Needs Analysis of English Language Use in Tourism: A Case Study of International Travel Companies in Vietnam

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(1)College of Language Arts I-Shou University. Master Thesis. Needs Analysis of English Language Use in Tourism: A Case Study of International Travel Companies in Vietnam. Advisor: Dr. Guey, Ching-Chung Graduate Student: Bach Thi Thuy Trang. December 2015.

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(4) Acknowledgements Firstly, I am heartily grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Simon, whose guidance and supports to my entire thesis throughout the process of course. Dr. encouraged and helped me so much to develop more understanding of project.. Secondly, I would like to bless to my committee members (Dr. Lin and Dr. Jessica Wu at I-Shou University). They gave me good advices and supported more problem as well as guided me improve problems of the project. They suggested me better solutions for future problems. I have especially thanks to their all of supports.. Lastly, I am also cordially thanking to my family, my friends in Vietnam as well as in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. They always encouraged and helped me try the best to finish project, my friends gave me good database and information and also had supported suggestions for making my project well. Especially, my family always motivated me all of my studying, they opened and created new opportunities for my future even from troubles that i met.. i.

(5) Abstract English proficiency is required in all professional areas but it becomes essential in the tourist industry because of its specific characteristics. Needs analysis plays a vital role in developing English for specific purposes curriculum. This study aims to examine needs and problems of English language use of tourism employees at international travel companies in Hue, Vietnam. Quantitative approach was used in this study which included the survey research to collect and analysis data. The findings showed that speaking is most important need among English language skills of tourism employees at their workplaces, and then followed by listening, writing and reading, respectively. In contrary, reading is most faced problem of English language at employees’ routine jobs out of writing, listening and speaking, respectively.. Keywords: Needs Analysis, English Language, Tourism Employees, Vietnam. ii.

(6) Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... i Abstract ......................................................................................................................................ii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. v List of Charts............................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ..........................................................................................................................vii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 6 2.1 The Roles of English Language in Tourism Industry ...................................................... 6 2.1.1 Language Problems Faced by Vietnamese Employees ............................................. 6 2.1.2 The Role of English Language in Tourism Industry ................................................. 8 2.2 Definition of Needs Analysis ......................................................................................... 12 2.3 The Significance of Needs Analysis in Using English Language in Vietnam Tourism 14 Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 22 3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 22 3.2 The Structure of the Questionnaire ................................................................................ 23 3.3 Sampling Design ............................................................................................................ 25 3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 25 iii.

(7) 3.5 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 26 Chapter 4 RESULTS................................................................................................................ 27 4.1 Frequency of Demographic Participants ........................................................................ 27 4.2 Needs of English Skills of Travel Employees ................................................................ 28 4.3 Problems of Employees when Communicating with Foreign Tourists.......................... 34 Chapter 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 41 5.1 Research Findings .......................................................................................................... 41 5.2 Research Implications .................................................................................................... 44 5.3 Research Limitations ...................................................................................................... 46 5.4 Future Researches .......................................................................................................... 46 References ................................................................................................................................ 48 Appendix A: The Questionnaire .............................................................................................. 54 Appendix B: Significant Differences in Employees’ Needs of Skills by gender .................... 59 Appendix C: Significant Differences in Employees’ Faced Problems of Skills by gender .... 62 Appendix D Correlation between duration of work and Needs of English ............................. 65 Appendix E Correlation between duration of work and Problems of English ........................ 66. iv.

(8) List of Tables Table 3- 1: Structure of the Questionnaire ............................................................................... 24 Table 4. 1: The Frequency of Tourism Employees.................................................................. 28 Table 4. 2: Reliability Statistic................................................................................................. 28 Table 4. 3: Significant differences about employees’ needs by gender ................................... 33 Table 4. 4: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most used ........................... 34 Table 4. 5: Significant difference of employees’ faced problems by gender .......................... 40 Table 4. 6: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most encountered ............... 40. v.

(9) List of Charts Chart 1: Needs of English Listening skills by gender.............................................................. 29 Chart 2: Needs of English Speaking Skills by gender. ............................................................ 30 Chart 3: Needs of English Reading Skills by gender............................................................... 31 Chart 4: Needs of English Writing Skills by gender................................................................ 32 Chart 5: Needs of employees by gender .................................................................................. 33 Chart 6: Problems of English listening skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender ....................................................................................................................................... 35 Chart 7: Problems of English speaking skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Chart 8: Problems of English reading skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender ....................................................................................................................................... 37 Chart 9: Problems of English writing skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender ....................................................................................................................................... 38 Chart 10: Problems of employees faced by gender ................................................................. 39. vi.

(10) List of Figures Figure 1: Research Framework ................................................................................................ 22. vii.

(11) Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study English language plays a very crucial role as the predominant tool for communication in the global community. Nowadays, it is important for tourism industry as a means to communicate, negotiate, and execute transactions with tourists by tourism employees. Since tourism involves the greatest people movement and is one of the largest economic activities in the world (Thurlow & Adam, 2010; Urry, 2002) hence it can directly or indirectly provide the host countries with foreign currencies, create jobs in the service and manufacturing sectors and help increase government revenues, including hotels and other types of taxes, tourist taxes, airport exit taxes, income taxes and customs duties on imports (Badri, Dizaji, & Zeynali, 2014).. Vietnam has made a lot of efforts over recent years to promote the tourism industry and has increasingly encouraged foreign tourists to travel to the country since Vietnam joined World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. Hue, Vietnam is one of the cities where the tourism business has been largely promoted. Tourism plays a vital role in the development of the quality of life in Hue, Vietnam such as create jobs for people, as well as increase income for the local. According to the statistics of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in 2014, international visitors to Viet Nam in December estimated 657,304 arrivals, increase 8.0% over November and in 12 months of 2014 year totally reached 7,874,312,. 1.

(12) which increased 4.0% over the same period of 2013 year (VietnamTourism, 2014). Moreover, as the tourism business income from tourists earned about 200,000 billion VND in 2013, with an increase 25% over last year. As the result, Vietnam’s tourism has been increasingly improving to attract more and more international tourists to Vietnam, and tourism needs to be further developed. In addition, the role of tourism industry in generating income and creating jobs could increase. To be good hosts therefore, Vietnam people who are directly involved in tourism business should improve their English especially in terms of the language used in hospitality industry, as well as tour services directly communicate to international tourists. English is therefore needed for people who work in the future in tourism, business and the civil services (Richards, 2001). Knowledge of the English language as an international language plays an important role for those who work in tourism business in Hue, Vietnam. According to Crystal (1997), English has already become a global language, as it is used by more people than any other languages. Knowledge of the English language as an international language plays an important role for those who work in tourism business in Hue, Vietnam. At present, tourism staffs who work in travel companies around Vietnam have more chances to use English due to the number of foreigners who come to visit. Although these tourism employees are trained to use English in real situations using the syllabus written by the experts of this field, a formal need analysis to help determine the requirements of the. 2.

