ‘Help Sheets’ can be used in a variety of ways. For example, teachers may wish to print these pages and hand them out to students to help them learn some useful vocabulary, phrases and sentences, to assist them in understanding the spoken French and German provided in the activity, or to help them prepare for role plays. It is important to follow the requirements of the qualification(s) being taken. This isparticularly the case if the tasks are being formally assessed, or if students’ preparationfor, and performance in, the role plays is part of summative assessment for a languageor HLT qualification. Guidance on preparation, assistance, use of notes, evidencerequirements etc. is normally available from the relevant Awarding Organisation.

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Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Help Sheets Family – Transcript of French:

a) Bonjour. Nous sommes Monsieur et Madame LaSalle avec notre fils Julien. Nous sommes arrivés aujourd’hui de Paris.

b) Nous passons cinq (5) nuits à l’hôtel. c) Est-ce que l’hôtel accepte les cartes de crédit, s’il vous plaît? d) Nous voulons un journal chaque matin s’il vous plaît. e) Est-ce que l’hôtel a une piscine? f) Avez vous un restaurant non-fumeurs? Nous voulons manger à dix-huit

heures trente (18.30) chaque soir au restaurant. Pouvez-vous reserver une table pour nous s’il vous plaît?

g) Nous partons demain de très bonne heure. Pouvons nous prendre le

petit déjeuner à six (6) heures? h) Nous partons maintenant. Comment arriver à l’autoroute s’il vous plaît? Family – Transcript of German:

a) Guten Tag. Wir sind Herr und Frau Weber mit unserem Sohn Johann. Wir sind heute von Berlin angekommen.

b) Wir werden fünf Nächte im Hotel bleiben. c) Ist es in Ordnung, wenn wir mit einer Kreditkarte bezahlen, bitte? d) Wir möchten jeden Morgen eine Zeitung haben, bitte. e) Ist hier im Hotel ein Schimmbad? f) Ist das Restaurant für Nichtraucher? Wir möchten jeden Abend um

achtzehn Uhr dreissig im Restaurant essen. Können Sie für uns einen Tisch reservieren?

g) Wir müssen morgen sehr früh abfahren. Können wir das Frühstück sehr

früh um sechs haben? h) Wir müssen jetzt abfahren. Wie kommen wir auf die Autobahn, bitte?

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Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Family - English translation: a) Hello/Good day. We are Mr and Mrs LaSalle/Mr and Mrs Weber, with our

son Julien/Johann. We arrived today from Paris/Berlin. b) We will be staying 5 nights in the hotel. c) Is it all right to pay by credit card please? d) We would like a newspaper every morning please e) Does the hotel have a swimming pool? f) Is the restaurant non smoking? We want to eat every evening in the

restaurant at 6.30pm. Can you reserve a table for us please? g) We have to leave very early tomorrow morning. Can we have an early

breakfast at 6am please? h) We have to leave now. How do we get to the motorway please?

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Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Receptionist – French: a) Bonjour. Je m’appelle --------. Bienvenue à notre hôtel/en Irelande du

Nord. Je vous souhaite un séjour agréable. b) Combien de nuits voulez-vous rester à l’hôtel? c) Mais oui. L’hôtel accepte les cartes de crédit. d) Oui, bien sûr. Quel journal désirez-vous? e) Il y a une piscine intérieure à l’hôtel, ouvert de sept (7) heures le matin à

neuf (9) heures le soir. f) Le restaurant est totalement non-fumeurs. Je suis désolé(e) mais le

restaurant n’est pas ouvert avant sept heures, mais je peux volontiers vous réserver une table à sept heures. Êtes-vous d’accord?

g) Oui, bien sûr. Je vais commander un petit déjeuner continental à six heures demain matin au restaurant principal.

h) Tournez à droite en quittant le parking. Tournez à gauche au premier rond-point. Allez tout droit. L’autoroute est à environ un kilomètre et demi de l’hôtel. Au revoir et bon voyage.

Receptionist – German: a) Hallo/Guten Tag. Meine Name ist ------. Willkommen in unserem Hotel.

