Abstract
This chapter focuses on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for tourism and investigates whether the content and skills taught to students enrolled in tourism degrees in Spain actually prepare them for the workplace and meet the needs of their future employers. In order to do this, the ESP courses offered by all Spanish universities with an undergraduate degree in tourism were reviewed and the main topics, functions, and skills were extracted. With the information gathered, an online questionnaire was designed and sent to different tourism companies in Spain, including accommodation businesses, cultural and active tourism companies, travel and event organisation agencies, and tourist information centres. In this questionnaire, employers were asked to answer a series of questions relating to the use of English in their companies and assessing how prepared tourism students are to perform the different functions highlighted in the ESP syllabi in the workplace. The results from this survey will be presented and discussed with the aim of informing ESP curriculum and materials developers, as well as teachers, to tailor courses, materials, and lessons that prepare tourism students to graduate with an English competence that allows them to successfully perform in their future careers.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Tables
Appendix 2: Figures
Frequency of the ratings in the question about the use of English in the companies
Frequency of the people students interact with in each type of company
Frequency of the ratings in the question about the importance to speak English to be hired in the company
Frequency of the ratings in the question about the overall English competence of student
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Chamorro, G., Vázquez-Amador, M., Garrido-Hornos, M.d.C. (2021). ESP for Tourism: Does It Meet Employers’ Needs and Prepare Students for the Workplace?. In: Escobar, L., Ibáñez Moreno, A. (eds) Mediating Specialized Knowledge and L2 Abilities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87476-6_8
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