(13) English course for tourism employees has never been conducted. One of the problems of tourism staffs are facing is difficulty in communicating with foreign travelers, which sometimes results in inefficient service. Although these tourism employees are trained to use English in real situations using the syllabus written by the experts of this field, a formal need analysis to help determine the requirements of the English course for tourism employees has never been conducted. A number of ESP researchers have argued that as language in different context varies, methods and contents of second language teaching should vary to meet the needs of learners in specific situations (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Therefore, a few training courses have been specifically held for the tourism staffs/students to develop proficiency in using tourism’s English language though English has so far been taught without systematical survey of needs. Moreover, the syllabus is not based on the real needs of tourism employees as it should be. It seems inevitable to carry out a formal needs analysis tourism employee in using English across Vietnam. Previous studies in this field mainly focus on examining the problems of employees/students in using English language in tourism business or universities in nations such as Taiwan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Thailand, etc. However, there are quite few studies about needs of English language use in Vietnam’s tourism in particular about tourism employees.. 3.

(14) 1.2 Purpose of the Study With realization of a lack of studies of this type in Vietnam and the reason that English is now the most popular language for travel companies used in their daily works, I therefore have decided to undertake a study of English language needs in Vietnam’s travel companies. The present study aims to investigate the English language needs and problems faced by tourism employees who work at the international travel companies in Hue, Vietnam. It is also hoped to provide a baseline for obtaining a wider range of input into content, design and implementation of an English programmes by involving such people as learners, teachers, course developers and employees in the planning process. The findings from this study can be used as guidelines for developing a tourism English syllabus that could lead to the improvement of the employees. Furthermore, the results of the research would also help the designers and teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to develop teaching and learning materials that match the specific needs of the travel agents. It is anticipated that the conclusion of the present investigation could be utilized by those who are responsible for policy and planning as well as the related organizations in order to have a clearer understanding of English needs for tourism employees who plan to work in the international tour company in Vietnam. The results of the study seemed to suggest that, in order to find out what clients wanted and to make them impressed by the service, the agents had to listen carefully for what they required and understood them.. 4.

(15) 1.3 Research Questions This study, in fact, endeavors to answer two main research questions: 1. What are the needs of tourism employees in English language using in their workplace? 2. What problems do tourism employees encounter when using English language skills in their jobs?. 5.

(16) Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter discusses related literature on needs analysis in the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The chapter is divided into main four sections. In the first section, the roles of English language in tourism industry are discussed. Secondly, definitions of needs analysis to this study are reviewed. Thirdly, significance of needs analysis in using English language in Vietnam Tourism is reviewed. .Finally, theories and key findings of needs analysis are discussed in the previous studies.. 2.1 The Roles of English Language in Tourism Industry 2.1.1 Language Problems Faced by Vietnamese Employees Tourism industry in Vietnam has been quite developed in recent years; there is a fundamental need in development and training of service and production employees for employment in hotels, resorts, tourist attractions and related infrastructure. However, training for these sectors in Vietnam is relatively unsophisticated and lacking in industry credibility. Skilled and experienced employees are scarce resource; vocational education is very limited. Tourism employees in Vietnam are generally unskilled and require considerable investment in training and development. According to statistics of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VietnamTourism, 2014), the total number of workers in the tourism sector is around 850,000 at present, including 250,000 workers who directly serve tourists. Vietnamese tourism. 6.

(17) resources lack occupational skills and knowledge for providing good service, foreign language skill in meeting the critical demands of the tourism industry. It is noted that exacerbating this lack is the limited practical training and poor collaboration between training institutions and the industry.. There are inconsistencies balance between practical, vocational, professional business and academic theory input. Most of Vietnamese students learn great deal of theory at school without a chance to practice their knowledge. Students need to be provided work-based learning experience with meaningful jobs during their placements. However, there are not many tourism companies or tour operators willing to provide them jobs with practical experience. Vietnamese tourism students are mostly unable to undertake the tasks within their professional right after graduations. In relates to the people who have been working in Vietnamese tourism industry, professional skills and foreign language skill still need to be improved.. Vietnam must overcome the problems of a shortage qualified tourism human resource to ensure tourism as a spearheaded economic sector and sustainable development. The government should act as a bridge between universities, and enterprises to provide sufficient practical training to tourism human resource. Diversity of training, a mix of public and private provision, formal an informal learning opportunities should be supplied to tourism. 7.

(18) students who are future tourism workforce. Therefore, tourism and hospitality schools should be devoted to providing training in foreign languages in addition to English.. 2.1.2 The Role of English Language in Tourism Industry Language is a system of spoken or written symbols that can communicate ideas, emotions, and experiences (Draft & Wiginto, 1979). Understanding the role of language, organizations can improve the coordination skills (Karsten, 2007; Chen, Geluykens, & Choi, 2006), develop customer satisfaction and have effective management (Dickson & Huyton, 2008) in tourism industry. According to Domke-Damonte (2001), people cannot comprehend what others demand if people cannot converse to other people on their own terms. This indicates that English language creates greater interest and plays a more significant role that influences competitiveness in tourism (Domke-Damonte, 2001). Language is a source that encompasses daily practice and almost all other aspects of human life. Ignoring the important roles of language may cause resources loss or result in limitations to tourism development due to the lack of communication and knowledge sharing (Lauring, 2007). Block (2005) points out that language skills are demanded in various occupations within organizations such as General Management, Sales and marketing management, Financial management, Supply and distribution management, Administrative and support management, Information and computer management, Insurance, legal and property management, Technology management, Product and material management, and Trainee management. The language skills and. 8.

(19) elements are composed of listening, speaking, reading, writing, translation, pronunciation, vocabulary in tourism and grammar and expressions. The English language functions of each skill are based on various English for tourism textbooks (Stott & Holt, 1991; Utawanit, Communicate English for Hotel Personnel, 2000; Utawanit, Communicate English for Tourism, 2003) and contents in the syllabus of various English for tourism courses (Walker, 1996). For example, vocabulary in tourism skills include language functions related to the tourism industry, to tourism news, to transportation such as air, rail, and bus travel, to accommodation, to culture, to festivals and holidays, to ceremonies, to food, and to giving directions.. Language roles are defined as “Factor that is related to tourism organizational management” (p. 13). According to a study about role of language in Tourism Organizational Management, the researchers indicated the various key dimensions of language in tourism (Thitthongkam & Walsh, 2010):. •. to increase customers’ satisfaction;. •. to enhance and maintain language competency of tourism people;. •. to motivate international tourists;. •. to increase better understanding on demand and culture; and. •. to create effective internal and external communication.. 9.

