EMPLOYEES' ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND VISITORS' PERCEPTION OF SERVICES RECEIVED AT BEIJING ART ZONE 798 (original) (raw)

(2014) Employees’ English Language Proficiency and Visitors’ Perception of Services Received at Beijing Art Zone 798

Journal of Language and Communication 1(1), pp. 17-29, 2014

Abstract This study concerns the perception of proficiency in English as a foreign language among employees in the Beijing 798 staff professionalism. The aim of the study is to establish the extent of the mismatch between the perceptions of both gallery employees and foreign visitors and of the role this plays in the overall visitor experience. Data collection comprised of a bespoke questionnaire with additional open ended questions. All questionnaires were distributed to both employees and visitors in August 2013. Based on the responses received from 100 respondents, the results showed significant misinterpretation that resulted from ineffective communication. Most visitors experienced a number of issues and faced difficulties in obtaining appropriate feedback from gallery staff. These communication problems, (relating to language barriers, either in English among local staff, or in Mandarin among overseas visitors), have lead to misunderstandings and ultimately to lower appraisals of the art works exhibited. The study offers suggestion for improvement, e.g. through the more efficient teaching of English for specific purposes, i.e. tourism, volunteering as mandatory industry training for foreign language students from nearby colleges or universities, and the extension of general information boards and signs within the art district itself. The study is limited in the number of participants (n=100) and should, therefore be repeated for higher objectivity with more participants (n>1000). Keywords: Beijing 798Art Zone, Chinese art history, English as a Foreign Language, language barriers, leisure industry, perception mismatch

An Assessment of the Outcomes of a Chinese-Language Interpretive Tour Experience at a Heritage Tourism Attraction

Tourism Analysis, 2009

This study uses the first translated version of an established and validated instrument to assess the impacts of an interpretive tour experience on Chinese visitors to a heritage tourism attraction in Australia. The study makes a significant methodological contribution by way of testing the reliability of this instrument in a Chinese cultural context. In addition to its methodological contribution, the study represents the first known published research evaluating the impacts of Chinese-language interpretive tours on inbound visitors from China. Based on results from 285 self-completed surveys, the instrument reliably assessed that visitors' perceptions of their interpretive experience were average to very good on cognitive, affective, and behavioral constructs. Notwithstanding the fact that work still needs to continue in refining one of the ten indicators, the instrument provides practitioners and researchers with a reliable and valid tool for assessing the outcomes of heritag...

An Interrelated Study of Tourism and Linguistics: A Case Study of English Variations used by Art Shop Attendants

ABSTRACT This paper presents an interrelated study of tourism and linguistics with the case study of English variations used by art shop attendants. A total of 50 art shop attendants were surveyed and observed based on judgment sampling method (Llamas, 2007: 13; Estes, 2007:168-169). The research was conducted in the two famous tourist objects in Bali, Sanur and Kuta. These two areas come into consideration due to the fact that people from different countries who have different culture and social backgrounds engaged and interacting with one another for multi purposes and in multi lingual. The research method applied in this study is a descriptive-qualitative research using ethnographic approach (Moleong, 2011:34; Bungin, 2008:23; Estes, 2007: 171). This method involves careful and systemic observation of social and language practices. Data collection involves the assembling of a corpus of spoken data and elicitation process to investigate particular language forms (Llamas, Mullany, and Stockwell, et al 2007:14-15). Elicitation process and descriptive-qualitative analysis show that there are several factors influencing English variations used by art shop attendants. Among others are knowledge, natural setting and interlocutors’ background. Key words:variation, art shop attendants and implications

Tourists' Perception of Using The English Language In The Tourism Industry

American Research Journal of Humanities & Social Science (ARJHSS)R, 2020

The study aimed at exploring tourists' perception of using the English language in the tourism industry. The subjects were 126 tourists participating in the study including (53.2%) male and (46.8%) female tourists. Questionnaires were mailed to the respondents to collect data. The questionnaire was self-developed with a (.935) Cronbach's alpha. The participants have different educational qualifications including yramirp / yrarrmrairp 0.8%), Secondary (5.6%), Diploma (23.8%), Undergraduate (35.7%) and Postgraduate (34.1%). The data was descriptively analyzed to find the mean and standard deviation of the respondents' perception of using the English language in the tourism industry. The results of the study indicated that the English language would play an important role in the tourism industry. According to the respondents' perception, the language could be essential in sociocultural, management, and marketing/promotion, accordingly.

Perceptions on Hotel Practitioners’ Workplace English Use: An Example from International Hotels in Taiwan

As many countries are promoting tourism to boost their national economies, naturally, hotel practitioners equipped with higher proficiencies in English will be able to provide a higher quality of service to international visitors. This study investigated the workplace perceptions of English needs held by 112 managerial staffers and 601 front-of-house staff members’ perceptions of their workplace English needs and performance in international hotels in Taiwan. Data collected from questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews revealed that both management and front-of-house staff showed similar results regarding their workplace English needs and staff performance. Interestingly, the management expressed more satisfaction toward the staff’s English performance than the staff themselves. Both groups rated needs for and performance in the listening and speaking more than reading and writing. Reading, however, was regarded for the way it broadens staff knowledge of the world and added in turn to the width and depth of service quality. Among the common listening and speaking situations, listening to and responding to guest inquiries came out on top, both as need for and as satisfaction with performance. Cross-cultural understanding, however, was least needed and the weakest performed. The results provide a practical basis for training and enhancing service quality and for tackling further issues relating to Hotel English instruction and course design.

The Use of English Language in Tourism Workplaces in Pakmeng Beach Area, Trang Province

2020

This research was conducted (1) to explore English language skills used by front desk staff in tourism workplaces in Pakmeng beach, Trang province, Thailand (2) to identify the frequency of English languages skills used by the front office staff in tourism workplaces and (3) to investigate the interests and needs in improving English language skills by front office staff. By purposive sampling, the samples consisted of 40 front office staff of hotels, resorts and the tourism agencies in Pakmeng beach, Trang province. The questionnaire was collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics using percentage, frequency, Means and Standard deviation. The major findings revealed that listening was the most common skill used by employees, followed by speaking, reading and writing skill. English listening skills such as listening to customers’ questions and giving information about hotels/tour services were frequently used by the employees in the tourism workplaces. The most three common int...