Ineta luka ecer2015

Ineta Luka, prof.Turiba University, Latvia

Enhancing Employability Skills for Tourism and Hospitality Industry Employees in Europe

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Key Skills for European Union Hotel Staff AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

General Information about the Project Period: September 1, 2014 – August 31, 2016 Participants:

- Tourism and Catering School Dubrovnik (Croatia),

- Turiba University (Latvia),

- Ekonomska šola Murska Sobota (Slovenia),

- IPSSA Nino Bergese (Italy),

- Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (Romania),

- Primrose Ltd (UK).

KeySkills4EUHotelStaff


AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Specific Project Objectives (I)

To improve the level of key competences and skills (namely, employability skills and language competencies), with particular regard to their relevance for the labour market (namely, tourism and hospitality industry) and their contribution to a cohesive society (namely, providing better cultural awareness and increased language competence);



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Specific Project Objectives (II) To improve the teaching and learning of languages

and to promote the EU's broad linguistic diversity (11 EU languages and Russian), and intercultural awareness (culture of the EU countries that will be revealed in detail regarding the 7 partner languages, Romania representing ethnic Hungarian region) and in general concerning all EU.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

The Results Cover the EU Priority Fields Increased competence in foreign languages; Increased level of digital competence; Greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and

cultural diversity; Improved levels of skills for employability; Improved competences, linked to their professional profiles

(employability in hotels, teaching by applying innovative materials, training by using new tools, developing autonomous learning ability);

Increased opportunities for professional development.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224


The 21st century and its challenges; The EU strategic priorities; 2015 – European Year for Development.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Our world, our dignity, our future


Tourism – a key driver of socio-economic progress; Employees in tourism must be qualified with regard to

professional, methodological, social and leadership competencies and in order to develop them integrated approaches encompassing learning in natural environment should be applied;

Languages – a primary tool for operating successfully.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Language learning is not the aim but the means to become a professional in the field

Methodology (I)

Exploratory research; Pragmatism paradigm; Mixed-method approach; Quantitative and qualitative data analysis;



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Methodology (II)

Purpose: to analyze the industry needs and language teachers’ perceptions on teaching languages for tourism and hospitality industry Europewide in order to create a course that would foster the development of tourism specialists’ employability skills applying integrated language learning approach.

Stakeholders’ surveys:

1) a survey of language teachers in 5 EU countries,

2) a survey of hospitality and tourism enterprise management in 5 EU countries.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

The Survey of Hotel and Restaurant Managers



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

A handpicked sample: 131 top level managers of hospitality enterprises from the five project countries recognized as experts in their field, in whose enterprises students have been undergoing their training.

Types of Accommodation/Catering Enterprises



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Type Frequency Percent5 star hotel 13 9.94 star hotel 24 18.33 star hotel 27 20.62 star hotel 4 3.1Guest house 11 8.4Bed and Breakfast 11 8.4Hostel 2 1.5Youth hostel 3 2.3Campsite 2 1.5Restaurant 12 9.2Pub 7 5.3Bar 1 .8Other 14 10.7Total 131 100.0

Respondents’ Position in the Enterprise



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Type Frequency PercentOwner 19 14.5General manager 6 4.6Company manager 43 32.8Director 17 13.0Department manager 26 19.8Other 20 15.3Total 131 100.0

Services and Facilities Offered at Hotels and Restaurants under Investigation



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The Most Popular Major Languages Spoken by Inbound Tourists



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Languages in Tourism (I)

A hotel manager of a 3 star hotel in a small town in Croatia:

It is very important that the hotel staff speaks more

languages and speaks them properly. It is important in order

to create good reputation about the hotel and destination in

general. I would be delighted if learning foreign languages

helped to structure tourism business and to all organisations

involved in tourism. (Employers’ survey, Respondent 35)



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Languages in Tourism (II)

A bar and restaurant manager of a 3 star hotel situated on the outskirts of a tourism city of Croatia:

I think the course is really needed, because we are a touristic

city (a seasonal city). It’s always good in winter time to have a

course for all staff but it must be every year because there is

always someone who wants to learn more. Tomorrow that

person will be a new leader. The course is especially needed

for waiters, kitchen staff, reception and housekeeping. (Employers’ survey, Respondent 40)



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Skills and Competences Necessary in Accommodation and Catering Business, %



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Topics for the Conversational (A2/B1) Language Course for Hospitality Industry Employees, %