(20) English has become nationally competitive in Vietnam because of globalization. English is recognized as a global language or international language, and increases the importance of business, trade, economy, and tourism. Applications in the tourism or hospitality departments are growing in Vietnam (Chen, Chiu, & Lin, 2011). Moreover, English has become a core academic subject in the hospitality training programs of most universities and industrial sectors to achieve English proficiency for employment and fulfilling job responsibilities. Furthermore, language barriers influence visitor spending (Chen & Hsu, 2000), as a hotel manager says “communicating with visitors who have very little knowledge of their host country’s language puts them at ease. We have found clients are more likely to book if one speaks their language” (Leslie, Russell, & Govan, 2004) (p.261). Hospitality and Tourism is often described as ‘the pleasure industry’ or ‘the welcome industry’ (Harding, 2011). It’s an industry where communication is the key feature. It’s also an international industry and will involve a range of inter-cultural encounters. The language of this industry is quite clearly English in an international context, but it is also the language of meeting needs, of providing high levels of service, of understanding people, of delighting people, of solving problems” (Harding, 2011). Therefore, English language is a vital role as a negotiated source of power in tourism development between employees and tourists. In particular, Hospitality education programs in non-English-speaking countries have been beginning to offer more English courses to students as well tourism employees. In the. 10.

(21) other hand, professional English is crucial for hospitality professionals (Chang & Hsu, 2010). For example, some tourism organizations in Vietnam nowadays have been organizing English for tourism programmes for students or tourism employees including: •. The Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism opened a training course. on tourism profession and English communication skills for 80 learners who are officials and employees working in tourism industry. The aim of the course is to provide the learners with basic knowledge of tourism profession skill and organize hand-on activities to help them improve their skills as well as ability of speaking English, creating confidence in serving the tourists. The contents of course including: reception skill training (such as communication skills, tourist marketing, check-in procedures...), and English communication skill training (Vietnam, 2012). • Ton Duc Thang University designed a course specialization Tour Guide Training for students who look forward to pursue works in tourism industry (TDTU, 2015). The aim of this program is to offer undergraduate starting qualifications for independence in the tourism industry, particularly, provides a well – trained tour guides with good knowledge and background of Vietnam culture, history, etc. It will equip students with specific knowledge and job-specific technical skills for the Hospitality & Tourism such as human resources, tour operation and marketing skills, ect. In this program, TDTU designed separate and clear courses from special knowledge to job-special skills for all learners in order to help them. 11.

(22) develop further cultural, historical knowledge and skills in relation to tourism problems. Specially, course of basis language skills were put into required courses such as resume writing and job interview skills, event panning skills, communication skills, etc. • Saigontourist Hospitality College (STHC) was recognized as a national tourism school in Vietnam (Saigontourist, 2015). SHTC have been operating tourism operator with numerous hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc. and have been designing training courses in tourism such the Tour guiding training program which based on Vietnam Tourism Occupational skill. In this program, learners would be taught about job-specific skills in tourist sites and communication skill in contacting with customers. In addition, STHC designed English language training course based on testing Toeic of listening and speaking skills of DynED software.. 2.2 Definition of Needs Analysis According to Wannapok (2004), Needs analysis has been one of the key factors and an integral part of English for specific purpose (ESP) practitioners; i.e. researchers, course designers, material developers, testers, evaluators as well as classroom teachers for many years. Richards (2001) indicated that needs analysis as a process of gathering data may be defined “as procedures used to collect information about learners’ needs” (p. 51). Similarly, Nunan (1988) interpreted needs analysis as “techniques and procedures for collecting information to be used in syllabus design’’ (p. 13). In this vein, Kandil (2009) concluded that. 12.

(23) the needs of Arab learners are not usually incorporated in the instructional materials because “needs analysis (NA) has not yet received sufficient attention from researchers and language teaching professionals in the Arab world” (p. 1). Robinson (1991) pointed out the term needs analysis is “influenced by the ideological preconceptions of the analysts” (p. 724) which implies that needs “do not have of themselves an objective reality”. However, Widowson (1981) this type of needs as a goal-oriented definition which may refer to “the learner’s study or job requirements; that is, what they have to be able to demonstrate at the end of their language course” (Prachanant, 2012)(p.118). Whereas Piyanapa (2004) defines “the needs in different viewpoint which focuses on learners’ needs at the end of a language course”, and can be called a target situation analysis (TSA). This is the best known framework for a TSA type of needs analysis which concentrates on communication purposes, communication settings, the means of communication, language skills, functions, and structure. In addition, in terms of types of needs, other researcher divides the needs into two types (Mackay, 1978). The former is academic needs where English is required for further academic study. For example, medical students requiring English in order to understand the lectures or read medical textbooks in English. The latter is job needs where English is required in order to perform a particular job, such as, technicians requiring English in order to work on a project in which English is used. In the present study, the needs of language skills (listening,. 13.

(24) speaking, reading and writing) based on job needs defined by Mackay are investigated. The functions and problems in using English skills are also included in the investigation.. 2.3 The Significance of Needs Analysis in Using English Language in Vietnam Tourism Needs analysis or needs assessment has been an important feature of ESP (English for specific purposes), EAP (English for academic purposes) and adult educational courses. English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) is more general compared to ESP because it does not focus on the specific job disciplines but it is more based on general basic skills required by students in order to be prepared for the workforce. Examples of basic skills in EOP are the same as in ESP: reading, writing, listening and speaking. “English for specific purposes is a term that refers to teaching or studying English for a particular career (like law, medicine) or for business in general” (International Teacher Training Organization, 2005). Hawkey (1980) suggests that needs analysis enables the course designer to achieve two things:. •. to produce a detailed profile of what the learner needs to be able to do in English in an occupation or study for which he/she is being trained;. •. to produce a specification of the language skills, functions and forms required to carry out the communication described in the needs profile.. 14.

(25) Needs analysis can be a helpful tool in the planning of course duration, course intensity, teaching methodology, staff matters, the group of learners and any language policy or planning situation (Johnson, 1989). Boon-Long (1998) adds that “needs analysis is needed in ESP as a curriculum design prerequisite, as it is crucial for teachers to observe and be aware of the nature of data identified by needs analysis not only for the performance features of the learner of importance but also the underlying competence”.. However, applying English language skills for ESP in tourism courses have to be considered and designed in professional and experienced tourism organization. After most of students finished their training programs tourism sectors, they cannot apply studied general and special knowledge at their workplace. One part of reasons is perhaps from tourism training courses designed by tourism organizations, universities, or centers. For example, according to program of The Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the course just last within one month and in particular for tour guides stay in Van Don, Quang Ninh. In addition, the course only focuses on training of the speaking skill to may communicate to tourists. They have an understanding of the particular tourist culture established within the Quang Ninh’s setting. Perhaps, they have knowledge of “tourist behavior” and the genre of shopping or touring associated with this. Their English language skills have been developed in this context. However, the course hardly emphasizes on other basic skills of employees such as listening, reading, and writing. As the same cons as tourism. 15.

