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Professional English in Hospitality

Course developer

Course abstract

The course is aimed at the acquisition of knowledge and skills in professional foreign language studies with the purpose of extending the students professional qualifications and improving the student’s communication skills with foreign students and specialists. The programme envisages the mastering of language skills in various forms and levels of
communication.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Knowledge: have acquired terminology of the hospitality and tourism industry, use of abbreviations. Students have acquired terms in the following fields:
- university studies; creating a professional profile; learning hospitality, catering industry, and food safety terminology (Test);
- learning the terminology of the tourism and hotel industry (Final test).
Skills: 1) is able to use the foreign language to search for information and present results of independent work;
2) is able to translate and analyse technical and professional text - practical work, oral presentations, independent work.
Competence – informative, communicative, professional.
Students are able to use professional terminology and communicative skills: in writing (essay, translation, academic writing) and orally (participating in discussions, creating dialogues, giving a presentation) - practical work, independent work, oral presentations, team work.
Assessment takes place in each lesson, regularly checking the completed tasks.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. University studies, motivation, study levels and programs. Text analysis, discussion. Effective communication. Academic language, writing, scientific journals, copyrights. Design of a Linkedin profile. 4h
2. Catering establishments. Kitchen and the staff. Restaurant operation, Michelin star restaurants, their characteristics. Meals. Food service staff. Principles of creating presentations, presentation art. 4h
3. Preparing fruits, vegetables. Bakery products and confectionery. 4h
4. Preparing meats, seafood, dairy products. The world's most famous cheeses and desserts, their characteristics. 4h
5. Beverages and bar service. Wines, their presentation and pairing with food. Customer service, problem solving, complains. 4h
6. Sanitation. Food safety. International standards for food safety HACCP. Safety at work. 4h
7. Test (speaking, reading, terminology, listening). 4h
8. Tourism industry. The World Tourism Organization (WTO), its functions. Basic forms of tourism - inbound, outbound, domestic, their characteristics. Niche tourism. Effective communication in an international environment.
9. Kinds of tourism resources. Natural, historical, cultural and commercial resources, their characteristics. 4h
10. Types of tourism / forms according to motivations, motivation of travellers, reasons for traveling. Business trips, holiday trips, visiting friends and relatives. 4h
11. Tour operators. Package tours. Development of routes. Marketing. Theories and practice of intercultural communication (E.T. Hall, G. Hofstede, R. Breiger). 4h
12. Accommodations, their types, characteristics and services. Organization of events, conferences. Communication with the customer, problem solving. Types of transport in tourism. 4h
13. Jobs and careers in hospitality and tourism. Job duties, skills, and necessary qualifications of the employees. Onboarding to an international company. Assessment of intercultural competence. 4 h
14. Individual work results' presentation and discussion. 4h
15. Presentation and discussion of individual work (scientific article, glossary). 4h
16. Final test (reading, listening, terminology, speaking). 4 h

Part-time studies
All topics indicated in the course plan for full-time studies are implemented, but the number of contact hours is 1/2 of the indicated hours

Requirements for awarding credit points

Evaluation type: examination. It is made up of cumulative assessment.
The Final Test (examination) consists of:
• a terminology test,
• reading tasks,
• listening tasks,
• question for discussion.
A student is admitted to the examination if there are: successfully written tests, semester group work and individual tasks (home reading 10 A4 pages). The number of the missed classes shall not exceed 20% of the total number of auditorium classes.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Independent work and tasks:
• Individual independent tasks are an essay, translation and analysis of professional texts. The aim of the individual independent assignments is to develop students' skills in using a foreign language to search for information and to analyse professional texts, as well as to evaluate knowledge of terminology and abbreviations used in hospitality, catering and tourism, translation of technical and professional texts and academic plagiarism.
• Group work presentations are the result of team work. Depending on the task, presentations can be prepared in an auditorium or at home. The aim of group work presentations is to develop skills in using a foreign language for searching information, oral presentations, teamwork; to develop informative, communicative and professional competences, as well as to evaluate the knowledge of terminology used in hospitality, catering and tourism and of presentations making.
Home reading (10 A4 pages) is an independently selected professional text on a topic related to the field of study. Home reading analysis includes a brief presentation of the content, text analysis and answers to questions. The aim of home reading is to develop skills in using a foreign language for information search, professional text analysis and oral presentations as well as informational, communicative and professional competence; to evaluate knowledge of terminology used in hospitality, catering and tourism, presentation making, academic plagiarism.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

Cumulative evaluation: tests (15%) + group work presentations (20%) + individual assignments (40%) + home reading analysis (5%) + exam (20%)
The assessment according to the 10-point scale.

Compulsory reading

1.Evans V., Dooley J., Hallum R. Food Service Industries. Express Publishing, 2020. 130 p. ISBN 978-1-4715-2025-9
2.Stott T., Pohl A. Highly Recommended 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 111 p. ISBN 978-019-457463 -1
3.Walker R., Harding K. Tourism 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 143 p. ISBN 978-019-455103-8.
4.Walker R., Harding K. Tourism 2. Oxford: Oxford: University Press, 2009. 143 p. ISBN 978-019-455103-8.

Further reading

1.Dignen B. Communicating Across Cultures. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge Business Skills, 2011. 96 p. ISBN 978-0521-18198-3
2.Gairns R., Redman S. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 254 p. ISBN 978 -019-462004 8.
3.Morrison T.& Conaway W.A. Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands. 2nd Edition. Adams Media USA 2002. 593 p. ISBN 978-1-59337-368-9
4.Tūrisma un viesmīlības terminu skaidrojošā vārdnīca. Rīga: LR Ekonomikas ministrija, 2008. 460 lpp. ISBN 978-9984-9370-8-3.

Periodicals and other sources

1.Restorānu un viesmīlības jomas apskate, kritika, analīze. Michelin zvaigžņu restorāni, to vēsture un attīstība. [Tiešsaiste] [skatīts 11.04.2023.] Pieejams: https://www.andyhayler.com/
2. UN World Tourism Organization [Tiešsaiste] [Skatīts 11.04.2023.] Pieejams: https://www.unwto.org/

Notes

The course is included in the compulsory part of the study program "Catering and Hotel Entrepreneurship"