Negative Evaluations of Communication in Tourism Service Encounters as a Basis of Developing Communicative Activities for English for Tourism

Abstract

Good interpersonal communication between tourists and tourism service providers contributes to positive word-of-mouth among tourists. If this basic need is not fulfilled by tourism service providers, disappointed tourists will not hesitate to share their negative experience and express their negative feelings with others either face-to-face or in virtual communities via travel websites. The present study examined tourists’ online reviews by focusing on 275 negative evaluations of interpersonal communication with tourism service providers. The study found that issues related to interpersonal communication in service encounters could be categorized in three major categories of synchronous communication, asynchronous communication and non-verbal communication. Based on these findings, the study proposed four communicative activities i.e. role-play, problem solving, story-telling and group project activities to be conducted in English for tourism classes to help consolidate students’ English language competency and better prepare them for their careers in tourism.

Navigating The World Of Tourism: A Literature Review Of English Language Proficiency's Influence

“…Writing abilities are essential, particularly for the Immigration Service as it pertains to registering visitors' data.According toLin & Jarvie (2019), educators should adapt their roles to better reflect the reality of globalization and include more intercultural communication practice, particularly in the teaching of English language to students. CheHassan, Lowe, Ong, & Ding (2022) suggested using four communicative activities-role-playing, problem-solving, storytelling, and group projects-in English for tourism classes to help students improve their language skills and get ready for careers in the industry. Cloudia Ho, (2020) examine how implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom affects the development of undergraduates' communicative competence in Tourism…”