(26) program of Ton Duc Thang University and other tourism programs of Saigontourist Hospitality College, both of these programs that centers designed didn’t totally focus on developing English language basic skills just emphasis on training speaking skill in tourism, especially in hotels, restaurants, tour guiding. In other words, a high standard of academic English including verbal, reading and writing skills is necessary. Taylor (2014) wrote that: “Without competence in standard English, students will fail academically and face diminished career, social and life options” (p.2). This means that few Vietnamese have actually learned English in the context of a totally English speaking environment, thus their knowledge of English may be missing many of the cultural idiosyncrasies of the language. An individual needs to possess basic English skills; to progress further up the ladder a reasonably high level of spoken English, and some skills in reading and writing in English would be beneficial. Brown (2000) claimed that: “Communication may be regarded as a combination of acts, a series of elements with purpose and intent. Communication is not merely an event, with something that happens; it is functional, purposeful and designed to bring on some effect…” (p.250). Therefore, in Spolsky’s (1989) theory of second language learning, individual; language learner through listening and reading generally develop prior to a higher level through speaking and writing. The language domains and modify the communication for the language proficiency levels as follow (Spolsky, 1989):. 16.

(27) Listening: process, understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken language in a variety of situations. Speaking: engage in oral communication in various situations for an array of purposes and audiences. Reading: process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with understanding and fluency. Writing: engage in written communication in various forms for an array of purposes and audiences (Lisboa, 2004).. 2.4 Theories and Key Findings on Needs Analysis The area of teaching English for tourism has been given much attention as English became a lingua Franca in the international tourism industry; still there is a paucity of studies in this area (Abdel-Ghany & Abdel-Latif, 2012). In the field of English for tourism students most of the studies have focused on the analysis of the required skills and needs in work place, adequacy and appropriateness of instructional materials and strategies. Al-Khatib (2007) examined the communicative needs of tourism and banking personnel by shedding lights on their perceptions of needs, wants, lacks, and attitudes toward English in order to include what is needed and exclude what deemed less important to them. It has been observed that the type of work plays a significant role in evaluating and using of English. The most common reasons for communicating as a. 17.

(28) travel agency worker were found to be offering destination guides, writing and sending email and faxes, making on-line ticketing, browsing the internet, making online hotel booking, etc. Travel agency users were found to be heavier users of English than their banking counterparts. The results of the study indicated that the most important skill for tourism personnel is writing. When instructing an ESP course an issue to take into consideration is that using adequate language learning and professional strategies are required in tourism field (Al-Khatib, 2005). Moreover, Bachman and Palmer (1996) argues, “Needs analysis or needs assessment, involves the systematic gathering of specific information about the language needs of learners and the analysis of this information for purposes of language syllabus design” (p.102). In addition, Graves (2000) further states that needs analysis is a systematic and ongoing process of gathering information about students’ needs and preferences, interpreting the information, and then making course decisions based on the interpretation in order to meet the needs. For example, Aunruen (2005) had a study about needs analysis and problems of tourism employees in all of eight language skills at travel agents in Chiang Mai, Thailand including listening, speaking, reading, writing, translation, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar and expressions. In this thesis, the researcher claimed that “listening and speaking skills were rated highly essential for the travel agents in Chiang Mai, whereas grammar and expressions and translation were seen as difficult skills”. In addition, Prachanant (2012) surveyed the needs, functions and problems of English language use in. 18.

(29) tourism industry in Thailand. A questionnaire was distributed to 40 employees serving in tourism sector. Results showed that speaking is the most important skill, followed by listening, reading and writing. “The three most relevant functions in using English language were giving information, followed by providing services, and offering help. English use problems included; inability to use appropriate words and expressions, inadequate vocabulary, and lack of grammar knowledge” (p.117). Moreover, Romaya (2009) carried out a study which aimed at examining the needs of the Tourist Police (TP) in Thailand. The problems of English communication faced by the TP officers with foreign tourists were examined, including the e-learning English course. The findings revealed that the TP officers found speaking and listening skills to be the most problematic aspect of communicating with foreigners in English. Foreign tourists perceived that the TP officers used English comprehensibly, even though some barriers in communication were found in terms of pronunciation, grammatical misuse, and inadequate vocabulary. In the same objectives as police officers, Alhuqbani (2008) analyzed the English language needs of Saudi police officers.103 on-the-job police officers responded to the questionnaire developed by the researcher. The findings emphasized the police officers and security sectors’ awareness of the significance of English language in police work. Nevertheless, many police officers indicated that they cannot use English in their job because of inadequate training. The researcher concluded that English materials for police purposes should be designed and delivered to the. 19.

(30) police officers to develop their proficiency in the four English skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Furthermore, Alhuqbani (2014) continued one study in relation to tourism English needs that examined 223 police cadets’ English language needs, motivations and attitudes. The subjects were studying at King Fahd Security College in Saudi Arabia. Results revealed that English teaching was confined to the cadets holding degrees in humanities. The subjects rated speaking and listening the most important skills.. As the literature reviews above showed, most of studies conducted survey researches in Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc. However, there are very few studies conducting to survey the needs and problems of employees in using English language in tourism business in Vietnam which I am currently investigating in basic skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In particular, one study examined “designing an appropriate ESP reading syllabus for students of the Tour- Guiding program at Tourism Industry, which is expected to contribute the development of ESP teaching and learning at Quang Ninh College of Arts, Culture and Tourism” (Nguyen, 2012) (p.3). In this thesis, Nguyen (2012) just found about the situational needs and students’ needs in reading skill which based on qualitative and quantitative approach to gather data. The findings in the study claimed that ESP reading syllabus would increase the motivation of learners and teachers during the ESP learning process. Therefore, in the present study, I consider needs to be what an individual lacks and desires to fulfill. Learner needs refer to what learners want to know and to learn in a. 20.

(31) particular language course and what they lack in knowledge of the language. Needs analysis serves as a method of gathering data on learner needs or what learners want to study in a subject. The results of needs analysis studies are important contributions to curriculum design, as they provide appropriate contents for a particular course.. 21.

(32) Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY This chapter had an overview about the methods and procedures of research in the study. The chapter was divided into five parts: research design, research framework, sampling design, data collection and data analysis.. 3.1 Research Design The study aims to investigate the English language needs and problems faced by tourism employees who work at the international travel companies in Hue, Vietnam. Besides, the data in this study are hoped to determine problems foreign tourists facing when dealing with the tourism employees, and the essential language skills and the improvement of difficult problems are useful for travel companies. Moreover, the study attempts to answer two main research questions:. 1. What are the needs of tourism employees in English language using in their workplace? 2. What problems do tourism employees encounter when using English language skills in their jobs? Needs of English Language Demographic Faced Problems of. (gender). English language Figure 1: Research Framework. 22.

