Enhancing Communication in Spanish for the Tourism Industry - Intermediate

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION

Knowing more than one language is highly valued today in all areas of our society, and within the tourism sector it is a key factor to work in an international context. From a competitive point of view, multilingualism is increasingly necessary to ensure the employability of future tourism graduates. Students will learn how to deal with everyday situations which require understanding and producing oral texts and short writings including basic structures and expressions as well as frequently used professional lexicon.

BASIC SKILLS

BSO4- Students must be able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialized and non-specialized audiences.

 

SPECIFIC SKILLS

SS09- Understand and use information technology and information management systems in tourism.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Use the knowledge of the formal aspects of language, both in message reception and production so as to prepare for the most common professional situations.

2. Communicate orally with a certain degree of linguistic accuracy and adequacy in different professional situations.

3. Understand the main ideas and extract specific information from speech in a professional environment.

4. Understand the main ideas and extract specific information from written texts in a professional environment.

5. Produce written texts, fulfilling previously established objectives and standards, and organizing the information in an appropriate manner.

6. Use the idiosyncratic stress, intonation and rhythm of oral expressional correctly.

7. Use a wide range of tourism vocabulary and specifically professional expressions.

8. Participate in presentations and oral discussions with some fluency, showing ability to argue.

9. Show a mastery of the uses and social conventions of the language and its different registers.

10.Use the knowledge of the context and the socio-cultural aspects of the countries.

11. Demonstrate participatory, cooperative and respectful attitudes, both in terms of human and environmental relations.

12.Respond immediately and appropriately in different professional situations, showing a service-oriented attitude.

13.Use communicative and learning strategies to reflect and act upon deficiencies in oral and written expression and comprehension.

14.Use available resource effectively to increase knowledge and to answer questions in an autonomous manner outside the classroom.

15. Design and structure research projects.

16. Access different sources of information using different tools.

17. Analyze, interpret and infer data and results: preparation and reporting.

18. Be familiar with digital resources as a means of disseminating information.

 

ACADEMIC CONTENTS

They will be included in a separate document that each teacher will publish in their virtual classroom.

 

LEARNING METHODOLOGY

The pedagogical approach will basically be communicative. It will be based on carrying out participative tasks which will prioritize oral and written production and comprehension skills, as well as functional language primarily linked to professional areas applied to tourism. Vocabulary and phonetic aspects will be particularly focused on to promote professional communication. Moreover, special attention will be paid to socio cultural aspects to facilitate communication. Autonomous work outside the classroom will consist of regulated activities which will be evaluated according to the guidelines and schedule set by each group’s professor at the beginning of the course. On the whole, an array of strategies will be used including: 

• Lectures 
• Team work 
• Individual work 
• Application activities 
• Simulation 
• Readings