Designing a content-related component in future bachelor’s foreign language training in the hospitality industry

Abstract

Introduction. At present, one can observe a certain discrepancy between the educational level of tourism- and hospitality industry graduates, particularly as concerns the staff training system, and the needs of the modern labour market. The employers’ requirements for professional qualification of hospitality industry employees are in a state of imbalance with the universities’ ability to meet them. The emergence of new professional standards in the hospitality industry requires new methodological approaches to the scope and content of the educational programme for future bachelors in this sphere. The aim of the research is to develop the content-related component of foreign language training for students in hospitality management. Materials and methods. The experimental training was implemented on the basis of the Institute of Economics, Management and Service Technologies under Yelets State University named after I.A. Bunin (Russian Federation). The experiment encompassed 30 first- and second-year students mastering the profile “Hospitality management”. The research involved the following methods: theoretical analysis (analysis of regulatory documents, of psychological, pedagogical and methodological literature); empirical methods (observation and analysis of own pedagogical experience in organising language training of future bachelors), experimental training; mathematical data processing (Pearson chi-squared test). Results. Four content modules were identified and described (accommodation firms’ work; reception and accommodation of guests; hotel product presentation, organisation of negotiations and meetings; catering companies’ operation, catering). The realisation of updated content in the process of experimental training showed positive dynamics in the students’ mastering the necessary professional knowledge, skills and abilities: the average score of correctly completed tasks in the experimental group increased to 16.7 (83.3%), while in the control group it was 13.9 (69.3%). Some statistically significant differences were identified between the control and experimental groups (χ2 = 8.77; p<0.05). Conclusion. For the first time, the content-related component of foreign language training of a future bachelor in the hospitality industry was developed and realised on the basis of competence-based, communicative and professionally-oriented approaches. The inclusion of new modules in the foreign language training curriculum for a future bachelor and their realisation made it possible to increase the students’ level of acquired professional knowledge, skills and abilities. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of using the contentrelated component in the development of educational and working programmes for students of the given field.