(33) 3.2 The Structure of the Questionnaire Quantitative approach is utilized in needs analysis for the study of travel companies in Hue, Vietnam because this helps the researcher to collect data easily from a number of large participants and more effective results of the study from numerical data. Besides, the survey research mainly conducted in the study was based on the questionnaires in needs analysis of English in tourism made by (Aunruen, 2005). The questionnaire consists of three parts and given to chosen travel companies: personal information, needs of English use at workplaces, and problems of employees when using English to deal with foreign tourists.. In the personal information, participants were asked about their personal information concerning such as gender, age, educational background, current level of English proficiency. Especially frequency of using English of employees in work helped the researchers to determine who have a lot of experience in tourism services as well need to find which needs and facing problems of English use at workplace are helpful to travel companies. In addition, the participants need to rank language skills which travel officers are used most and encountered elements used difficult. Basic language skills and elements in this study were made up of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The second part of the questionnaire was adapted from Aunruen’s eariler work (2005), which covered four main domains of language skills to ask needs of English used most built on a five-point Likert scale from (5) Most, (4) A lot, (3) Moderate, (2) A little and (1) Least. In the last part, participants were. 23.

(34) asked about problems they encountered in English use when communicating with foreign tourists. This part was also adapted from Aunruen, divided into four main domains on a five-point Likert scale from (5) Most, (4) A lot, (3) Moderate, (2) A little and (1) Least. The questionnaire used in the study was totally written in English instead of in Vietnamese because all of international travel employees definitely know English to service foreign tourists anytime. To ensure the validity of the questionnaire, the draft questionnaire was modified and revised by the suggestions of advisor, committee members and one expert; besides, structure of the questionnaire is shown in table 3.1. Besides, the completed questionnaire could be found at Appendix B. Table 3- 1: Structure of the Questionnaire Variables Personal Information Gender, age, education, level of English use) Rank used skills Rank difficult skills Needs of English Use Listening Speaking Reading Writing Faced Problems Listening Speaking Reading Writing Total. Survey Items 7. 34 8 11 8 8 34 8 11 8 8 77. 24. Measurements. References. 5-point Likert scale from (5) Most, (4) A lot, (3) Moderate, (2) A little and (1) Least (Likert, 1932). (Aunruen, 2005).

(35) 3.3 Sampling Design The population in the study was international travel companies who worked in 16 international travel companies exclusive of domestic travel companies located in Hue, Vietnam. The number of the registered travel companies was collected from Tourism Authority of Hue, Vietnam according to the latest record in 2014.. Non-probability convenience sampling or systematic nonrandom sampling is used on a group of employees available in 16 international travel companies. According to the statistics of travel companies, each of company has approximately 6-9 employees who have been using English and dealing with foreign tourists such as tour guides, tour operators, tour sellers, etc. Therefore, a total of 16*9= 144 employees participated in the study.. 3.4 Data Collection Upon completion, the questionnaire was modified and developed based on the pilot study. A total of 144 questionnaires were given to tour employees at 16 international tour companies in Hue, Vietnam to identify needs and faced elements of English using when communicating with foreign tourists. The questionnaire was designed in both internet questionnaire and direct hand-out and written in English. The time of collecting data was distributed to participants from July to September 2015, a 3-month period.. 25.

(36) 3.5 Data Analysis The analysis and use of collected data was based on SPSS software (16.0). The primary statistical procedures in the study were as follows: 1. Cronbach Alpha Coefficient was applied to evaluate the internal consistency or the reliability of sections in the questionnaire, which used a five-point Likert scale. 2. Frequency (f) and percentage (%) were also used to calculate problems of English use of employees at their workplace. 3. A 5-point Likert scale was used to score the levels of needs of English of tourism employees.. 4. Arithmetic Mean (X) and Standard Deviation (S.D) were used to calculate the average levels of English needs. The highest mean score (X) reflected the more needs in English using of tourism employees in their work. Besides, the lowest mean score showed the needs for activity. Standard Deviation (S.D) was a measure of the dispersion of the scores, giving information on the extent to which a set of scores varies related to the mean.. 5. Weighted scores were used to rank the needs from most used to least used in basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and elements from most difficult to least difficult.. 26.

(37) Chapter 4 RESULTS 4.1 Frequency of Demographic Participants The collection of all participants in Vietnam was conducted in 3-month period helped me much more convinient to figure questionnaires and get a high percentage of responese through internet such as email, googledocs although there was a little dificult to collect datas of a large number of participants who have been working at travel agencies in Hue, Vietnam. Therefore, a total of 144 questionnaires were equally distributed to survey travel employees 136 responses was collected, yielding a 94.4% response rate. A number of respones were failed because of responsing questions in questionnaire unseemly were 8 responese, yeilding a 5.6% rate. Out of the total number of 136 participants, the percentage of female employees (66.9%) was higher than male (33.1%). Most employees work at travel companies aged from 25-30 (66.9%) and possess a bachelor’s degree. In addition, the result also showed that there were 117 employees (66.9%) with upper level of English proficiency. The duration of work for 1-5 years and for 6-10 years, occupied 40.4% and 39.7%, respectively, which showed that most participants have been working relatively long in the traveling companies.. 27.

(38) Table 4. 1: The Frequency of Tourism Employees Demographic Female Male 25-30 31-35 Over 35. Gender. Age. Bachelor's Degree. Educational Background. Higher than bachelor's degree Beginner. Level of English Proficiency. Lower Intermediate Upper Intermediate Advanced Less than 1 year. Duration of work. 1-5 years 6-10 years Over 10 years. Frequency (N = 136). %. 91 45 91 27 18 117 19 18 18 91 9 9 55 54 18. 66.9 33.1 66.9 19.9 13.2 86.0 14.0 13.2 13.2 66.9 6.6 6.6 40.4 39.7 13.2. 4.2 Reliability Analysis of Variables According to the reliability for each variable has the lowest Cronbach’s Alpha limit that can be only acceptable set as 0.7. Thus, reliability of variables in this study had high rate at .9658 was acceptable (as shown at Table 4.2). Table 4. 2: Reliability Statistic Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items .955. N of Items. .951. 70. 4.2 Needs of English Skills of Travel Employees This session answers the first question: “What are the needs of tourism employees in English language using in their workplace?” Data from different sections were. 28.

(39) compared through separate charts to explain clearer needs of English skills using of employees in tourism.. Female 4.80 4.50. Male. General. 4.80. 4.80. 4.60. 4.60 4.40 4.20. 4.20. 4.60 4.33. 4.20 3.80. 3.93. 3.80. 3.67. 3.40 3.10 Tourists' Needs. Direct Conversations. Reservation Details. Telephone Conversations. Discourse on Topics. Personal Petails of Tourist. Chart 1: Needs of English Listening skills by gender As shown in Chart 1, most tourism employees indicate listening skill as an important need in their work, which suggests that most workload of employees at travel companies involve listening to English in their daily operation. Especially, six highest needs in listening skill are tourists’ needs (M=4.6), direct conversations (M= 4.40), reservation details (M= 4.33), telephone conversations (M= 3.93), discourse on tourism topics (M= 3.8), and personal details of tourists (M= 3.67). The results in chart 1 showed male employees have higher needs in listening problems than female employees at their work. Especially, there were significant differences between genders through using One-way ANOVA analysis (see Appendix B).. 29.

