College of Language Arts

I-Shou University

Master Thesis

Needs Analysis of English Language Use in Tourism: A Case Study of International

Travel Companies in Vietnam

Advisor: Dr. Guey, Ching-Chung

Graduate Student: Bach Thi Thuy Trang

December 2015

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Acknowledgements Firstly, I am heartily grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Simon, whose guidance and

supports to my entire thesis throughout the process of course. Dr. encouraged and helped

me so much to develop more understanding of project.

Secondly, I would like to bless to my committee members (Dr. Lin and Dr. Jessica

Wu at I-Shou University). They gave me good advices and supported more problem as

well as guided me improve problems of the project. They suggested me better solutions

for future problems. I have especially thanks to their all of supports.

Lastly, I am also cordially thanking to my family, my friends in Vietnam as well

as in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. They always encouraged and helped me try the best to finish

project, my friends gave me good database and information and also had supported

suggestions for making my project well. Especially, my family always motivated me all

of my studying, they opened and created new opportunities for my future even from

troubles that i met.

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Abstract

English proficiency is required in all professional areas but it becomes essential in the

tourist industry because of its specific characteristics. Needs analysis plays a vital role in

developing English for specific purposes curriculum. This study aims to examine needs and

problems of English language use of tourism employees at international travel companies in

Hue, Vietnam. Quantitative approach was used in this study which included the survey

research to collect and analysis data. The findings showed that speaking is most important

need among English language skills of tourism employees at their workplaces, and then

followed by listening, writing and reading, respectively. In contrary, reading is most faced

problem of English language at employees’ routine jobs out of writing, listening and

speaking, respectively.

Keywords: Needs Analysis, English Language, Tourism Employees, Vietnam

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Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... i

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii

Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................iii

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. v

List of Charts............................................................................................................................. vi

List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vii

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background of the Study .................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................ 4

1.3 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 6

2.1 The Roles of English Language in Tourism Industry ...................................................... 6

2.1.1 Language Problems Faced by Vietnamese Employees ............................................. 6

2.1.2 The Role of English Language in Tourism Industry ................................................. 8

2.2 Definition of Needs Analysis ......................................................................................... 12

2.3 The Significance of Needs Analysis in Using English Language in Vietnam Tourism 14

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 22

3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 22

3.2 The Structure of the Questionnaire ................................................................................ 23

3.3 Sampling Design ............................................................................................................ 25

3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 25

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3.5 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 26

Chapter 4 RESULTS................................................................................................................ 27

4.1 Frequency of Demographic Participants ........................................................................ 27

4.2 Needs of English Skills of Travel Employees ................................................................ 28

4.3 Problems of Employees when Communicating with Foreign Tourists.......................... 34

Chapter 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 41

5.1 Research Findings .......................................................................................................... 41

5.2 Research Implications .................................................................................................... 44

5.3 Research Limitations ...................................................................................................... 46

5.4 Future Researches .......................................................................................................... 46

References ................................................................................................................................ 48

Appendix A: The Questionnaire .............................................................................................. 54

Appendix B: Significant Differences in Employees’ Needs of Skills by gender .................... 59

Appendix C: Significant Differences in Employees’ Faced Problems of Skills by gender .... 62

Appendix D Correlation between duration of work and Needs of English ............................. 65

Appendix E Correlation between duration of work and Problems of English ........................ 66

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List of Tables Table 3- 1: Structure of the Questionnaire ............................................................................... 24

Table 4. 1: The Frequency of Tourism Employees.................................................................. 28

Table 4. 2: Reliability Statistic................................................................................................. 28

Table 4. 3: Significant differences about employees’ needs by gender ................................... 33

Table 4. 4: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most used ........................... 34

Table 4. 5: Significant difference of employees’ faced problems by gender .......................... 40

Table 4. 6: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most encountered ............... 40

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List of Charts Chart 1: Needs of English Listening skills by gender.............................................................. 29

Chart 2: Needs of English Speaking Skills by gender. ............................................................ 30

Chart 3: Needs of English Reading Skills by gender ............................................................... 31

Chart 4: Needs of English Writing Skills by gender................................................................ 32

Chart 5: Needs of employees by gender .................................................................................. 33

Chart 6: Problems of English listening skills faced when communicating with tourists by

gender ....................................................................................................................................... 35

Chart 7: Problems of English speaking skills faced when communicating with tourists by

gender ....................................................................................................................................... 36

Chart 8: Problems of English reading skills faced when communicating with tourists by

gender ....................................................................................................................................... 37

Chart 9: Problems of English writing skills faced when communicating with tourists by

gender ....................................................................................................................................... 38

Chart 10: Problems of employees faced by gender ................................................................. 39

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List of Figures Figure 1: Research Framework ................................................................................................ 22

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Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

English language plays a very crucial role as the predominant tool for communication

in the global community. Nowadays, it is important for tourism industry as a means to

communicate, negotiate, and execute transactions with tourists by tourism employees. Since

tourism involves the greatest people movement and is one of the largest economic activities

in the world (Thurlow & Adam, 2010; Urry, 2002) hence it can directly or indirectly provide

the host countries with foreign currencies, create jobs in the service and manufacturing

sectors and help increase government revenues, including hotels and other types of taxes,

tourist taxes, airport exit taxes, income taxes and customs duties on imports (Badri, Dizaji, &

Zeynali, 2014).

Vietnam has made a lot of efforts over recent years to promote the tourism industry

and has increasingly encouraged foreign tourists to travel to the country since Vietnam joined

World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. Hue, Vietnam is one of the cities where the

tourism business has been largely promoted. Tourism plays a vital role in the development of

the quality of life in Hue, Vietnam such as create jobs for people, as well as increase income

for the local. According to the statistics of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

(VNAT) in 2014, international visitors to Viet Nam in December estimated 657,304 arrivals,

increase 8.0% over November and in 12 months of 2014 year totally reached 7,874,312,

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which increased 4.0% over the same period of 2013 year (VietnamTourism, 2014).

Moreover, as the tourism business income from tourists earned about 200,000 billion VND in

2013, with an increase 25% over last year. As the result, Vietnam’s tourism has been

increasingly improving to attract more and more international tourists to Vietnam, and

tourism needs to be further developed. In addition, the role of tourism industry in generating

income and creating jobs could increase. To be good hosts therefore, Vietnam people who are

directly involved in tourism business should improve their English especially in terms of the

language used in hospitality industry, as well as tour services directly communicate to

international tourists. English is therefore needed for people who work in the future in

tourism, business and the civil services (Richards, 2001). Knowledge of the English language

as an international language plays an important role for those who work in tourism business

in Hue, Vietnam. According to Crystal (1997), English has already become a global

language, as it is used by more people than any other languages. Knowledge of the English

language as an international language plays an important role for those who work in tourism

business in Hue, Vietnam.

At present, tourism staffs who work in travel companies around Vietnam have more

chances to use English due to the number of foreigners who come to visit. Although these

tourism employees are trained to use English in real situations using the syllabus written by

the experts of this field, a formal need analysis to help determine the requirements of the

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English course for tourism employees has never been conducted. One of the problems of

tourism staffs are facing is difficulty in communicating with foreign travelers, which

sometimes results in inefficient service. Although these tourism employees are trained to use

English in real situations using the syllabus written by the experts of this field, a formal need

analysis to help determine the requirements of the English course for tourism employees has

never been conducted. A number of ESP researchers have argued that as language in different

context varies, methods and contents of second language teaching should vary to meet the

needs of learners in specific situations (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Therefore, a few

training courses have been specifically held for the tourism staffs/students to develop

proficiency in using tourism’s English language though English has so far been taught

without systematical survey of needs. Moreover, the syllabus is not based on the real needs of

tourism employees as it should be. It seems inevitable to carry out a formal needs analysis

tourism employee in using English across Vietnam. Previous studies in this field mainly

focus on examining the problems of employees/students in using English language in tourism

business or universities in nations such as Taiwan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Thailand,

etc. However, there are quite few studies about needs of English language use in Vietnam’s

tourism in particular about tourism employees.

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1.2 Purpose of the Study

With realization of a lack of studies of this type in Vietnam and the reason that

English is now the most popular language for travel companies used in their daily works, I

therefore have decided to undertake a study of English language needs in Vietnam’s travel

companies. The present study aims to investigate the English language needs and problems

faced by tourism employees who work at the international travel companies in Hue, Vietnam.

