Introduction

Of all the languages in the world, English is considered to be the most widely used

language in all over the world. In this modern era, English is considered to be a

world language because most of the world knowledge is enshrined in it. As English

is more importantly a language of science & technology and economic

development so it opens up a number of opportunities for its competent users

regardless of their nationality, color and ethnicity etc.

The denouement of the second world war in 1945 quirked the trends of English

language learning and learners. Such an anomaly grew the demand of tailored

courses according to the specific needs of English language learners as the learners

motivation for learning English was no more for pleasure and prestige of the

language. The world had identified a room for an international language which

could prove to be a passport to scientific, technological and economic gains and

this language was English. English language heralded prosperity while catering the

specific needs of people in different regions of the world.

This research project focuses on English for occupational Purposes which is

another narrowed form of English for Specific Purposes. The researchers have

handpicked a group of hotel receptionists as a population and receptionists of Pearl

Continental Lahore, Pakistan as their sample. The researchers decided to consider

this group because it is their job requirement to be good at English as they have to

deal with multinational guests everyday being employed in a five star hotel.

English for Specific Purposes

English for specific purposes is a multidisciplinary approach. English for Specific

Purposes (ESP) has become a very popular subject in the recent years. Research

has discovered that ESP is an indispensable and advantageous field, with ever

more people studying it around the world. .Since 1960 ESP has become imperative

and innovative activity within teaching ESL or EFL. "Tell me what you need

English for and I will tell you the English that you need," became the guiding

principle of ESP (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987: 8).

Definitions of ESP

ESP is: “the teaching of English, not as an end in itself but as an essential means to

a clearly identifiable goal” Mackay (1978:163).

Robinson (1991 ) defines ESP as ‘’ normally goal directed ‘’, and that ESP

courses develop from a needs analysis , which “aims to specify as closely as

possible what exactly it is that students have to do through the medium of

English”

“ESP must be seen as an “approach to language learning (not as a product) which

is based on learners need and directed by specific and apparent reasons for

learning”. (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987 (Robinson, 1991:3)

Emergence of ESP

Huthinson &Waters enlisted three reasons common to the emergence of all ESP:

the demands of a brave new world

a revolution in linguistics

focus on the learner .

Classification of ESP

ESP has been divided into the following major areas:

1. English for Academic Purposes ( EAP )

2. English for Professional Purposes ( EPP )

3. English for Occupational Purposes ( EOP )

ESP deals with situations in which real world objectives require specific linguistic

competencies. There is a strong focus on language as “situated language use”. In

ESP , the specific needs of learners are distinguished as :

1 .Target Needs (Necessities + Lacks)

2. Learning Needs

Significance of ESP

ESP is highly cost-effective and a common denominator must be found .

Strevens summarizes the advantages of ESP with the following four points:

Being focused on the learners’ need, it wastes no time

It is relevant to the learner

It is successful in imparting learning

It more cost effective than General English.

ESP shows a dedication to the goal of facilitating language instruction that prefers

learner’s own specific learning purposes. It emphasizes learning by practicing and

verifies Hutchinson &Waters words, “In theory nothing, in practice a great deal”

Course Design

Course designing is a process which entails three steps: interpreting the raw data

about learning needs, producing an integrated series of teaching-learning

experiences and leading the learners to a particular state of knowledge.

Approaches to Course Design There are three main approaches to course design: language-centered, skills-

centered and learning centered.

1. Language-centered Approach

This is one of the most familiar approach to English teachers which is particularly

prevalent in ESP. It draws a direct connection between the analysis of the target

situation and the content of the ESP course yet learner restricted not learner

centered.

2. Skills – centered Approach

This approach aims at helping learners to develop skills and strategies which

remain continued after the ESP course by making learners better processors of

information. The skills-centered approach has two basic principles: one theoretical,

and one pragmatic:

1. Theoretical hypothesis is that underling any language behavior are certain skills

and strategies, which the learner uses in order to produce or comprehend discourse.

2. The pragmatic basis for the skills-centered approach derives from a

distinction made by Widdowson between goal-oriented courses and process-

oriented courses. This approach focuses on competence at high level.

Learning-centered Approach

This approach is based upon the principle that learning is totally determined by the

learner who uses his knowledge and skills to make sense of new information and it

is not just a mental process but a process of negotiation between individuals and

society.