(40) 5.00 4.80 4.60 4.40 4.20 4.00 3.80 3.60 3.40 3.20 3.00 Tourist’ Needs. Taking Travel Conversat Tourist's Giving Tour Transport Reservati Informati ions of Informati Directions Programs ation ons on Tourist on. Female. 4.10. 3.90. 3.70. 3.90. 3.90. 3.50. 3.40. 3.40. Male. 5.00. 4.80. 5.00. 4.60. 4.20. 4.80. 4.80. 4.60. General. 4.40. 4.20. 4.13. 4.13. 4.00. 3.93. 3.87. 3.80. Chart 2: Needs of English Speaking Skills by gender. According to Chart 2, travel employees need to significantly have speaking skills in their daily jobs. Eight most important elements in speaking are tourists’ needs (M= 4.40), taking reservations (M= 4.20), giving directions (M= 4.13), travel information (M= 4.13), conversations of tourists (M= 4.00), tourist’s information (M= 3.93), tour programs (M= 3.87), and detail transportations (M= 3.80). Most of the elements in speaking involve employees’ need to speak a lot to clients as well to discuss tours and tickets information. In addition, results from One-way ANOVA showed that male have much more needs in speaking skills than female employees at their jobs. Significant differences were found in all of the items on speaking skill (see Appendix B).. 30.

(41) 4.90 4.70 4.50 4.30 4.10 3.90 3.70 3.50 3.30. 4.60 4.00. 4.20. 4.10. 4.20 4.13. 4.20. 4.00 3.93 3.90. 3.67 3.40 Tourism Magazines. Internet, E-mails Female. Male. Tourist Leaflets. Tourism News. General. Chart 3: Needs of English Reading Skills by gender. Chart 3 indicates that reading is quite necessary for tourism employees after listening and speaking skills. Employees mostly need to read information related to tourism magazines (M= 4.20), emails (M= 4.13), tourist leaflets (M= 3.93), and tourism news (M= 3.67). Male employees have much more needs in reading skills than female employees at their jobs through using One-way ANOVA analysis. Significant differences between genders were found in all the items with the exception of “reading information from the Internet” (F[1,134]=.392), “E-mails and Reading telexes, faxes” (F[1,134]=.717) (see Appendix B). 31.

(42) 5.50 5.00. 4.80. 5.00. 4.87. 4.50. 4.20 3.90. 4.00. 4.00. 4.00 3.70. 4.20 3.80. 3.50. 3.70. 3.47 3.00. 3.00. 3.27 2.80. 2.50 Writing Emails. Travel Plans. Travel Timetables Information Texts Tourist Leaflets or Brochures. Female. Male. General. Chart 4: Needs of English Writing Skills by gender Chart 4 shows that writing emails is considered the most important needs in every tourism employee’s work (M= 4.87). In addition, other elements in writing skills such as writing travel plans are used a lot in their routine jobs (M= 4.00), travel timetables (M= 3.8), writing texts to give information (M= 3.47), and tourist leaflets or brochures (M= 3.27). Using One-way ANOVA analysis, the only difference between male and female were found in that females have higher needs writing texts related to tourism plans than male employees in their workplace. There are significant differences indicated based on all the items excluding “Producing faxes in a proper format” (F[1,134]=2.084) (see Appendix B).. 32.

(43) 4.00 3.90 3.80. 3.93 3.79. 3.70. 3.73. 3.60. Needs. 3.50. 3.57. 3.40 3.30 Speaking. Listening. Writing. Reading. Chart 5: Needs of employees by gender. The result of chart 5 shows that speaking is the most important among the four English skills at tourism employees’ workplace (M=3.93), as followed by listening (M= 3.79), writing (M= 3.73), and reading (M= 3.57), respectively. There is a highly significant difference between genders and language skills. The result means that tourism employees have much more needs in four English skills through using One-way ANOVA analysis (see table 4.3 below). Table 4. 3: Significant differences about employees’ needs by gender. NeedListening Between Groups Within Groups Total NeedSpeaking Between Groups Within Groups Total NeedReading Between Groups Within Groups Total NeedWriting Between Groups Within Groups Total. Sum of Squares 18.563 69.415 87.977 50.177 34.869 85.047 1.886 41.963 43.849 9.719 44.430 54.149. 33. df 1 134 135 1 134 135 1 134 135 1 134 135. Mean Square. F. Sig.. 18.563 .518. 35.833. .000. 50.177 .260. 192.826. .000. 1.886 .313. 6.023. .015. 9.719 .332. 29.312. .000.

(44) After the bivariate Correlation analysis was run to find the correlation between duration of work of employees and needs of English language in their jobs, the result shows that the correlation was found including needs of speaking and writing skills in tourism employees’ workplace (see Appendix D). Table 4. 4: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most used Listening 1 18 (13.2%) 2 73(53.7%) 3 27(19.9%) 4 18(13.2%) Mean 2.3309 Std. Deviation .86970 Obtained ranking 2 Note: 1- the most used, 4- the least used Obtained ranking- based on mean. Speaking 82(60.3%) 27(19.9%) 18(13.2%) 9(6.6%) 1.6618 .94454 1. Reading 9(6.6%) 27(19.9%) 18(13.2%) 82(60.3%) 3.2721 .99975 4. Writing 27(19.9%) 9(6.6%) 82(60.3%) 18(13.2%) 2.6691 .94324 3. Among the four English skills ranked from “most used” to “least used” that employees choose, speaking is most used and important skill in their needs (M=1.66) followed by second highest rate, listening (M=2.33), writing (M=2.67), and reading (M=3.27), respectively. The result shows that employees intend to carry on conversations with tourists or partners to deal with tourists’ needs and problems.. 4.3 Problems of Employees when Communicating with Foreign Tourists This part continues to answer the second question: “What problems do tourism employees encounter when using English language skills in their jobs?” Each of the. 34.

(45) sections was compared through separate charts to explain clearer problems of English skills used by employees in tourism. Specifically, among the five charts, there was one table (table 4.6) about ranking of English needs encountered by employees, from the most difficult to the least difficult.. 4.30 4.10 3.90 3.70 3.50. Female. 3.30. Male. 3.10. General. 2.90 2.70 2.50 Reservations Details. Phone Conversations. Tourist’ Needs. Discourse on Topics. Direct Conversations. Chart 6: Problems of English listening skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender As shown in Chart 6, the result indicated that tourism employees encounter a lot of difficulties in listening skill. In particular, the most difficult listening problems they consider are listening to reservation details of flights, hotels or tickets (M= 4.27), as followed by phone conversations with tourists (M= 3.93), listening tourists’ needs and decisions (M= 3.93), discourse on tourism topics (M= 3.87) or direct conversations (M= 3.7.3) are moderate elements employees rarely face in their routine jobs. Generally, males only have less difficult problems in listening phone conversations with tourists than female in their work. Using Oneway ANOVA analysis, the result showed that there were significant differences found in four items inclusive of “Listening to verbal instructions” (F[1,134]= 5.920, p<0.05), “Listening to spoken discourse on tourism topics” (F[1,134]= 4.170), “Listening to face to face. 35.