It is also hoped to provide a baseline for obtaining a wider range of input into content, design

and implementation of an English programmes by involving such people as learners,

teachers, course developers and employees in the planning process. The findings from this

study can be used as guidelines for developing a tourism English syllabus that could lead to

the improvement of the employees. Furthermore, the results of the research would also help

the designers and teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to develop teaching and

learning materials that match the specific needs of the travel agents. It is anticipated that the

conclusion of the present investigation could be utilized by those who are responsible for

policy and planning as well as the related organizations in order to have a clearer

understanding of English needs for tourism employees who plan to work in the international

tour company in Vietnam. The results of the study seemed to suggest that, in order to find out

what clients wanted and to make them impressed by the service, the agents had to listen

carefully for what they required and understood them.

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1.3 Research Questions

This study, in fact, endeavors to answer two main research questions:

1. What are the needs of tourism employees in English language using in their

workplace?

2. What problems do tourism employees encounter when using English language

skills in their jobs?

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Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses related literature on needs analysis in the field of English for

Specific Purposes (ESP). The chapter is divided into main four sections. In the first section,

the roles of English language in tourism industry are discussed. Secondly, definitions of

needs analysis to this study are reviewed. Thirdly, significance of needs analysis in using

English language in Vietnam Tourism is reviewed. .Finally, theories and key findings of

needs analysis are discussed in the previous studies.

2.1 The Roles of English Language in Tourism Industry

2.1.1 Language Problems Faced by Vietnamese Employees

Tourism industry in Vietnam has been quite developed in recent years; there is a

fundamental need in development and training of service and production employees for

employment in hotels, resorts, tourist attractions and related infrastructure. However, training

for these sectors in Vietnam is relatively unsophisticated and lacking in industry credibility.

Skilled and experienced employees are scarce resource; vocational education is very limited.

Tourism employees in Vietnam are generally unskilled and require considerable investment

in training and development.

According to statistics of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

(VietnamTourism, 2014), the total number of workers in the tourism sector is around 850,000

at present, including 250,000 workers who directly serve tourists. Vietnamese tourism

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resources lack occupational skills and knowledge for providing good service, foreign

language skill in meeting the critical demands of the tourism industry. It is noted that

exacerbating this lack is the limited practical training and poor collaboration between training

institutions and the industry.

There are inconsistencies balance between practical, vocational, professional business

and academic theory input. Most of Vietnamese students learn great deal of theory at school

without a chance to practice their knowledge. Students need to be provided work-based

learning experience with meaningful jobs during their placements. However, there are not

many tourism companies or tour operators willing to provide them jobs with practical

experience. Vietnamese tourism students are mostly unable to undertake the tasks within their

professional right after graduations. In relates to the people who have been working in

Vietnamese tourism industry, professional skills and foreign language skill still need to be

improved.

Vietnam must overcome the problems of a shortage qualified tourism human resource

to ensure tourism as a spearheaded economic sector and sustainable development. The

government should act as a bridge between universities, and enterprises to provide sufficient

practical training to tourism human resource. Diversity of training, a mix of public and

private provision, formal an informal learning opportunities should be supplied to tourism

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students who are future tourism workforce. Therefore, tourism and hospitality schools should

be devoted to providing training in foreign languages in addition to English.

2.1.2 The Role of English Language in Tourism Industry

Language is a system of spoken or written symbols that can communicate ideas,

emotions, and experiences (Draft & Wiginto, 1979). Understanding the role of language,

organizations can improve the coordination skills (Karsten, 2007; Chen, Geluykens, & Choi,

2006), develop customer satisfaction and have effective management (Dickson & Huyton,

2008) in tourism industry. According to Domke-Damonte (2001), people cannot comprehend

what others demand if people cannot converse to other people on their own terms. This

indicates that English language creates greater interest and plays a more significant role that

influences competitiveness in tourism (Domke-Damonte, 2001). Language is a source that

encompasses daily practice and almost all other aspects of human life. Ignoring the important

roles of language may cause resources loss or result in limitations to tourism development

due to the lack of communication and knowledge sharing (Lauring, 2007). Block (2005)

points out that language skills are demanded in various occupations within organizations such

as General Management, Sales and marketing management, Financial management, Supply

and distribution management, Administrative and support management, Information and

computer management, Insurance, legal and property management, Technology management,

Product and material management, and Trainee management. The language skills and

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elements are composed of listening, speaking, reading, writing, translation, pronunciation,

vocabulary in tourism and grammar and expressions. The English language functions of each

skill are based on various English for tourism textbooks (Stott & Holt, 1991; Utawanit,

Communicate English for Hotel Personnel, 2000; Utawanit, Communicate English for

Tourism, 2003) and contents in the syllabus of various English for tourism courses (Walker,

1996). For example, vocabulary in tourism skills include language functions related to the

tourism industry, to tourism news, to transportation such as air, rail, and bus travel, to

accommodation, to culture, to festivals and holidays, to ceremonies, to food, and to giving

directions.

Language roles are defined as “Factor that is related to tourism organizational

management” (p. 13). According to a study about role of language in Tourism Organizational

Management, the researchers indicated the various key dimensions of language in tourism

(Thitthongkam & Walsh, 2010):

• to increase customers’ satisfaction;

• to enhance and maintain language competency of tourism people;

• to motivate international tourists;

• to increase better understanding on demand and culture; and

• to create effective internal and external communication.

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English has become nationally competitive in Vietnam because of globalization.

English is recognized as a global language or international language, and increases the

importance of business, trade, economy, and tourism. Applications in the tourism or

hospitality departments are growing in Vietnam (Chen, Chiu, & Lin, 2011). Moreover,

English has become a core academic subject in the hospitality training programs of most

universities and industrial sectors to achieve English proficiency for employment and

fulfilling job responsibilities. Furthermore, language barriers influence visitor spending

(Chen & Hsu, 2000), as a hotel manager says “communicating with visitors who have very

little knowledge of their host country’s language puts them at ease. We have found clients are

more likely to book if one speaks their language” (Leslie, Russell, & Govan, 2004) (p.261).

Hospitality and Tourism is often described as ‘the pleasure industry’ or ‘the welcome

industry’ (Harding, 2011). It’s an industry where communication is the key feature. It’s also

an international industry and will involve a range of inter-cultural encounters. The language

of this industry is quite clearly English in an international context, but it is also the language

of meeting needs, of providing high levels of service, of understanding people, of delighting

people, of solving problems” (Harding, 2011). Therefore, English language is a vital role as a

negotiated source of power in tourism development between employees and tourists.

In particular, Hospitality education programs in non-English-speaking countries have

been beginning to offer more English courses to students as well tourism employees. In the

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other hand, professional English is crucial for hospitality professionals (Chang & Hsu, 2010).

For example, some tourism organizations in Vietnam nowadays have been organizing

English for tourism programmes for students or tourism employees including:

• The Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism opened a training course

on tourism profession and English communication skills for 80 learners who are officials and

employees working in tourism industry. The aim of the course is to provide the learners with

basic knowledge of tourism profession skill and organize hand-on activities to help them

improve their skills as well as ability of speaking English, creating confidence in serving the

tourists. The contents of course including: reception skill training (such as communication

skills, tourist marketing, check-in procedures...), and English communication skill training

(Vietnam, 2012).

• Ton Duc Thang University designed a course specialization Tour Guide Training for

students who look forward to pursue works in tourism industry (TDTU, 2015). The aim of

this program is to offer undergraduate starting qualifications for independence in the tourism

industry, particularly, provides a well – trained tour guides with good knowledge and

background of Vietnam culture, history, etc. It will equip students with specific knowledge

and job-specific technical skills for the Hospitality & Tourism such as human resources, tour

operation and marketing skills, ect. In this program, TDTU designed separate and clear

courses from special knowledge to job-special skills for all learners in order to help them

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develop further cultural, historical knowledge and skills in relation to tourism problems.

Specially, course of basis language skills were put into required courses such as resume

writing and job interview skills, event panning skills, communication skills, etc.

• Saigontourist Hospitality College (STHC) was recognized as a national tourism

school in Vietnam (Saigontourist, 2015). SHTC have been operating tourism operator with

numerous hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc. and have been designing training courses in tourism

such the Tour guiding training program which based on Vietnam Tourism Occupational skill.

In this program, learners would be taught about job-specific skills in tourist sites and

communication skill in contacting with customers. In addition, STHC designed English

language training course based on testing Toeic of listening and speaking skills of DynED

software.