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

No. Topics Very neede

d

Needed

50/50 Not neede

d

Absolutely not

needed1. Hotel Reception 42.0 19.8 9.2 9.2 6.9

2. Restaurant 37.4 28.2 11.5 5.3 1.5

3. Restaurant Kitchen 7.6 31.3 28.2 13.0 3.1

4. Hotel Conference/Business Centre

13.7 22.1 13.0 10.7 3.1

5. City (getting oriented in a city)

16.8 31.3 20.6 9.2 1.5

6. Management Offices 16.0 36.6 23.7 8.4 4.6

7. Housekeeping 7.6 32.8 23.7 11.5 5.3

Topics for the English Language Course(B2/C1) for Hospitality Industry Employees, %



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

No. Topics Very neede

d

Needed

50/50 Not neede

d

Absolutely not

needed1. Hotel Front Office 32.1 28.2 11.5 11.5 3.8

2. Catering Services 22.9 32.1 12.2 11.5 3.1

3. Conference and Business Services

16.8 23.7 13.7 12.2 3.1

4. Off-Site Services 10.7 23.7 17.6 16.8 3.8

5. Financial Management 7.6 15.3 18.3 20.6 3.1

6. Hotel Management 24.4 23.7 12.2 11.5 4.6

7. Housekeeping 7.6 22.1 16.8 18.3 3.8

Differences in the Employers’ Answers (Kruskal Wallis) According to the respondents’ country (p≤0.05 in 9 variables);

According to the enterprise location (city centre, business district, outskirts, rural area, etc.) (p≤0.05 in 6 variables);

According to the enterprise type (p≤0.05 in 5 variables); According to the hotel size (p≤0.05 in 3 variables); According to the restaurant size (p≤0.05 in 2 variables); According to the number of employees (p≤0.05 in 8 variables). Cronbach’s Alpha test: α=0.937; s=0.932-0.938



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Suggestions by Industry Stakeholders Proactive teaching definitely, small groups – maximum 6-8 persons.

Creating usual daily situations and role playing them, which is the best way to improve all necessary skills especially communication skills.

Interactional course with English (native) speaking professors. The course has to be done every year before the start of the high

season as the employees change.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Summary of Industry Survey (I) In general, employers approve the inclusion of the given

topics in the curriculum for hospitality industry employees. A comparatively lower score is given to the modules

“Financial Management” (mean 1.9847, median 2.0000) and “Housekeeping” (mean 2.1756, median 2.0000).



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Summary of Industry Survey (II) However, the employers recommend to include the module

“Financial management” in the curriculum. They do not recommend the inclusion of the module

“Housekeeping” in B2/C1 English language course, as housekeeping staff is not in contact with foreign tourists so much and B1 level is sufficient for everyday communication. Therefore, the module “Housekeeping” may be removed.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

The Survey of Language Teachers



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

A handpicked sample: all 85 language teachers of five partner education institutions (18 from Latvia, 22 from Croatia, 15 from Italy, 15 from Romania, 15 from Slovenia)

The Number of Language Teachers Surveyed per Language



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Respondents’ Teaching Experience



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Students’ Specialization Field



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Skills and Competences Necessary for Students (according to the teachers), %



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Differences in the Teachers’ Answers (Kruskal Wallis) Among countries regarding monological speaking skills (p=0.007)

and leadership (p=0.026): Italy demonstrates lower numbers of significance of

monological speaking skills (mean=2.2667). Concerning the language taught: reading skills (p=0.038),

monological speaking skills (p=0.021) and communication skills (p=0.005): Communication skills – Spanish teachers evaluate lower, Reading skills – Spanish teachers evaluate them higher, Monological speaking skills – English teachers evaluate higher.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Methods and Tools Used by the Teachers in Language Classes, n=85 max



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Reading long texts, doing tasks on them

Listening to monologues

Writing essays, compositions, reports

Writing e-mails

Filling in forms

Acting out dialogues

Discussions in groups

Presentations

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

222730910128113303328915

1445

2439

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3728

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3017

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2028

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1143

619

5

12

31

345

965

17

Very oftenOftenSometimesRarelyVery rarely

Respondents’ answers ‘very often’ and ‘often’ regarding methods applied, %



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Readin

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ts, do

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Readin

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Listen

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Listen

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Writi

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Doing b

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Filling

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Acting

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Discus

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LatviaCroatiaItalyRomaniaSlovenia

Differences in the Teachers’ Answers (Kruskal Wallis) Significant differences were found in 11 items out of 15 (p=0.002-

0.044); The differences were not found only in the following activities:

reading long texts (p=0.057) where the respondents predominantly were not in favour of asking students to read long texts in class,

listening to monologues (p=0.146) where the most frequently mentioned answer was ‘sometimes’,

listening to dialogues (p=0.282) and acting out dialogues (p=0.295).