(46) conversations” (F[1,134]= 28.642), “Listening to news related to tourism” (F[1,134]= 8.520). The result of all items was shown at Appendix C. Female 3.90. 4.40. 4.07. Taking Reservations. 4.10. 3.80 4.00. Explaining Pricing. Male. General 4.40. 3.80 3.60 3.73. Transportation. 3.40. 3.73. Travel Information. 4.00. 3.67 3.00. Tourist’ Needs. Chart 7: Problems of English speaking skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender Employees’ problems in speaking skill indicated that they encounter a lot of difficulties at their workplace. The top five problems they face include: taking reservations, explaining price, transportations, travel information, and tourist’s needs. Among the eleven elements of speaking skill, tourism employees in Hue, Vietnam rarely feel easier to communicate and discuss trip or tourism related problems. Further, significant differences between genders were found at eight items “Providing information about travel plans”, “Suggesting travel information (e.g. information about”, “Giving clients directions”, “Asking for information from tourists”, “Inquiring clients’ needs and decision”, “Negotiating for mutual understanding”, “Giving details about foreign exchange” through using One-way ANOVA analysis (see Appendix C).. 36.

(47) 4.00 3.50 3.00 2.50 Female. 2.00. Male. 1.50. General. 1.00 0.50 Tourism Documents. Internet, Emails Tourism News. Tourist's Information. Business Letters. Chart 8: Problems of English reading skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender. In Chart 8, the travel employees encountered difficulties in reading English with total moderating mean score. All the reading elements are considered moderating scores which the highest score among above problems is reading written documents related to the tourism industry (M= 3.333), followed by reading information from the Internet, E-mails (M=3.267), getting detailed information of tourist documents (M= 3.1333), Reading business letters (M= 3.1333), reading news related to tourism (M= 3.2000), respectively. There are only male employees who have faced problem higher than female at reading business letters. Based on One-way analysis, significant differences were found in five items between genders in reading element including “Reading written documents related to the tourism industry” (F[1,134]= 40.055, p <0.001), “Getting detailed information of tourist documents” (F[1,134]= 7.727, p <0.05), “Reading information from the Internet, E-mails” (F[1,134]=. 37.

(48) 29.958, p <0.001), “Reading brochures or tourist leaflets” (F[1,134]= 14.828, p <0.001), “Reading articles from travel magazines” (F[1,134]= 9.302 p <0.01) (see Appendix C).. 4.50 4.00 3.50. Female Male. 3.00. General 2.50 2.00 Writing Emails. Travel Plans. Writing Advertisements. Texts Information. Chart 9: Problems of English writing skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender As shown in Chart 9, the results indicate that tourism employees face some problems in writing skill at their daily jobs, with total mean score. However, they have a lot of difficulties writing emails (M= 3.93). Other problems they find at moderating rates such as writing travel plans (M= 3.80), Writing advertisements (M= 3.40), Writing texts for giving information (M= 3.33), respectively. Moreover, male employees have faced problems higher than female in writing advertisements in relation to tours or plans. There is significant difference between two genders at all items with the exception of “Writing texts for giving information” (F[1,134]= 1.445, p >0.05) (see Appendix C).. 38.

(49) After the bivariate Correlation analysis was run to find the correlation between duration of work of employees and needs of English language in their jobs, the result showed that there is a negative correlation between the duration of work and reading problems they face. (See Appendix D).. 4.00 3.50 3.00. 3.40 3.00. 2.50 2.00. Faced 1.87. 1.73. Listening. Speaking. 1.50 1.00 0.50 Reading. Writing. Chart 10: Problems of employees faced by gender From Chart 10, reading is considered as difficult problems tourism employees encountered (M= 3.40), as followed by writing (M= 3.00), listening (M= 1.87), and speaking (M= 1.73), respectively. Moreover, there are two significant differences between genders in the problems faced by employees at their workplace, which include listening (F[1,134]=1.406) and speaking (F[1,134]=2.518) through using One-way ANOVA analysis (see table 4.5). It means that both genders have more difficult problems when communicating with their tourists at tourism destination.. 39.

(50) Table 4. 5: Significant difference of employees’ faced problems by gender Sum of Squares FacedListening Between Groups Within Groups Total FacedSpeaking Between Groups Within Groups Total. df. Mean Square. F. Sig.. 1.351 128.718 130.069 1.972 104.981 106.954. 1 134 135 1 134 135. 1.351 .961. 1.406. .238. 1.972 .783. 2.518. .115. FacedReading. Between Groups Within Groups Total. 7.233 88.607 95.840. 1 134 135. 7.233 .661. 10.938. .001. FacedWriting. Between Groups Within Groups Total. 4.297 81.062 85.358. 1 134 135. 4.297 .605. 7.102. .009. Table 4. 6: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most encountered Listening Speaking 1 54 (39.7%) 55(40.4.3%) 2 55(40.4%) 63(46.3%) 3 18(13.2%) 15(9.2%) 4 9(6.6%) 3(2.2%) Mean 1.8676 1.7279 Std. Deviation .88451 .68277 Obtained ranking 2 1 Note: 1- the most difficult, 4- the least difficult Obtained ranking- based on mean. Reading 8(5.9%) 18(13.2%) 45(33.1%) 65(47.8%) 3.4044 .71366 4. Writing 27(19.9%) 9(6.6%) 55(40.3%) 45(30.1%) 3.0000 1.09545 3. Among four ranked English skills from the most difficult to the least difficult that employees choose, the results indicate that speaking is the most difficult and important skill in their needs (M=1.72), followed by second high rate is listening (M=1.86), writing (M=3.00), and reading (M=3.40). The result shows that employees intend to have lot conversations with tourists or partners to deal with tourists’ needs and problems. Besides, they need to think how to communicate with tourists in order not to make them disappointed.. 40.

(51) Chapter 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Research Findings This study provided concepts in relation to needs and problems of English language use of tourism employees at international travel companies in Hue city, Vietnam. The results in the study showed the majority of the tourism employees claimed that all the four skills are highly essential and needed, especially speaking and listening skills, followed by writing and reading ones, respectively (Aunruen, 2005; Prachanant, 2012). In other words, almost all the participants perceived that the English language plays an important role in their daily work. Since tourism industry has been promoted for many years, and Hue city is one of the most popular tourism spots in Vietnam with history, culture, regions, traditional festivals, events, etc., and there are many foreign tourists that come to Vietnam and as a result of this, tourism employees have had much more opportunities to use their own language in order to communicate and guide travellers use services as well as visit the tourist attractions, tourism destinations and events over Vietnam. Moreover, the perceived participants’ levels of English proficiency were middle intermediate. Most of the agents still had some difficult problems in English skills such as speaking and listening used at work, followed by writing and reading, respectively. These findings were related to the results of the other previous studies of Aunruen (2005) and Prachanant (2012) that the tourism employees had fewer problems in. 41.