2.2 Definition of Needs Analysis

According to Wannapok (2004), Needs analysis has been one of the key factors and

an integral part of English for specific purpose (ESP) practitioners; i.e. researchers, course

designers, material developers, testers, evaluators as well as classroom teachers for many

years. Richards (2001) indicated that needs analysis as a process of gathering data may be

defined “as procedures used to collect information about learners’ needs” (p. 51). Similarly,

Nunan (1988) interpreted needs analysis as “techniques and procedures for collecting

information to be used in syllabus design’’ (p. 13). In this vein, Kandil (2009) concluded that

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the needs of Arab learners are not usually incorporated in the instructional materials because

“needs analysis (NA) has not yet received sufficient attention from researchers and language

teaching professionals in the Arab world” (p. 1). Robinson (1991) pointed out the term needs

analysis is “influenced by the ideological preconceptions of the analysts” (p. 724) which

implies that needs “do not have of themselves an objective reality”. However, Widowson

(1981) this type of needs as a goal-oriented definition which may refer to “the learner’s study

or job requirements; that is, what they have to be able to demonstrate at the end of their

language course” (Prachanant, 2012)(p.118). Whereas Piyanapa (2004) defines “the needs in

different viewpoint which focuses on learners’ needs at the end of a language course”, and

can be called a target situation analysis (TSA). This is the best known framework for a TSA

type of needs analysis which concentrates on communication purposes, communication

settings, the means of communication, language skills, functions, and structure. In addition,

in terms of types of needs, other researcher divides the needs into two types (Mackay, 1978).

The former is academic needs where English is required for further academic study. For

example, medical students requiring English in order to understand the lectures or read

medical textbooks in English. The latter is job needs where English is required in order to

perform a particular job, such as, technicians requiring English in order to work on a project

in which English is used. In the present study, the needs of language skills (listening,

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speaking, reading and writing) based on job needs defined by Mackay are investigated. The

functions and problems in using English skills are also included in the investigation.

2.3 The Significance of Needs Analysis in Using English Language

in Vietnam Tourism

Needs analysis or needs assessment has been an important feature of ESP (English for

specific purposes), EAP (English for academic purposes) and adult educational courses.

English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) is more general compared to ESP because it does

not focus on the specific job disciplines but it is more based on general basic skills required

by students in order to be prepared for the workforce. Examples of basic skills in EOP are the

same as in ESP: reading, writing, listening and speaking. “English for specific purposes is a

term that refers to teaching or studying English for a particular career (like law, medicine) or

for business in general” (International Teacher Training Organization, 2005). Hawkey (1980)

suggests that needs analysis enables the course designer to achieve two things:

• to produce a detailed profile of what the learner needs to be able to do in English in an

occupation or study for which he/she is being trained;

• to produce a specification of the language skills, functions and forms required to carry

out the communication described in the needs profile.

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Needs analysis can be a helpful tool in the planning of course duration, course

intensity, teaching methodology, staff matters, the group of learners and any language policy

or planning situation (Johnson, 1989). Boon-Long (1998) adds that “needs analysis is needed

in ESP as a curriculum design prerequisite, as it is crucial for teachers to observe and be

aware of the nature of data identified by needs analysis not only for the performance features

of the learner of importance but also the underlying competence”.

However, applying English language skills for ESP in tourism courses have to be

considered and designed in professional and experienced tourism organization. After most of

students finished their training programs tourism sectors, they cannot apply studied general

and special knowledge at their workplace. One part of reasons is perhaps from tourism

training courses designed by tourism organizations, universities, or centers. For example,

according to program of The Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the

course just last within one month and in particular for tour guides stay in Van Don, Quang

Ninh. In addition, the course only focuses on training of the speaking skill to may

communicate to tourists. They have an understanding of the particular tourist culture

established within the Quang Ninh’s setting. Perhaps, they have knowledge of “tourist

behavior” and the genre of shopping or touring associated with this. Their English language

skills have been developed in this context. However, the course hardly emphasizes on other

basic skills of employees such as listening, reading, and writing. As the same cons as tourism

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program of Ton Duc Thang University and other tourism programs of Saigontourist

Hospitality College, both of these programs that centers designed didn’t totally focus on

developing English language basic skills just emphasis on training speaking skill in tourism,

especially in hotels, restaurants, tour guiding. In other words, a high standard of academic

English including verbal, reading and writing skills is necessary. Taylor (2014) wrote that:

“Without competence in standard English, students will fail academically and face

diminished career, social and life options” (p.2). This means that few Vietnamese have

actually learned English in the context of a totally English speaking environment, thus their

knowledge of English may be missing many of the cultural idiosyncrasies of the language.

An individual needs to possess basic English skills; to progress further up the ladder a

reasonably high level of spoken English, and some skills in reading and writing in English

would be beneficial. Brown (2000) claimed that: “Communication may be regarded as a

combination of acts, a series of elements with purpose and intent. Communication is not

merely an event, with something that happens; it is functional, purposeful and designed to

bring on some effect…” (p.250). Therefore, in Spolsky’s (1989) theory of second language

learning, individual; language learner through listening and reading generally develop prior to

a higher level through speaking and writing. The language domains and modify the

communication for the language proficiency levels as follow (Spolsky, 1989):

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Listening: process, understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken language in a variety of

situations.

Speaking: engage in oral communication in various situations for an array of

purposes and audiences.

Reading: process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with

understanding and fluency.

Writing: engage in written communication in various forms for an array of purposes

and audiences (Lisboa, 2004).

2.4 Theories and Key Findings on Needs Analysis

The area of teaching English for tourism has been given much attention as English

became a lingua Franca in the international tourism industry; still there is a paucity of studies

in this area (Abdel-Ghany & Abdel-Latif, 2012).

In the field of English for tourism students most of the studies have focused on the

analysis of the required skills and needs in work place, adequacy and appropriateness of

instructional materials and strategies. Al-Khatib (2007) examined the communicative needs

of tourism and banking personnel by shedding lights on their perceptions of needs, wants,

lacks, and attitudes toward English in order to include what is needed and exclude what

deemed less important to them. It has been observed that the type of work plays a significant

role in evaluating and using of English. The most common reasons for communicating as a

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travel agency worker were found to be offering destination guides, writing and sending email

and faxes, making on-line ticketing, browsing the internet, making online hotel booking, etc.

Travel agency users were found to be heavier users of English than their banking

counterparts. The results of the study indicated that the most important skill for tourism

personnel is writing. When instructing an ESP course an issue to take into consideration is

that using adequate language learning and professional strategies are required in tourism field

(Al-Khatib, 2005). Moreover, Bachman and Palmer (1996) argues, “Needs analysis or needs

assessment, involves the systematic gathering of specific information about the language

needs of learners and the analysis of this information for purposes of language syllabus

design” (p.102). In addition, Graves (2000) further states that needs analysis is a systematic

and ongoing process of gathering information about students’ needs and preferences,

interpreting the information, and then making course decisions based on the interpretation in

order to meet the needs. For example, Aunruen (2005) had a study about needs analysis and

problems of tourism employees in all of eight language skills at travel agents in Chiang Mai,

Thailand including listening, speaking, reading, writing, translation, pronunciation,

vocabulary and grammar and expressions. In this thesis, the researcher claimed that “listening

and speaking skills were rated highly essential for the travel agents in Chiang Mai, whereas

grammar and expressions and translation were seen as difficult skills”. In addition,

Prachanant (2012) surveyed the needs, functions and problems of English language use in

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tourism industry in Thailand. A questionnaire was distributed to 40 employees serving in

tourism sector. Results showed that speaking is the most important skill, followed by

listening, reading and writing. “The three most relevant functions in using English language

were giving information, followed by providing services, and offering help. English use

problems included; inability to use appropriate words and expressions, inadequate

vocabulary, and lack of grammar knowledge” (p.117). Moreover, Romaya (2009) carried out

a study which aimed at examining the needs of the Tourist Police (TP) in Thailand. The

problems of English communication faced by the TP officers with foreign tourists were

examined, including the e-learning English course. The findings revealed that the TP officers

found speaking and listening skills to be the most problematic aspect of communicating with

foreigners in English. Foreign tourists perceived that the TP officers used English

comprehensibly, even though some barriers in communication were found in terms of

pronunciation, grammatical misuse, and inadequate vocabulary. In the same objectives as

police officers, Alhuqbani (2008) analyzed the English language needs of Saudi police

officers.103 on-the-job police officers responded to the questionnaire developed by the

researcher. The findings emphasized the police officers and security sectors’ awareness of the

significance of English language in police work. Nevertheless, many police officers indicated

that they cannot use English in their job because of inadequate training. The researcher

concluded that English materials for police purposes should be designed and delivered to the

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police officers to develop their proficiency in the four English skills (listening, speaking,

reading, and writing). Furthermore, Alhuqbani (2014) continued one study in relation to

tourism English needs that examined 223 police cadets’ English language needs, motivations

and attitudes. The subjects were studying at King Fahd Security College in Saudi Arabia.