Ich hoffe, dass Sie Ihren Aufenthalt geniessen. b) Wieviele Nächte wollen Sie im Hotel bleiben? c) Ja, das ist in Ordnung. Das Hotel akzeptiert Kreditkarten. d) Ja, selbstverständlich. Welche Zeitung möchten Sie haben? e) Est gibt ein Schwimmbad im Hotel. Das Schwimmbad ist von sieben Uhr

morgens bis neun Uhr abends offen. f) Ja das Restaurant ist für Nichtraucher. Es tut mir leid; das Restaurant

öffnet erst um neunzehn Uhr aber ich werde gerne einen Tisch für Sie um neunzehn Uhr reservieren. Ich hoffe das ist in Ordnung?

g) Ja, natürlich (selbstverständlich). Ich werde ein kontinentales Frühstück für Sie morgen um sechs Uhr im Hauptrestaurant reservieren.

h) Fahren Sie rechts aus dem Hotelparkplatz. Am ersten Verkehrskreis fahren Sie links. Sie fahren etwa eins Komma fünf Kilometer. Gute Heimreise. Aufwiedersehen. (Note – for measurements such as 1.5 kilometres, in German you say one comma five and not one point five)

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Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Receptionist – English: a) Hello/Good day. I am ---------. Welcome to our hotel/Northern Ireland. I

hope you enjoy your stay. b) How many nights will you be staying at the hotel? c) Yes, that is fine. The hotel does accept credit cards. d) Yes of course. Which newspaper would you like? e) Yes there is an indoor swimming pool. It is open from 7 in the morning

until 9 in the evening. f) The restaurant is all non smoking. I am sorry but the restaurant does

not open until 7pm, however I will be pleased to reserve a table for you at 7. I hope that is all right?

g) Yes of course. I will book a continental breakfast for you at 6am tomorrow in the main restaurant.

h) Turn right out of the hotel car park. At the first roundabout, go left, then carry straight on. The motorway is about 1.5 kilometres from the hotel. Have a good journey home. Goodbye.

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Reception and Accommodation Teachers’ Guide – NITB: Meet and Greet

Some additional vocabulary

French Il y a aussi service en chambre disponible vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre (24h/24). (There is also 24 hour room service.) Il y a un snack au centre de loisirs. (There is a café/snack bar in the leisure centre.) Le restaurant est ouvert de sept heures du matin jusqu’à dix heures pour le petit déjeuner, de midi à deux heures pour le déjeuner, et de sept heures à neuf heures trente le soir pour le dîner. (The restaurant is open from 7 to 10 in the morning for breakfast, from 12 to 2 for lunch, and from 7 to 9.30 in the evening for dinner.) Le centre de loisirs et la piscine sont ouverts de sept heures le matin jusqu’à neuf heures le soir. (The leisure centre and the swimming pool are open from 7 in the morning until 9 in the evening.)

German Ja, das ist fein/natürlich (yes that’s fine/of course) Klar/OK (understood/ok) Buchen or bestellen (order or reserve) Besuch (visit) Können wir sehr früh um sechs frühstücken? (Can we breakfast early at six o’clock?) Das Schwimmbad hat von sieben Uhr morgens bis neun Uhr abends auf. (The swimming pool is open from 7 in the morning until 9 in the evening.) Die Öffnungszeiten für das Restaurant sind: sieben Uhr bis zehn Uhr morgens für das Frühstück, zwölf Uhr bis vierzehn Uhr für das Mittagessen und neunzehn Uhr bis einundzwanzig Uhr dreissig für das Abendessen. (The restaurant opening times are 7-10am for breakfast, 12-2pm for lunch and 7-9.30pm for dinner.) Es gibt auch vierundzwanzig Stunden lang Zimmerbedienung. (There is also 24 hour room service) Ein Imbiss befindet sich im Freizeitszentrum. (There is a snack bar in the leisure centre.) Dann fahren Sie den Schildern in Richtung Autobahn nach OR folgen Sie den Schildern zu der Autobahn. (Follow the signs for the motorway.) Nehmen Sie die erste Ausfahrt. (Take the first exit.) Ich hoffe das ist Ihnen recht? (I hope that is acceptable to you/all right?) Ich danke Ihnen für Ihren Besuch. (Thank you for your visit). Ich hoffe, dass Sie wieder kommen. (I hope that you will come back again.) Ich wünsche Ihnen eine gute Fahrt nach Hause OR Gute Fahrt nach Hause OR Kommen Sie gut nach Hause. (I hope you have a good journey home.)

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