(52) writing and using vocabulary in the tourism field. Reading skills were not really considered problematic to them. Among four language skills, speaking was regarded the most important by tourism employees in international travel companies in Vietnam. Interestingly, when considering the problem of English language skills for the agents, speaking was indicated as the most problematic to them. The findings showed that the participants needed to speak English in order to communicate with foreign clients in their routine jobs. They spent most of the day talking to the clients and regularly dealt with them. In particular, tourism employees have to explain price of tours or services in order to make tourists understand. Negotiating for mutual understanding, conducting telephone conversations with clients and inquiring about clients’ needs and decisions were also crucial problems. The previous study pointed out that speaking a foreign language on the telephone called for special skills because the telephone did not allow the speaker and his listener to use the visual components of normal face to face communication (Aunruen, 2005). The tourism employees thought that the following listening-related functions were problematic to them. They mostly had problems in understanding spoken discourse on tourism topics (Aunruen, 2005; Prachanant, 2012; Romaya, 2009; Al-Khatib, 2005). They had to pay attention to what foreign clients were saying, taking much time to understand the points being made. Also, understanding face to face conversations, telephone conversations. 42.

(53) and what tourists wanted were their problems to a moderate extent. In their jobs the agents had to listen to different accents of English from both native and non-native travellers of English. Therefore, the employees sometimes were unable to understand their speech. As the results, listening to the foreign tourists’ enquiries is also the second crucial skill as shown in Aunruen (2005), Pingyoad (2005) because of leading tourism employees to understand the problems that the foreign tourists would need and want. In writing skill, the participants significantly needed to write e-mails in English to contact clients. E-mail and facsimile were popular communication methods, as they were quick, convenient and economical. This was similar to Sucompa’s study (1998), which found that some tourism workers who operated business in offices needed to write correspondence or e-mail to contact overseas travel representatives, they rarely wrote formal correspondence. Short words or brief and meaningful sentences were written to reach the communication target. Tourism employees had high needs in writing programmes or schedules for local sightseeing or overseas tours (Aunruen, 2005; Sucompa, 1998). To operate outbound and inbound tours, tourism employees needed to write correspondence or e-mail to contact travel agencies overseas. In addition, the travel employees faced a lot of problems in writing emails and tour designations in appropriate formats. Apart from that, the tourism employees in Vietnam also had problems in writing emails to describe things to do and inform information at various places. Writing advertisements and plans to promote their service and writing texts. 43.

(54) for giving information were also difficult for them. With these problems, the employees normally asked other companies to perform these tasks for them, which added to company costs. Compared with the other three skills, reading skill has the smallest problem and is the least important one that the tourism employees encountered. The employees usually read tourism information in both written documents and electronic forms. They normally read information such as flight, hotel and car rental information. The tourism employees suggested that they got used to some specific vocabulary in the tourism field. Thus, reading English materials in tourism was not their major problem. Nevertheless, they felt that understanding detailed information of tourist documents was the most difficult. Thus, the tourism employees needed more practice reading tourist documents such as, passports and visas. Understanding information from the Internet, e–mails, news related to tourism and written documents related to tourist industry were their moderate problems.. 5.2 Research Implications This study was carried out to provide an insight into the needs and problems of English use of tourism employees in international travel companies located in Hue, Vietnam. It is hoped to provide a baseline for obtaining a wider range of input into content, design and implementation of an English programmes by involving such people as learners, teachers, course developers and employees in the planning process. One of the greatest contributions of. 44.

(55) English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to language teaching has been its emphasis on careful and extensive needs analysis for course design (John, 1991). According to Robinson (1991) and Jordan (1997), the significance of a needs analysis could be emphasized for devising a course, writing textbooks or course books, and the kind of teaching and learning that took place. It could also help educators and administrators to gain awareness of the ‘context variable’ (Chaudron, 1990) and program designers to provide appropriate instructional input to foster effective learning. Implementing an academic needs analysis had a significant role in the identification and examination of needs for any educational institution. Although the present investigation does not intend to represent all tourism employees, the researcher does believe that the sampling frame might give a relatively good representation of tourism employees working in the tour companies located in the tourist attractions in Vietnam. Needs analysis is part of the curriculum development and is basically required before a syllabus development for English language teaching. The findings from this study can be used as guidelines for developing a tourism English syllabus that could lead to the improvement of the employees. Furthermore, the results of the research would also help the designers and teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to develop teaching and learning materials that match the specific needs of the travel agents. It is anticipated that the conclusion of the present investigation could be utilized by those who are responsible for policy and planning as well as the related organizations in order to have a clearer. 45.

(56) understanding of English needs for tourism employees who plan to work in the international tour company in Vietnam. The results of the study seemed to suggest that, in order to find out what clients wanted and to make them impressed by the service, the agents have to listen carefully to what they heard and understood them. Therefore, they needed to be trained in order to understand the different accents of English from both native and non-native speakers. The training should focus on conversational skills, as they needed to conduct services mainly based on listening and speaking. The content in an English training course design should be relevant to the specific needs of the travel agents. Learner needs should be considered in the process of planning the content of a language program.. 5.3 Research Limitations First of all, the present study employed only one instrument - a questionnaire survey as a data collection method. Secondly, the data collection period was during high season for tourism in Hue, Vietnam, the participants were very busy with tight schedules. The researcher was not able to spend time interviewing them or talking to them in detail about their needs and problems of using English. Thirdly, the present study was carried out in only one province despite the fact that there are many important tourism provinces in Vietnam.. 5.4 Future Researches The present study was carried out in only one province while there are other important tourism provinces in Vietnam. Hence, it was suggested that a parallel study to investigate the. 46.

(57) needs and the problems of using English of the travel agents should be conducted in other areas in Vietnam. Needs analysts should be cautious in collecting information from various sources due to the multiplicity and diversity of views on the prerequisites for an ESP course. Therefore, questionnaires in further studies could be administered to foreign tourists in order to find out their problems when using services. Data collection from the employer of the travel agency should be done in order to find out their employees’ clearer needs and problems of English use. In addition, the data to be collected from learners, teachers, administrators, and managers of travel companies in the planning process would help identify general and specific language needs and content of a language program. Especially, the further research might also include the needs of teaching methodology by which the learner prefers, using the strategy analysis framework. Further investigations of the needs of the travel agents should be carried out to determine updated current use of English.. 47.

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