Results revealed that English teaching was confined to the cadets holding degrees in

humanities. The subjects rated speaking and listening the most important skills.

As the literature reviews above showed, most of studies conducted survey researches

in Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc. However, there are very few studies conducting to survey

the needs and problems of employees in using English language in tourism business in

Vietnam which I am currently investigating in basic skills including listening, speaking,

reading, and writing. In particular, one study examined “designing an appropriate ESP

reading syllabus for students of the Tour- Guiding program at Tourism Industry, which is

expected to contribute the development of ESP teaching and learning at Quang Ninh College

of Arts, Culture and Tourism” (Nguyen, 2012) (p.3). In this thesis, Nguyen (2012) just found

about the situational needs and students’ needs in reading skill which based on qualitative and

quantitative approach to gather data. The findings in the study claimed that ESP reading

syllabus would increase the motivation of learners and teachers during the ESP learning

process. Therefore, in the present study, I consider needs to be what an individual lacks and

desires to fulfill. Learner needs refer to what learners want to know and to learn in a

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particular language course and what they lack in knowledge of the language. Needs analysis

serves as a method of gathering data on learner needs or what learners want to study in a

subject. The results of needs analysis studies are important contributions to curriculum

design, as they provide appropriate contents for a particular course.

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Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter had an overview about the methods and procedures of research in the

study. The chapter was divided into five parts: research design, research framework,

sampling design, data collection and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

The study aims to investigate the English language needs and problems faced by

tourism employees who work at the international travel companies in Hue, Vietnam. Besides,

the data in this study are hoped to determine problems foreign tourists facing when dealing

with the tourism employees, and the essential language skills and the improvement of

difficult problems are useful for travel companies. Moreover, the study attempts to answer

two main research questions:

1. What are the needs of tourism employees in English language using in their

workplace?

2. What problems do tourism employees encounter when using English language

skills in their jobs?

Figure 1: Research Framework

Demographic

(gender)

Needs of English Language

Faced Problems of English language

23

3.2 The Structure of the Questionnaire

Quantitative approach is utilized in needs analysis for the study of travel companies in

Hue, Vietnam because this helps the researcher to collect data easily from a number of large

participants and more effective results of the study from numerical data. Besides, the survey

research mainly conducted in the study was based on the questionnaires in needs analysis of

English in tourism made by (Aunruen, 2005). The questionnaire consists of three parts and

given to chosen travel companies: personal information, needs of English use at workplaces,

and problems of employees when using English to deal with foreign tourists.

In the personal information, participants were asked about their personal information

concerning such as gender, age, educational background, current level of English proficiency.

Especially frequency of using English of employees in work helped the researchers to

determine who have a lot of experience in tourism services as well need to find which needs

and facing problems of English use at workplace are helpful to travel companies. In addition,

the participants need to rank language skills which travel officers are used most and

encountered elements used difficult. Basic language skills and elements in this study were

made up of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The second part of the questionnaire

was adapted from Aunruen’s eariler work (2005), which covered four main domains of

language skills to ask needs of English used most built on a five-point Likert scale from (5)

Most, (4) A lot, (3) Moderate, (2) A little and (1) Least. In the last part, participants were

24

asked about problems they encountered in English use when communicating with foreign

tourists. This part was also adapted from Aunruen, divided into four main domains on a

five-point Likert scale from (5) Most, (4) A lot, (3) Moderate, (2) A little and (1) Least. The

questionnaire used in the study was totally written in English instead of in Vietnamese

because all of international travel employees definitely know English to service foreign

tourists anytime. To ensure the validity of the questionnaire, the draft questionnaire was

modified and revised by the suggestions of advisor, committee members and one expert;

besides, structure of the questionnaire is shown in table 3.1. Besides, the completed

questionnaire could be found at Appendix B.

Table 3- 1: Structure of the Questionnaire

Variables Survey Items Measurements References Personal Information Gender, age, education, level of English use) Rank used skills Rank difficult skills

7

5-point Likert scale from (5) Most, (4) A lot, (3) Moderate, (2) A little

and (1) Least (Likert, 1932)

(Aunruen, 2005)

Needs of English Use 34 Listening 8 Speaking 11 Reading 8 Writing 8

Faced Problems 34 Listening 8 Speaking 11 Reading 8 Writing 8

Total 77

25

3.3 Sampling Design

The population in the study was international travel companies who worked in 16

international travel companies exclusive of domestic travel companies located in Hue,

Vietnam. The number of the registered travel companies was collected from Tourism

Authority of Hue, Vietnam according to the latest record in 2014.

Non-probability convenience sampling or systematic nonrandom sampling is used on

a group of employees available in 16 international travel companies. According to the

statistics of travel companies, each of company has approximately 6-9 employees who have

been using English and dealing with foreign tourists such as tour guides, tour operators, tour

sellers, etc. Therefore, a total of 16*9= 144 employees participated in the study.

3.4 Data Collection

Upon completion, the questionnaire was modified and developed based on the pilot

study. A total of 144 questionnaires were given to tour employees at 16 international tour

companies in Hue, Vietnam to identify needs and faced elements of English using when

communicating with foreign tourists. The questionnaire was designed in both internet

questionnaire and direct hand-out and written in English. The time of collecting data was

distributed to participants from July to September 2015, a 3-month period.

26

3.5 Data Analysis

The analysis and use of collected data was based on SPSS software (16.0). The

primary statistical procedures in the study were as follows:

1. Cronbach Alpha Coefficient was applied to evaluate the internal consistency or the

reliability of sections in the questionnaire, which used a five-point Likert scale.

2. Frequency (f) and percentage (%) were also used to calculate problems of English

use of employees at their workplace.

3. A 5-point Likert scale was used to score the levels of needs of English of tourism

employees.

4. Arithmetic Mean (X) and Standard Deviation (S.D) were used to calculate the

average levels of English needs. The highest mean score (X) reflected the more needs in

English using of tourism employees in their work. Besides, the lowest mean score showed the

needs for activity. Standard Deviation (S.D) was a measure of the dispersion of the scores,

giving information on the extent to which a set of scores varies related to the mean.

5. Weighted scores were used to rank the needs from most used to least used in basic

language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and elements from most difficult to

least difficult.

27

Chapter 4 RESULTS

4.1 Frequency of Demographic Participants

The collection of all participants in Vietnam was conducted in 3-month period helped

me much more convinient to figure questionnaires and get a high percentage of responese

through internet such as email, googledocs although there was a little dificult to collect datas

of a large number of participants who have been working at travel agencies in Hue, Vietnam.

Therefore, a total of 144 questionnaires were equally distributed to survey travel employees

136 responses was collected, yielding a 94.4% response rate. A number of respones were

failed because of responsing questions in questionnaire unseemly were 8 responese, yeilding

a 5.6% rate. Out of the total number of 136 participants, the percentage of female employees

(66.9%) was higher than male (33.1%). Most employees work at travel companies aged from

25-30 (66.9%) and possess a bachelor’s degree. In addition, the result also showed that there

were 117 employees (66.9%) with upper level of English proficiency. The duration of work

for 1-5 years and for 6-10 years, occupied 40.4% and 39.7%, respectively, which showed that

most participants have been working relatively long in the traveling companies.

28

Table 4. 1: The Frequency of Tourism Employees

Demographic Frequency (N = 136) %

Gender Female 91 66.9 Male 45 33.1

Age 25-30 91 66.9 31-35 27 19.9

Over 35 18 13.2 Educational Background

Bachelor's Degree 117 86.0 Higher than bachelor's degree 19 14.0

Level of English Proficiency

Beginner 18 13.2 Lower Intermediate 18 13.2 Upper Intermediate 91 66.9

Advanced 9 6.6

Duration of work

Less than 1 year 9 6.6 1-5 years 55 40.4 6-10 years 54 39.7

Over 10 years 18 13.2

4.2 Reliability Analysis of Variables

According to the reliability for each variable has the lowest Cronbach’s Alpha limit

that can be only acceptable set as 0.7. Thus, reliability of variables in this study had high rate

at .9658 was acceptable (as shown at Table 4.2).