Syllabus Design

In Wilkins' (1981) words, syllabuses are "specifications of the content of language

teaching which have been submitted to some degree of structuring or ordering with

the aim of making teaching and learning a more effective process." A syllabus can

also be seen as "a plan of what is to be achieved through our teaching and our

students' learning" (Breen, 1984a) while its function is "to specify what is to be

taught and in what order" (Prabhu, 1984). Hutchinson and Waters (1987:80)

define syllabus as at its simplest level “as a statement of what is to be learnt”. They

further add that it reflects of language and linguistic performance. Yalden (1987:

87) also refers to syllabus as a "summary of the content to which learners will be

exposed". (What to teach) and linguistic matter (how to teach

Types of syllabuses

1. Procedural

2. Cultural

3. Situational

4. Skill Based

5. Task Based

6. Structural

7. Multi-Dimensional

8. Content Based

9. Process

10. Learner – led

11. Functional Notional

12. Proportional

13. Lexical

Course Design for Hotel Receptionists

The domain of this course comes under the realm of English for Occupational

Purposes (EOP). The essay particularly caters to the professional requirements of

hotel receptionists in Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore.

In the 21 century , tourism has prompted the hospitality industry to soar

rapidly. . English is the most commonly used language of hospitality industry and

lingua franca of tourists all over the world. Hospitality industry gives ample

importance to effective communication skills.

A hotel receptionist performs crucial role within hotel by being the first person a

client encounters. He can have a tremendous impact on guests and represents the

true face of the hotel as an ambassador. The hotel receptionists require a

specific language to communicate properly with the guests while performing

different functions . Furthermore , they have to master the variation in

English in terms of word choice , grammar , pronouns, spelling and register

varieties They communicate with guests who are from different cultural

backgrounds . This particular scenario demands for learning specific English

language.

There has been a rapid growth in English courses aimed at specific disciplines

which emphasize the importance of the learners and their learning attitudes (e.g.

English for Hospitality instead of the more traditional 'General English' courses).

Harun and Blue ( 2003 ) in their study on the language needs of hospitality

students concluded that the hospitality industry entails a specific type of

language that is the ‘hospitality language’. According to research carried out

by the Educational institute of the American hotels and Motels association in

1996 , “training could improve the reception department most effectively” .

Thus , the receptionists should be exposed to apt methods of having good

interpersonal skills . Guests who encountered problems will become more

irritated when communication is another added issue to their problems. To ensure

the success of the hotel's mission statement of achieving “zero complaints,” there is

thus the need to ensure that communicative issues should run smoothly. Moreover,

the guests bring different backgrounds, needs, and value to the communication

setting (Richard, 1981 p.87). According to Mehta & Mehta (2007) recent research

on communication skills suggested that good communication skills are the ‘keys to

unlock the doors of successes.

Need Analysis

Need analysis is the keystone of ESP and leads to a much focused course .It is the

process of establishing the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the course. It results in the

awareness of target situation. In ESP, each course is preceded by need analysis

which makes it exclusive .Needs can be classified as:

Necessities: What the learner needs to perform effectively in the target

situation.

Lacks: The gap between the target proficiency and the present performance.

Wants: What the learners want or feel they need.

Munby (1978 ) , Mackay (1978) , Richterich and Chancerel ( 1980 ) , Chambers

(1980 ), and Hutchinson and Waters (1987 ) refer to needs analysis as target

situation analysis ( TSA ). A needs analysis can be defined as the systematic

collection and analysis of all subjective and objective information necessary to

define and validate defensible curriculum purposes (Robinson, 1991, p.36) used for

understanding the target situation in which ESP teacher will operate within a

particular institutional context. “ Need analysis is also used for analyzing the

discourse of the target situation, determining student learning strategies and

devising syllabus, courses, materials that happened in certain institution”

(Krismawanti, 1993 ) . Another researcher, Mc Donugh (1984:34) and MacKay

(1978: 75) said that a needs analysis is very important to ‘find out what language

skills and specific purposes in terms of operational skills that are needed for

successful performance of task”.

Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 99) and Robinson (1991) divided the types of needs

into ‘subjective needs’ and ‘objectives needs’ .Subjective needs includes affective

factors, expectations, wants, cognitive styles, and learning strategy. Objective

needs include information about learners needs such as personal data, pattern of

language and language proficiency, and Language problems. The need has two

basic distinctions; target needs and learning needs. Based on Hutchinson and

Waters (1984), ‘target needs’ means what the learner needs to do in the ‘target

situation’ and ‘learning needs’ means what the learner needs to do ‘in order to

learn’.