Cronbach’s Alpha test: α=0.938; s=0.936-0.939.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Qualitative Data (I) Key words of language teaching/learning methods and

approaches:

communication, communicative approach, speaking, listening, reading, writing, student-centred approach, interaction

An English teacher from Italy teaching English to students of Catering Vocational school, future restaurant employees:

I generally use a communicative approach based on simulating

dialogues and interactions. I mostly focus on developing and

improving the four basic language skills: listening, speaking,

reading and writing both in General English and in ESP. (Language teachers’ survey, Respondent 49)



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Qualitative Data (II) Key words key words associated with learning

environment:

motivating, encouraging, assisting, teaching through national

cultures, relaxed atmosphere, natural learning environment, electronic support

A Spanish teacher from Latvia teaching tourism students:

Different ways, but the teacher has to be an assistant, helper,

orientation person who needs to guide students to get good

results. Students are the ones who need to do the efforts through

the tools the teacher provides them. (Language teachers’ survey, Respondent 3)



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Qualitative Data (III) Key words connected with occupation and employability:

cases from life, simulations, dialogues in the field, occupational

skills, language for business, teaching through economy, professional skills

A Business English teacher from Slovenia teaching young adults:

My philosophy of language teaching is to teach my students to

effectively communicate in a foreign language (being resourceful

in everyday situations and their professional career), motivate my

students to become independent thinkers, take control of their

own learning (which is not easy to achieve). (Language teachers’ survey, Respondent 72)



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Teachers’ opinion of methods and tools to be used in A2/B1 language course, n=85 max



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224




Writing e-mails

Filling in forms



Presentations

0 20 40 60 80 1002287401015201420133940341622

1846

3036

303438

2238

343733

2622

39

3610

337

3426

2032

1634

811

2337

20

20

122

874

1381

111

43

7

1

111222

61

Very usefulUseful50/50UselessAbsolutely use-less

Teachers’ opinion of methods and tools to be used in B2/C1 language course, n=85 max



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224




Writing e-mails

Filling in forms



Presentations

0 20 40 60 80 100

273426443933363121294152543845

3833

3733

373938

3833

4523

2720

2825

1310

16559

610

207

1627

1412

543111

23

41

2221

1

3

1

Very usefulUseful50/50UselessAbsolutely useless

English language teachers’ opinion of methods and tools to be used in B2/C1 English course, n=36 max



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224




Writing e-mails

Filling in forms



Presentations

0 10 20 30 40

1113920181314129151924251722

1919

2115

152119

1615

178

127

129

62

51

32

36

74

8

455

1

23

2

1

1

Very usefulUseful50/50UselessAbsolutely useless

Suggestions for A2/B1 Language Course (I)

Hotel Reception; Restaurant; Restaurant Kitchen; Hotel Conference / Business Centre; Getting oriented in a City; Management Offices; Housekeeping – excluded.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Suggestions for A2/B1 Language Course (II)

Kruskal Wallis test indicates a significant difference in the following variables: Hotel Business Centre (p=0.001) and Housekeeping (p=0.000).

Focus of A2/B1 language course should be on short texts, simple writing and listening tasks, lots of pair work, especially role-plays and simulations, including some specific vocabulary tasks and writing tasks.

The project team also found the suggested field work, where students should get first-hand information interesting.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Suggestions for B2/C1 English Language Course (I)

Hotel Front Office; Catering Services; Conference and Business Services; Off-site Services; Financial Management (mean=1.9847, median=2.0000); Hotel Management; Housekeeping (mean=2.1756, median=2.0000) -

excluded.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Suggestions for B2/C1 English Language Course (II)

At this language level, the focus should be on longer, more demanding texts and tasks, on comprehensive writing tasks, case studies, simulations and problem solving tasks to develop both students’ language competence and their collaboration skills, problem solving skills and leadership.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Summary The needs analysis results pointed to the possible tools and

teaching/learning methods to be included in the course. In general, methods stimulating collaboration, interactivity,

and communication have to be used as well as attention has to be paid to developing learners’ reading and writing skills.



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

Thank you for your attention!

[email protected]



AGREEMENT n°2014-1-HR01-KA204-007224

mailto:[email protected]

Education

Ineta luka ecer2015