Table 4. 2: Reliability Statistic

Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items N of Items

.955 .951 70

4.2 Needs of English Skills of Travel Employees

This session answers the first question: “What are the needs of tourism employees

in English language using in their workplace?” Data from different sections were

29

compared through separate charts to explain clearer needs of English skills using of

employees in tourism.

Chart 1: Needs of English Listening skills by gender

As shown in Chart 1, most tourism employees indicate listening skill as an important

need in their work, which suggests that most workload of employees at travel companies

involve listening to English in their daily operation. Especially, six highest needs in listening

skill are tourists’ needs (M=4.6), direct conversations (M= 4.40), reservation details (M=

4.33), telephone conversations (M= 3.93), discourse on tourism topics (M= 3.8), and personal

details of tourists (M= 3.67). The results in chart 1 showed male employees have higher

needs in listening problems than female employees at their work. Especially, there were

significant differences between genders through using One-way ANOVA analysis (see

Appendix B).

4.50

4.20 4.20

3.80

3.40

3.10

4.80 4.80 4.60

4.20

4.60 4.80

4.60 4.40 4.33

3.93 3.80

3.67

Tourists' Needs DirectConversations

ReservationDetails

TelephoneConversations

Discourse onTopics

Personal Petailsof Tourist

Female Male General

30

Chart 2: Needs of English Speaking Skills by gender.

According to Chart 2, travel employees need to significantly have speaking skills in

their daily jobs. Eight most important elements in speaking are tourists’ needs (M= 4.40),

taking reservations (M= 4.20), giving directions (M= 4.13), travel information (M= 4.13),

conversations of tourists (M= 4.00), tourist’s information (M= 3.93), tour programs (M=

3.87), and detail transportations (M= 3.80). Most of the elements in speaking involve

employees’ need to speak a lot to clients as well to discuss tours and tickets information. In

addition, results from One-way ANOVA showed that male have much more needs in

speaking skills than female employees at their jobs. Significant differences were found in all

of the items on speaking skill (see Appendix B).

Tourist’ Needs

TakingReservati

ons

GivingDirections

TravelInformati

on

Conversations ofTourist

Tourist'sInformati

on

TourPrograms

Transportation

Female 4.10 3.90 3.70 3.90 3.90 3.50 3.40 3.40Male 5.00 4.80 5.00 4.60 4.20 4.80 4.80 4.60General 4.40 4.20 4.13 4.13 4.00 3.93 3.87 3.80

3.00 3.20 3.40 3.60 3.80 4.00 4.20 4.40 4.60 4.80 5.00

31

Chart 3: Needs of English Reading Skills by gender

Chart 3 indicates that reading is quite necessary for tourism employees after listening

and speaking skills. Employees mostly need to read information related to tourism magazines

(M= 4.20), emails (M= 4.13), tourist leaflets (M= 3.93), and tourism news (M= 3.67). Male

employees have much more needs in reading skills than female employees at their jobs

through using One-way ANOVA analysis. Significant differences between genders were

found in all the items with the exception of “reading information from the Internet”

(F[1,134]=.392), “E-mails and Reading telexes, faxes” (F[1,134]=.717) (see Appendix B)

4.00 4.10 3.90

3.40

4.60

4.20 4.00

4.20 4.20 4.13 3.93

3.67

3.30 3.50 3.70 3.90 4.10 4.30 4.50 4.70 4.90

Tourism Magazines Internet, E-mails Tourist Leaflets Tourism News

Female Male General

32

Chart 4: Needs of English Writing Skills by gender

Chart 4 shows that writing emails is considered the most important needs in every

tourism employee’s work (M= 4.87). In addition, other elements in writing skills such as

writing travel plans are used a lot in their routine jobs (M= 4.00), travel timetables (M= 3.8),

writing texts to give information (M= 3.47), and tourist leaflets or brochures (M= 3.27).

Using One-way ANOVA analysis, the only difference between male and female were found

in that females have higher needs writing texts related to tourism plans than male employees

in their workplace. There are significant differences indicated based on all the items

excluding “Producing faxes in a proper format” (F[1,134]=2.084) (see Appendix B).

4.80

3.90 3.70 3.70

2.80

5.00

4.20 4.00

3.00

4.20

4.87

4.00 3.80

3.47 3.27

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

5.50

Writing Emails Travel Plans Travel Timetables Information Texts Tourist Leaflets orBrochures

Female Male General

33

Chart 5: Needs of employees by gender

The result of chart 5 shows that speaking is the most important among the four

English skills at tourism employees’ workplace (M=3.93), as followed by listening (M=

3.79), writing (M= 3.73), and reading (M= 3.57), respectively. There is a highly significant

difference between genders and language skills. The result means that tourism employees

have much more needs in four English skills through using One-way ANOVA analysis (see

table 4.3 below).

Table 4. 3: Significant differences about employees’ needs by gender

Sum of Squares

df Mean Square F Sig.

NeedListening Between Groups 18.563 1 18.563 35.833 .000 Within Groups 69.415 134 .518 Total 87.977 135

NeedSpeaking Between Groups 50.177 1 50.177 192.826 .000 Within Groups 34.869 134 .260 Total 85.047 135

NeedReading Between Groups 1.886 1 1.886 6.023 .015 Within Groups 41.963 134 .313 Total 43.849 135

NeedWriting Between Groups 9.719 1 9.719 29.312 .000 Within Groups 44.430 134 .332 Total 54.149 135

3.93

3.79 3.73

3.57

3.30

3.40

3.50

3.60

3.70

3.80

3.90

4.00

Speaking Listening Writing Reading

Needs

34

After the bivariate Correlation analysis was run to find the correlation between

duration of work of employees and needs of English language in their jobs, the result shows

that the correlation was found including needs of speaking and writing skills in tourism

employees’ workplace (see Appendix D).

Table 4. 4: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most used

Listening Speaking Reading Writing 1 18 (13.2%) 82(60.3%) 9(6.6%) 27(19.9%) 2 73(53.7%) 27(19.9%) 27(19.9%) 9(6.6%) 3 27(19.9%) 18(13.2%) 18(13.2%) 82(60.3%) 4 18(13.2%) 9(6.6%) 82(60.3%) 18(13.2%) Mean 2.3309 1.6618 3.2721 2.6691 Std. Deviation .86970 .94454 .99975 .94324 Obtained ranking 2 1 4 3

Note: 1- the most used, 4- the least used Obtained ranking- based on mean

Among the four English skills ranked from “most used” to “least used” that

employees choose, speaking is most used and important skill in their needs (M=1.66)

followed by second highest rate, listening (M=2.33), writing (M=2.67), and reading

(M=3.27), respectively. The result shows that employees intend to carry on conversations

with tourists or partners to deal with tourists’ needs and problems.

4.3 Problems of Employees when Communicating with Foreign

Tourists

This part continues to answer the second question: “What problems do tourism

employees encounter when using English language skills in their jobs?” Each of the

35

sections was compared through separate charts to explain clearer problems of English skills

used by employees in tourism. Specifically, among the five charts, there was one table (table

4.6) about ranking of English needs encountered by employees, from the most difficult to the

least difficult.

Chart 6: Problems of English listening skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender

As shown in Chart 6, the result indicated that tourism employees encounter a lot of

difficulties in listening skill. In particular, the most difficult listening problems they consider

are listening to reservation details of flights, hotels or tickets (M= 4.27), as followed by

phone conversations with tourists (M= 3.93), listening tourists’ needs and decisions (M=

3.93), discourse on tourism topics (M= 3.87) or direct conversations (M= 3.7.3) are moderate

elements employees rarely face in their routine jobs. Generally, males only have less difficult

problems in listening phone conversations with tourists than female in their work. Using One-

way ANOVA analysis, the result showed that there were significant differences found in four

items inclusive of “Listening to verbal instructions” (F[1,134]= 5.920, p<0.05), “Listening to

spoken discourse on tourism topics” (F[1,134]= 4.170), “Listening to face to face

2.50

2.70

2.90

3.10

3.30

3.50

3.70

3.90

4.10

4.30

ReservationsDetails

PhoneConversations

Tourist’ Needs Discourse onTopics

DirectConversations

Female

Male

General

36

conversations” (F[1,134]= 28.642), “Listening to news related to tourism” (F[1,134]= 8.520).