Hutchinson and Waters argued that if the learners, sponsors and teachers know

why learners need English, that awareness will have influence on what will be

accepted as reasonable content in the course and what potential can be exploited.

Target need analysis and Present situation analysis were conducted to determine

the needs of hotel receptionists in Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore.

Methodology

The technique of triangulation was employed for this research. The questionnaires

were floated amongst receptionists of Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore. The

participants were interviewed by the researchers to investigate the recurring

problems, while performing different functions during their jobs. The researchers

visited the hotel thrice to observe their daily routine meticulously without

disturbing them and held informal conversation with them after their duty hours.

Population

All the hotel receptionists from five star hotels in Pakistan comprise the population

of this study.

Sample

Twenty four hotel receptionists from Peal continental Hotel, Lahore were selected

for this study by doing convenient sampling. Most of them were graduates. They

belonged to middle class socio-economic back ground and enjoyed intermediate

level of their English proficiency along with their mother tongue i.e. Urdu.

Research Tools

The following research tools were used for data collection by employing

triangulation technique.

i- Questionnaires

Twenty four questionnaires were administered amongst them to get objective data

by asking multiple choice questions. The results of collected data were analyzed

statistically.

ii- Interviews

The researchers conducted the interview of four receptionists. The data was

collected by conducting in-depth structured interviews, going for 5-10 minutes

privately. During interview, open ended questions were asked to extract maximum

information. These interviews were recorded with the consent of participants to

assure reliability and avoid controversies. The confidentiality of responses was

assured. The participants talked about the linguistic barriers faced by them during

job. These interviews were later transcribed for better understanding.

iii- Observation

The observation was also rendered as a significant technique to get unbiased

information. It proved to be a significant tool for gathering data. The researchers

enlisted their findings on the basis of these three tools. In the light of these

findings, some recommendations are made. These recommendations served as

starting point for designing this ESP course.

Data Analysis

Data analysis plays significant role to determine findings. The data obtained from

questionnaires was analyzed statistically and demonstrated by graphs. The

interviews were tape recorded and then transcribed later.

Q 1: How often do you need English in the following Situations?

1- Never 2-Rarely 3-Often 4-Usually 5-Always

This question focuses the usage of English by hotel receptionists while performing

different functions during their job. Most of the participants (83.33%) considered

that greeting customers always demands optimum use of English.50% of

receptionists thought it necessary while registering check in check outs and

cancelations, whereas 54.16% responded that giving directions always needed

English.66.66% respondents were of view that they always had to use English

while answering telephones. Answering complaints was not mentioned as a major

function to be performed by participants and mixed response was recorded.

GreetingCustomers

Check ins, checkouts

Giving directionsAnswering the

phoneAnsweringcomplaints

Never 0% 25% 0% 0% 0%

Rarely 0% 0% 8.33% 0% 12.50%

Often 0% 0% 8.33% 16.33% 12.50%

Usually 16.66% 25% 29.16% 16.66% 25%

Always 83.34% 50% 54.16% 66.66% 25%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

33% of hotel receptionists responded that they always used English for resolving

complaints, while 37% usually used it for the same purpose. English was not

considered as primary means for taking messages as only 25% realized it’s all the

time usage during their job. Use of English while managing front desk was

mentioned by majority (66.66%) and its usage for managing payments was

accepted by 50% and other 50 % declined its importance. Organizing paper work

was considered as an activity which required relatively less English use.

Do you speak English with local guests?

1- Never 2-Rarely 3-Often 4-Usually 5-Always

ResolvingComplaints

Taking messagesManaging front

deskManagingpayments

Organizingpaperwork

Never 0% 16.66% 0% 50% 25%

Rarely 12.50% 8.33% 8.33% 0% 16.66%

Often 16.66% 25% 12.50% 0% 8.33%

Usually 37.50% 25% 12.50% 0% 16.66%

Always 33.33% 25% 66.66% 50% 33.33%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Most of the respondents (50%) answered that they often speak English with local

guests.

Do you have to identify various accents?

1- Never 2-Rarely 3-Often 4-Usually 5-Always

Most of the receptionists (45.83%) realized that identification of various accents is

essential the part of their job description.

