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English Skills Ability Enhancement to Build the Strength of Tourism Staff
Kanyakorn Sermsook1 Rattaneekorn Nakplad2 and Ladawan Jantawong3
Abstract
Tourism is one of the important industries that create a lot of income to Thailand;
therefore, it is essential to increase its potential for more sustainable and successful
tourism in Thailand. The present study was then carried out to (1) investigate problems
in using English at work of tourism staff, (2) examine their needs in using English at work,
and (3) explore their needs in improving the English skills for their work. The samples of
the study were 200 hotel staff working at 1-3 star hotels in Phang-nga province. The
instruments for data collection consisted of a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire and a 5
item semi-structured interview. Statistics for data analysis were frequency, percentage,
means, standard deviations and content analysis. The findings showed that in general, the
hotel staff’s problems in using English at work was at a moderate level (M=2.76, S.D.=1.11).
Considering each skill, the moderate level of problem was found in every skill of English,
and they had English writing problem the most. They found it very difficult to write letters
or e-mails in English. Regarding their needs in using English at work, it was found that they
needed to use every skill of English at a high level (M=3.75, S.D.=1.11). A consideration of
each skill revealed that English speaking received the highest mean. The hotel staff
reported that they could not speak English to welcome, greet and say good-bye to foreign
guests. Pertaining to their needs in improving the English skills, it was found that overall,
the hotel staff needed to improve their English skills at a high level (M=3.85, S.D.=0.98).
They needed to improve their English use in every aspect at a high level. Among all of
the aspects, English listening skill received the highest mean. Based on the interview
information, it can be concluded that the hotel staff would like concerned parties to
organize English courses for their English use improvement, and native speakers are
required to be lecturers for the courses for more confidence and familiarity with English
of the hotel staff. In addition, the hotel staff mentioned that English handbooks or
applications relating to English at work are truly needed for their self-study at anytime and
anywhere.
Keywords:
English ability, English skills, Tourism staff. |