The result of all items was shown at Appendix C.

Chart 7: Problems of English speaking skills faced when communicating with tourists by

gender

Employees’ problems in speaking skill indicated that they encounter a lot of

difficulties at their workplace. The top five problems they face include: taking reservations,

explaining price, transportations, travel information, and tourist’s needs. Among the eleven

elements of speaking skill, tourism employees in Hue, Vietnam rarely feel easier to

communicate and discuss trip or tourism related problems. Further, significant differences

between genders were found at eight items “Providing information about travel plans”,

“Suggesting travel information (e.g. information about”, “Giving clients directions”, “Asking

for information from tourists”, “Inquiring clients’ needs and decision”, “Negotiating for

mutual understanding”, “Giving details about foreign exchange” through using One-way

ANOVA analysis (see Appendix C).

3.90 4.10 3.80

3.40 4.00

4.40 3.80 3.60

4.40

3.00

4.07 4.00 3.73 3.73 3.67

Taking Reservations Explaining Pricing Transportation Travel Information Tourist’ Needs

Female Male General

37

Chart 8: Problems of English reading skills faced when communicating with tourists by

gender

In Chart 8, the travel employees encountered difficulties in reading English with total

moderating mean score. All the reading elements are considered moderating scores which

the highest score among above problems is reading written documents related to the tourism

industry (M= 3.333), followed by reading information from the Internet, E-mails (M=3.267),

getting detailed information of tourist documents (M= 3.1333), Reading business letters (M=

3.1333), reading news related to tourism (M= 3.2000), respectively. There are only male

employees who have faced problem higher than female at reading business letters. Based on

One-way analysis, significant differences were found in five items between genders in

reading element including “Reading written documents related to the tourism industry”

(F[1,134]= 40.055, p <0.001), “Getting detailed information of tourist documents”

(F[1,134]= 7.727, p <0.05), “Reading information from the Internet, E-mails” (F[1,134]=

-

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

TourismDocuments

Internet, Emails Tourism News Tourist'sInformation

Business Letters

Female

Male

General

38

29.958, p <0.001), “Reading brochures or tourist leaflets” (F[1,134]= 14.828, p <0.001),

“Reading articles from travel magazines” (F[1,134]= 9.302 p <0.01) (see Appendix C).

Chart 9: Problems of English writing skills faced when communicating with tourists by gender

As shown in Chart 9, the results indicate that tourism employees face some problems

in writing skill at their daily jobs, with total mean score. However, they have a lot of

difficulties writing emails (M= 3.93). Other problems they find at moderating rates such as

writing travel plans (M= 3.80), Writing advertisements (M= 3.40), Writing texts for giving

information (M= 3.33), respectively. Moreover, male employees have faced problems higher

than female in writing advertisements in relation to tours or plans. There is significant

difference between two genders at all items with the exception of “Writing texts for giving

information” (F[1,134]= 1.445, p >0.05) (see Appendix C).

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

Writing Emails Travel Plans WritingAdvertisements

Texts Information

Female

Male

General

39

After the bivariate Correlation analysis was run to find the correlation between

duration of work of employees and needs of English language in their jobs, the result showed

that there is a negative correlation between the duration of work and reading problems they

face. (See Appendix D).

Chart 10: Problems of employees faced by gender

From Chart 10, reading is considered as difficult problems tourism employees

encountered (M= 3.40), as followed by writing (M= 3.00), listening (M= 1.87), and speaking

(M= 1.73), respectively. Moreover, there are two significant differences between genders in

the problems faced by employees at their workplace, which include listening

(F[1,134]=1.406) and speaking (F[1,134]=2.518) through using One-way ANOVA analysis

(see table 4.5). It means that both genders have more difficult problems when communicating

with their tourists at tourism destination.

3.40 3.00

1.87 1.73

-

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Reading Writing Listening Speaking

Faced

40

Table 4. 5: Significant difference of employees’ faced problems by gender Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. FacedListening Between Groups 1.351 1 1.351 1.406 .238

Within Groups 128.718 134 .961 Total 130.069 135

FacedSpeaking Between Groups 1.972 1 1.972 2.518 .115 Within Groups 104.981 134 .783 Total 106.954 135

FacedReading Between Groups 7.233 1 7.233 10.938 .001 Within Groups 88.607 134 .661 Total 95.840 135

FacedWriting Between Groups 4.297 1 4.297 7.102 .009 Within Groups 81.062 134 .605 Total 85.358 135

Table 4. 6: Rankings of language skills which travel employees most encountered Listening Speaking Reading Writing 1 54 (39.7%) 55(40.4.3%) 8(5.9%) 27(19.9%) 2 55(40.4%) 63(46.3%) 18(13.2%) 9(6.6%) 3 18(13.2%) 15(9.2%) 45(33.1%) 55(40.3%) 4 9(6.6%) 3(2.2%) 65(47.8%) 45(30.1%) Mean 1.8676 1.7279 3.4044 3.0000 Std. Deviation .88451 .68277 .71366 1.09545 Obtained ranking 2 1 4 3

Note: 1- the most difficult, 4- the least difficult Obtained ranking- based on mean

Among four ranked English skills from the most difficult to the least difficult that

employees choose, the results indicate that speaking is the most difficult and important skill

in their needs (M=1.72), followed by second high rate is listening (M=1.86), writing

(M=3.00), and reading (M=3.40). The result shows that employees intend to have lot

conversations with tourists or partners to deal with tourists’ needs and problems. Besides,

they need to think how to communicate with tourists in order not to make them disappointed.

41

Chapter 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Research Findings

This study provided concepts in relation to needs and problems of English language

use of tourism employees at international travel companies in Hue city, Vietnam. The results

in the study showed the majority of the tourism employees claimed that all the four skills are

highly essential and needed, especially speaking and listening skills, followed by writing and

reading ones, respectively (Aunruen, 2005; Prachanant, 2012). In other words, almost all the

participants perceived that the English language plays an important role in their daily work.

Since tourism industry has been promoted for many years, and Hue city is one of the most

popular tourism spots in Vietnam with history, culture, regions, traditional festivals, events,

etc., and there are many foreign tourists that come to Vietnam and as a result of this, tourism

employees have had much more opportunities to use their own language in order to

communicate and guide travellers use services as well as visit the tourist attractions, tourism

destinations and events over Vietnam. Moreover, the perceived participants’ levels of English

proficiency were middle intermediate. Most of the agents still had some difficult problems in

English skills such as speaking and listening used at work, followed by writing and reading,

respectively. These findings were related to the results of the other previous studies of

Aunruen (2005) and Prachanant (2012) that the tourism employees had fewer problems in

42

writing and using vocabulary in the tourism field. Reading skills were not really considered

problematic to them.

Among four language skills, speaking was regarded the most important by tourism

employees in international travel companies in Vietnam. Interestingly, when considering the

problem of English language skills for the agents, speaking was indicated as the most

problematic to them. The findings showed that the participants needed to speak English in

order to communicate with foreign clients in their routine jobs. They spent most of the day

talking to the clients and regularly dealt with them. In particular, tourism employees have to

explain price of tours or services in order to make tourists understand. Negotiating for mutual

understanding, conducting telephone conversations with clients and inquiring about clients’

needs and decisions were also crucial problems. The previous study pointed out that speaking

a foreign language on the telephone called for special skills because the telephone did not

allow the speaker and his listener to use the visual components of normal face to face

communication (Aunruen, 2005).

The tourism employees thought that the following listening-related functions were

problematic to them. They mostly had problems in understanding spoken discourse on

tourism topics (Aunruen, 2005; Prachanant, 2012; Romaya, 2009; Al-Khatib, 2005). They

had to pay attention to what foreign clients were saying, taking much time to understand the

points being made. Also, understanding face to face conversations, telephone conversations

43

and what tourists wanted were their problems to a moderate extent. In their jobs the agents

had to listen to different accents of English from both native and non-native travellers of

English. Therefore, the employees sometimes were unable to understand their speech. As the

results, listening to the foreign tourists’ enquiries is also the second crucial skill as shown in

Aunruen (2005), Pingyoad (2005) because of leading tourism employees to understand the

problems that the foreign tourists would need and want.