0% 0%

20.83%

33.33%

45.83%

Never Rarely Often Usually Always

Identifying various accents

rarely

often

usually

always

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00% rarely

often

usually

always

Do you have problem in identifying various accents?

1- Never 2-Rarely 3-Often 4-Usually 5-Always

Majority of respondents (62.5%) realized that they always faced great problems in

identifying various accents

Which language skill is used the most at your position?

1- Never 2-Rarely 3-Often 4-Usually 5-Always

In response to this question most of participants admitted that speaking (75%) and

listening (50%) are the mostly used skills during their jobs, on the contrary reading

and writing are less focused skills.

0% 0%12.50%

25%

62.50%

Never Rarely Often Usually Always

Problems in identifying accents

Listening Speaking Reading Writing

Never 0% 0% 4.16% 0%

Rarely 0% 0% 66.66% 70.83%

Often 16.66% 0% 8.33% 4.16%

Usually 33.33% 25% 12.50% 12.50%

Always 50% 75% 8.33% 12.50%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

For language training which skill would you prefer to improve, tick the

appropriate option:

1-Speaking 2-Listening 3-Readin 4-Writing 5-Listening and Speaking

6-Reading and Writing 7- All four

In response to this question most of respondents showed their preference for

improving speaking and listening skills simultaneously, whereas no one showed

inclination for reading or writing skills.

Tick the appropriate option(s) which matches best with your

abilities/problems in the given situation

I can speak English:

1- Fluently 2- With hesitation3- With pauses 4- With long pauses to search for

suitable word

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

Percentage %

Percentage %

0%10%20%30%40%50%

Fluently Withhesitation

With pauses With longpauses tosearch for

suitable words

I can speak English

I can speak English

45.83% respondents claimed that they could speak English with hesitation and25%

were confident that they can speak English fluently, rest of them could speak

English with pauses.

While speaking English, I have problem in:

1-Pronunciation 2-Accent 3-Fluency 4-Searching for correct expression

Most of the respondents (50%) considered fluency as a greatest obstacle in

speaking English and searching for correct expression was identified as second

most important factor with 20.83%.

While listening to English, I have difficulty in:

1-Understanding the fluent speakers 2-Understanding the speakers, who

speak at normal pace 3 -Understanding the slangs 4- Identifying the

specific information required

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

While speaking English, I have problem in

While speaking English, I haveproblem in

Understanding slangs was mentioned by most of the participants (54.16%) as the

greatest hurdle while listening to English and understanding the fluent speakers

was identified as second major problem.

While writing English, I have difficulty in:

1-Grammar 2-Spelling 3-Vocabulary 4-Punctuation

Most of the receptionists (58.33%) faced difficulty in grammar and vocabulary was

considered as problem area by 25% respondents.

While reading English, I have difficulty in:

1-comprehension of the text 2-getting the overall meaning of the content

(skimming)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Understanding thefluent speakers

Understanding thespeakers, who

speak at normalpace

Understanding theslangs

Identifying thespecific

informationrequired

While listening to English ,I have problem in:

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Grammar Spelling Vocabulary Punctuation

While writing English, I have difficulty in

While writing English, I havedifficulty in

3- Taking out the specific piece of information 4- Guessing the meanings of un

familiar words

Guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words was main hurdle while reading for 33%

and 25% did not comprehend the text.

Findings

1-It was observed that most of the receptionists use Urdu with local guests.

2-They consider speaking as the most pivotal skill to be used during their job.

3-Listening is the second most significant skill for them.

4-There is no writing involved except filling the forms?

5-They face much difficulty in differentiating various accents.

6- They find it very difficult to communicate with Chinese guests.

7-Most of them can’t speak fluently .They showed inhibition when they were

asked for an interview.

8-They speak English in pure Pakistani accent and mispronounce words.

9-Use of slangs by native speakers hampers their understanding mostly.

10-Sometimes they can’t express themselves adequately due to lack of right

expression and appropriate register.

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%

While reading English, I have difficulty in:

While reading English, I havedifficulty in:

13-They use very basic vocabulary and are not familiar with wide range of

courteous expressions.

Recommendations

1-They should be taught hospitality registers for performing various tasks.

2-They should be exposed to wide range of polite expressions for greeting

customers and answering queries.

3-They should be trained in telephonic communication skills.

