INVESTIGATING THE NECESSITY OF ENHANCED INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR TOURISM STUDENTS. LEARNERS’ PERSPECTIVE AND NEEDS

Roxana MIHELE; Ibolya TÖRÖK

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.12

Authors

Roxana MIHELE Department of Specialized Foreign Languages, Faculty of Letters, “Babeș-Bolyai” University from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: mihaela.mihele@ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3186-0922
Ibolya TÖRÖK Department of Geography of the Hungarian Line of Study, Faculty of Geography, “Babeș-Bolyai” University from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: ibolya.torok@ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-5286

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.12

Keywords:

intercultural communication, mediating communication, stereotypes, facilitating pluricultural space, soft skills

Abstract

Investigating the Necessity of Enhanced Intercultural Communication Skills for Tourism Students. Learners’ Perspective and Needs. The hospitality industry today is, by many accounts, the site of the most cosmopolitan interaction university graduates can possibly find themselves immersed in when it comes to their professional milieu. Preparing future tourism specialists to effectively communicate and mediate with industry stakeholders that come from various corners of the world, having a multitude of cultural, social and economic backgrounds, seems to be one of the most important tasks ESP (English for Specialized Purposes) tutors need to tackle. Encouraged by guidelines promoted by international institutions, language teachers are aware that they need to pay an undivided attention to the development of intercultural communication (ICC) and mediation skills, to fostering the awareness that the business world today is a pluricultural one. What has been less investigated is the perception students themselves have over their need to acquire such competencies and the best way teachers could help them achieve this. The purpose of this article is to investigate the students’ perspective by processing data collected from a quantitative survey using K means clustering. The results of the analysis support our assumption that for an optimal future professional development tourism students (are aware of the) need to have good ICC competences, although their specific types and the means to achieve this sometimes differs from what teachers usually consider emphasizing in the classroom.

REZUMAT. Investigarea Necesității Dezvoltării Abilităților de Comunicare Interculturală pentru Studenții din Turism. Perspectiva și Nevoile Cursanților. Industria ospitalității este astăzi, conform multor păreri, locul unde absolvenții de universitate se pot găsi în probabil cel mai cosmopolitan mediu profesional. Pregătirea viitorilor specialiști în turism pentru comunicarea și medierea eficientă cu părțile interesate din domeniu care provin din colțuri diferite ale lumii, având la bază o multitudine de medii culturale, sociale și economice, pare a fi una din cele mai importante sarcini ale profesorilor de engleză de specialitate. Încurajați de ghiduri elaborate de instituții internaționale, profesorii de limbă străină sunt conștienți de necesitatea acordării unei atenții deosebite dezvoltării abilităților de comunicare și mediere interculturală, clădirii conștientizării că lumea profesională contemporană este una pluriculturală. Ceea ce s-a investigat mai puțin este percepția pe care o au studenții despre necesitatea achiziționării acestor abilități și modalitatea cea mai potrivită pe care profesorii să o folosească pentru a-i ajuta în acest sens. Scopul articolului de față este investigarea percepțiilor studenților prin procesarea rezultatelor unui chestionar cantitativ folosind algoritmul de grupare K means. Rezultatul analizei noastre susține presupunerea că pentru o viitoare dezvoltare optimă profesională, studenții din turism sunt conștienți că au nevoie de bune competențe de comunicare interculturală, deși tipurile lor specifice și mijloacele prin care acestea pot fi obținute diferă câteodată de ceea ce profesorii consideră necesar să sublinieze în clasă.

Cuvinte-cheie: comunicare interculturală, medierea comunicării, stereotipuri, facilitarea spațiului pluricultural, abilități soft

Article history: Received 17 February 2024; Revised 27 August 2024; Accepted 30 September 2024; Available online 10 December 2024; Available print 30 December 2024.

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