In writing skill, the participants significantly needed to write e-mails in English to

contact clients. E-mail and facsimile were popular communication methods, as they were

quick, convenient and economical. This was similar to Sucompa’s study (1998), which found

that some tourism workers who operated business in offices needed to write correspondence

or e-mail to contact overseas travel representatives, they rarely wrote formal correspondence.

Short words or brief and meaningful sentences were written to reach the communication

target. Tourism employees had high needs in writing programmes or schedules for local

sightseeing or overseas tours (Aunruen, 2005; Sucompa, 1998). To operate outbound and

inbound tours, tourism employees needed to write correspondence or e-mail to contact travel

agencies overseas. In addition, the travel employees faced a lot of problems in writing emails

and tour designations in appropriate formats. Apart from that, the tourism employees in

Vietnam also had problems in writing emails to describe things to do and inform information

at various places. Writing advertisements and plans to promote their service and writing texts

44

for giving information were also difficult for them. With these problems, the employees

normally asked other companies to perform these tasks for them, which added to company

costs.

Compared with the other three skills, reading skill has the smallest problem and is the

least important one that the tourism employees encountered. The employees usually read

tourism information in both written documents and electronic forms. They normally read

information such as flight, hotel and car rental information. The tourism employees suggested

that they got used to some specific vocabulary in the tourism field. Thus, reading English

materials in tourism was not their major problem. Nevertheless, they felt that understanding

detailed information of tourist documents was the most difficult. Thus, the tourism employees

needed more practice reading tourist documents such as, passports and visas. Understanding

information from the Internet, e–mails, news related to tourism and written documents related

to tourist industry were their moderate problems.

5.2 Research Implications

This study was carried out to provide an insight into the needs and problems of

English use of tourism employees in international travel companies located in Hue, Vietnam.

It is hoped to provide a baseline for obtaining a wider range of input into content, design and

implementation of an English programmes by involving such people as learners, teachers,

course developers and employees in the planning process. One of the greatest contributions of

45

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to language teaching has been its emphasis on careful

and extensive needs analysis for course design (John, 1991). According to Robinson (1991)

and Jordan (1997), the significance of a needs analysis could be emphasized for devising a

course, writing textbooks or course books, and the kind of teaching and learning that took

place. It could also help educators and administrators to gain awareness of the ‘context

variable’ (Chaudron, 1990) and program designers to provide appropriate instructional input

to foster effective learning. Implementing an academic needs analysis had a significant role in

the identification and examination of needs for any educational institution.

Although the present investigation does not intend to represent all tourism employees,

the researcher does believe that the sampling frame might give a relatively good

representation of tourism employees working in the tour companies located in the tourist

attractions in Vietnam. Needs analysis is part of the curriculum development and is basically

required before a syllabus development for English language teaching. The findings from this

study can be used as guidelines for developing a tourism English syllabus that could lead to

the improvement of the employees. Furthermore, the results of the research would also help

the designers and teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to develop teaching and

learning materials that match the specific needs of the travel agents. It is anticipated that the

conclusion of the present investigation could be utilized by those who are responsible for

policy and planning as well as the related organizations in order to have a clearer

46

understanding of English needs for tourism employees who plan to work in the international

tour company in Vietnam. The results of the study seemed to suggest that, in order to find out

what clients wanted and to make them impressed by the service, the agents have to listen

carefully to what they heard and understood them. Therefore, they needed to be trained in

order to understand the different accents of English from both native and non-native speakers.

The training should focus on conversational skills, as they needed to conduct services mainly

based on listening and speaking. The content in an English training course design should be

relevant to the specific needs of the travel agents. Learner needs should be considered in the

process of planning the content of a language program.

5.3 Research Limitations

First of all, the present study employed only one instrument - a questionnaire survey

as a data collection method. Secondly, the data collection period was during high season for

tourism in Hue, Vietnam, the participants were very busy with tight schedules. The researcher

was not able to spend time interviewing them or talking to them in detail about their needs

and problems of using English. Thirdly, the present study was carried out in only one

province despite the fact that there are many important tourism provinces in Vietnam.

5.4 Future Researches

The present study was carried out in only one province while there are other important

tourism provinces in Vietnam. Hence, it was suggested that a parallel study to investigate the

47

needs and the problems of using English of the travel agents should be conducted in other

areas in Vietnam.

Needs analysts should be cautious in collecting information from various sources due

to the multiplicity and diversity of views on the prerequisites for an ESP course. Therefore,

questionnaires in further studies could be administered to foreign tourists in order to find out

their problems when using services. Data collection from the employer of the travel agency

should be done in order to find out their employees’ clearer needs and problems of English

use. In addition, the data to be collected from learners, teachers, administrators, and managers

of travel companies in the planning process would help identify general and specific language

needs and content of a language program. Especially, the further research might also include

the needs of teaching methodology by which the learner prefers, using the strategy analysis

framework. Further investigations of the needs of the travel agents should be carried out to

determine updated current use of English.

48

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54

Appendix A: The Questionnaire

Needs Analysis of English Language Use in Tourism: A Case

Study of Travel Companies in Vietnam

Part A: General Information

Please put in the appropriate box.

1. Sex Female Male

2. Age Fewer than 25 31-35

25-30 Over 35

3. Educational background

Lower secondary school Bachelor’s degree

Upper secondary school Higher than bachelor’s degree

Vocational school Other (please specify):

__________________

4. Please choose your current level of English proficiency (choose only one)

Beginner

Elementary

Lower intermediate

Upper intermediate

Advanced

5. How many years have you been working in the field of tourism?

Less than 1 year 6-10 years

1-5 years Over 10 years

6. In your job, which of the following language skills and elements do you use most?

(Please rank 1-4 in order of priority in which 1 = use most, and 4 = use least)

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

7. In your job, which of the following language skills and elements do you encounter

problems most?

(Please rank 1-4 in order of priority in which 1 = most difficult, and 4 = least difficult)

55

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

Part B: Needs of the English language at workplace

How much do you need the following English skills or elements in your job?

Please indicate your opinion towards the following topic areas by circling the appropriate

numbers by 5 = Most; 4 = A lot; 3 = Moderate; 2 = A little; 1 = Least

1. Listening

1.1 Listening to verbal instructions 5 4 3 2 1

1.2 Listening to spoken discourse on tourism topics 5 4 3 2 1

1.3 Listening to face to face conversations 5 4 3 2 1

1.4 Listening to telephone conversations 5 4 3 2 1

1.5 Understanding what clients want 5 4 3 2 1

1.6 Listening to reservation details (flight reservations, 5 4 3 2 1

hotel reservations, tickets reservation, etc.)

1.7 Getting personal details of clients 5 4 3 2 1

1.8 Listening to news related to tourism 5 4 3 2 1

2. Speaking

2.1 Conducting telephone conversations with clients 5 4 3 2 1

2.2 Providing information about travel plans 5 4 3 2 1

(e.g. itineraries, tour programmes)

2.3 Suggesting travel information (e.g. information about 5 4 3 2 1

tourist attractions, accommodation, restaurant,

insurance, etc.)

2.4 Giving details about transportation (e.g. air, 5 4 3 2 1

rail, and bus travel )

2.5 Giving clients directions 5 4 3 2 1

2.6 Asking for information from clients 5 4 3 2 1

2.7 Inquiring clients’ needs and decision 5 4 3 2 1

2.8 Negotiating for mutual understanding 5 4 3 2 1

2.9 Taking reservations 5 4 3 2 1

2.10 Giving details about foreign exchange 5 4 3 2 1

56

2.11 Explaining pricing 5 4 3 2 1

3. Reading

3.1 Reading written documents related to 5 4 3 2 1

the tourism industry

3.2 Reading news related to tourism 5 4 3 2 1

3.3 Getting detailed information of tourist documents 5 4 3 2 1

3.4 Reading information from the Internet, E-mails 5 4 3 2 1

3.5 Reading telexes, faxes 5 4 3 2 1

3.6 Reading business letters 5 4 3 2 1

3.7 Reading brochures or tourist leaflets 5 4 3 2 1

3.8 Reading articles from travel magazines 5 4 3 2 1

4. Writing

4.1 Producing faxes in a proper format 5 4 3 2 1

4.2 Producing tourist leaflets or brochures 5 4 3 2 1

4.3 Writing texts for giving information 5 4 3 2 1

4.4 Writing travel timetables 5 4 3 2 1

4.5 Writing travel plans 5 4 3 2 1

4.6 Taking telephone message 5 4 3 2 1

4.7 Writing advertisements 5 4 3 2 1

4.8 Writing e-mails 5 4 3 2 1

Part C: Problems when using English language to communicate with foreign Tourist

How much do you have problems with each of these English language functions at your

workplace?