4-They should be taught different functions through simulations.

5-They should be exposed to different varieties of English and various accents i.e.,

American, Canadian, and British to tune their ears. IELTS / TOEFL Listening

comprehension passages can be used for that purpose.

6-Different videos displaying target situations can be exploited to teach the

learners how to use appropriate vocabulary and expressions.

7-Role plays can b used to create interesting situations and teach situational

vocabulary.

Structural Functional Syllabus

On the basis of the findings from need analysis, the researchers find a narrow

angled structural functional syllabus the most suitable syllabus for their targeted

students. Functional notional syllabus is organized around communicative

functions such as: requesting, complaining, suggesting, and agreeing. In other

words, the content of the language teaching is a number of the functions that are

performed by using different structures. Functions and structures compliment and

enrich each other. They can be expressed by this equation:

Structure +context= function

Course Title : English for Hotel Receptionists

Course Participants : Five star Hotel Receptionists

Number of Participants : 24

Timing : 5-7 pm

Duration : 8 weeks (twice)

Venue : Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore

Objectives of the Course

To develop communicative skills.

To use vocabulary, phrases and expressions at the appropriate level of

politeness.

To be fluent in the customary and routine expressions used in service.

To comprehend and respond to the basic needs of guests and perform

spontaneous face-to-face interaction.

To understand protocols in hospitality and tourism.

Learning Outcomes of the course

The learners will be able to communicate to the guests fluently and

effectively.

They will be able to make use of the learnt vocabulary items and

expressions.

They will be able to understand the customers’ requirements and fulfill

them.

They will be able to use polite expressions.

They will be able to demonstrate protocols in hospitality and tourism

Course Outline for English for Hotel Receptionists

1

15-

16

April

Greeting

s

Listenin

g

&

Speakin

g

1-

Welcoming

guests

2-

Exchanging

discourse

through

formal/infor

mal

expressions

Simple Present Tense

with ‘‘Be verb’’.

Expressions for

greetings like Hi! ,

Hello, Good

morning/afternoon/eve

ning How are you this

morning? What’s up?

How’s it going? etc

Role play

between

receptionist and

the guest.

2 22-

24

April

Requests Reading

&

Speakin

g

1-Making

requests

2-Answreing

requests

Modal Verbs:

can, may, could, would

etc with “please” for

emphasizing requests

Transcript of a

dialogue between

receptionist and

the guest.

3 29-

30

April

Complai

nts

Listenin

g

&

Speakin

g

1-

Registering

complaints

2-Handling

complaints

Present, Past and

Future tense

(for listening to the

complaints,

understanding the time

when the problem rose

and then appropriate

auxiliary verbs for

responses)

Video recordings

of guests making

complaints and

the receptionist

resolving it.

4 06-

07

May

Permissi

on

Listenin

g

&

Speakin

g

1-Asking for

permission

2-Granting

permission

Modal Verbs:

can, could, may ,would

…. If…. & do you

mind …?etc

Games in pairs

and groups using

Verb cards and

actions

Role play

5 13- Hospitali Reading 1-Using Phrasal Verbs, Nouns 2 Lists of

14

May

ty

Register

,

Listenin

g &

Speakin

g

situational

vocabulary

2-Listing

jargons2

3-

Pronouncing

the words

correctly

& Adjectives and their

functions

hospitality

vocabulary can

be provided to the

students and there

can be a quiz

between two

groups.

Games:

Odd one out

Hangman

Making word

maps etc.

6 20-

21

May

Accent

Different

iation

Listenin

g

Identifying

various

accents

Stress & intonation

patterns

IELTS/TOEFL

recordings played

in the class for

focusing on

various accents

7 27-

28

May

Common

Slangs

Listenin

g

&

reading

Introducing

slang

language

Process of Conversion

& Derivation in slang

formation.

Real life situations

language.

Video of

teenagers’

informal

gathering can be

played or samples

of teenagers

cyber language

can be brought to

the class

The students will

be asked to create

a dialogue using

these slang

words.

8 03-

04

June

Telepho

nic

Commun

ication

Listenin

g ,

Speakin

g &

Taking

Notes/

message

s

Describing

telephonic

communicati

on skills

Greetings and

Farewells

Introducing self and

organization

Modal Verbs for

requests, offers &

permissions

Simulation of

receptionists

making

reservations can

be done in the

class.