Please indicate your opinion towards the following topic areas by circling the appropriate

numbers by 5 = Most; 4 = A lot; 3 = Moderate; 2 = A little; 1 = Least

1. Listening

1.1 Listening to verbal instructions 5 4 3 2 1

1.2 Listening to spoken discourse on tourism topics 5 4 3 2 1

1.3 Listening to face to face conversations 5 4 3 2 1

1.4 Listening to telephone conversations 5 4 3 2 1

1.5 Understanding what clients want 5 4 3 2 1

1.6 Listening to reservation details (flight reservations, 5 4 3 2 1

hotel reservations, tickets reservation, etc.)

57

1.7 Getting personal details of clients 5 4 3 2 1

1.8 Listening to news related to tourism 5 4 3 2 1

2. Speaking

2.1 Conducting telephone conversations with clients 5 4 3 2 1

2.2 Providing information about travel plans 5 4 3 2 1

(e.g. itineraries, tour programmes )

2.3 Suggesting travel information (e.g. information about 5 4 3 2 1

tourist attractions, accommodation, restaurant,

insurance, etc.)

2.4 Giving details about transportation (e.g. air, 5 4 3 2 1

rail, and bus travel )

2.5 Giving clients directions 5 4 3 2 1

2.6 Asking for information from clients 5 4 3 2 1

2.7 Inquiring clients’ needs and decision 5 4 3 2 1

2.8 Negotiating for mutual understanding 5 4 3 2 1

2.9 Taking reservations 5 4 3 2 1

2.10 Giving details about foreign exchange 5 4 3 2 1

2.11 Explaining pricing 5 4 3 2 1

3. Reading

3.1 Reading written documents related to 5 4 3 2 1

the tourism industry

3.2 Reading news related to tourism 5 4 3 2 1

3.3 Getting detailed information of tourist documents 5 4 3 2 1

3.4 Reading information from the Internet, E-mails 5 4 3 2 1

3.5 Reading telexes, faxes 5 4 3 2 1

3.6 Reading business letters 5 4 3 2 1

3.7 Reading brochures or tourist leaflets 5 4 3 2 1

3.8 Reading articles from travel magazines 5 4 3 2 1

4. Writing

4.1 Producing faxes in a proper format 5 4 3 2 1

58

4.2 Producing tourist leaflets or brochures 5 4 3 2 1

4.3 Writing texts for giving information 5 4 3 2 1

4.4 Writing travel timetables 5 4 3 2 1

4.5 Writing travel plans 5 4 3 2 1

4.6 Taking telephone message 5 4 3 2 1

4.7 Writing advertisements 5 4 3 2 1

4.8 Writing e-mails 5 4 3 2 1

59

Appendix B: Significant Differences in Employees’

Needs of Skills by gender

Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

Listening A1.1verbal instructions Between Groups 19.377 1 19.377 21.206 .000 Within Groups 122.440 134 .914 Total 141.816 135 spoken discourse on tourism topics Between Groups 42.884 1 42.884 40.825 .000

Within Groups 140.756 134 1.050

Total 183.640 135

face to face conversations Between Groups Within Groups Total

10.919 129.640 140.559

1 134 135

10.919 .967 11.287 .001

telephone conversations Between Groups 4.765 1 4.765 11.077 .001 Within Groups 57.640 134 .430 Total 62.404 135 Tourists' needs Between Groups 2.810 1 2.810 5.710 .018 Within Groups 65.947 134 .492 Total 68.757 135 reservation details Between Groups 4.871 1 4.871 15.094 .000 Within Groups 43.240 134 .323 Total 48.110 135 personal details of clients Between Groups 86.009 1 86.009 81.106 .000 Within Groups 142.101 134 1.060 Total 228.110 135 A1.8Listening to news related to

tourism Between Groups 23.739 1 23.739 19.820 .000

Within Groups 160.497 134 1.198 Total 184.235 135 Speaking A2.1Conducting telephone

conversations with clients Between Groups

2.690 1 2.690 7.025 .009

Within Groups 51.310 134 .383 Total 54.000 135 Providing information about travel

plans (e.g. itineraries, tour programmes)

Between Groups 57.543 1 57.543 74.622 .000

Within Groups 103.332 134 .771 Total 160.875 135 Suggesting travel information (e.g.

information about tourist attractions, accommodation,

Between Groups 14.249 1 14.249 50.119 .000

60

restaurant, insurance, etc.) Within Groups 38.097 134 .284 Total 52.346 135 Giving details about transportation

(e.g. air, rail, and bus travel ) Between Groups

42.884 1 42.884 83.577 .000

Within Groups 68.756 134 .513 Total 111.640 135 Giving clients directions Between Groups 50.629 1 50.629 92.949 .000 Within Groups 72.989 134 .545 Total 123.618 135 Asking for information from clients Between Groups

50.457 1 50.457 141.01

5 .000

Within Groups 47.947 134 .358 Total 98.404 135 Inquiring clients’ needs and

decision Between Groups

24.449 1 24.449 403.97

1 .000

Within Groups 8.110 134 .061 Total 32.559 135 Negotiating for mutual

understanding Between Groups

85.339 1 85.339 168.35

4 .000

Within Groups 67.925 134 .507 Total 153.265 135 Taking reservations Between Groups 24.330 1 24.330 47.038 .000 Within Groups 69.310 134 .517 Total 93.640 135 Giving details about foreign

exchange Between Groups

118.071 1 118.071 119.13

4 .000

Within Groups 132.804 134 .991 Total 250.875 135 A2.11 Explaining pricing Between Groups

200.802 1 200.802 279.90

2 .000

Within Groups 96.132 134 .717 Total 296.934 135 Reading A3.1 Reading written documents

related to the tourism industry Between Groups

7.627 1 7.627 23.129 .000

Within Groups 44.189 134 .330 Total 51.816 135 Reading news related to tourism Between Groups 19.483 1 19.483 90.154 .000 Within Groups 28.958 134 .216 Total 48.441 135 Getting detailed information of

tourist documents Between Groups

2.612 1 2.612 4.169 .043

Within Groups 83.947 134 .626 Total 86.559 135 Reading information from the

Internet, E-mails Between Groups

.308 1 .308 .392 .533

Within Groups 105.310 134 .786 Total 105.618 135 Reading telexes, faxes Between Groups 1.101 1 1.101 .717 .399 Within Groups 205.833 134 1.536

61

Total 206.934 135 Reading business letters Between Groups 10.524 1 10.524 6.973 .009 Within Groups 202.233 134 1.509 Total 212.757 135 Reading brochures or tourist

leaflets Between Groups

.295 1 .295 4.866 .029

Within Groups 8.110 134 .061 Total 8.404 135 A3.8 Reading articles from travel

magazines Between Groups

10.840 1 10.840 50.435 .000

Within Groups 28.800 134 .215 Total 39.640 135 Writing A4.1 Producing faxes in a proper

format Between Groups 2.496 1 2.496 2.084 .151

Within Groups 160.497 134 1.198 Total 162.993 135 Producing tourist leaflets or

brochures Between Groups 58.831 1 58.831 136.77

0 .000

Within Groups 57.640 134 .430 Total 116.471 135 Writing texts for giving

information Between Groups 14.893 1 14.893 13.765 .000

Within Groups 144.989 134 1.082 Total 159.882 135 Writing travel timetables Between Groups 2.651 1 2.651 4.866 .029 Within Groups 72.989 134 .545 Total 75.640 135 Writing travel plans Between Groups 2.690 1 2.690 4.129 .044 Within Groups 87.310 134 .652 Total 90.000 135 Taking telephone message Between Groups 48.927 1 48.927 25.399 .000 Within Groups 258.132 134 1.926 Total 307.059 135 Writing advertisements Between Groups 67.253 1 67.253 60.585 .000 Within Groups 148.747 134 1.110 Total 216.000 135 A4.8 Writing e-mails Between Groups 1.178 1 1.178 10.933 .001 Within Groups 14.440 134 .108 Total 15.618 135

62

Appendix C: Significant Differences in Employees’

Faced Problems of Skills by gender Sum of

Squares df Mean

Square F Sig. Listening A1.1verbal instructions Between Groups 7.233 1 7.233 5.920 .016 Within Groups 163.701 134 1.222 Total 170.934 135

spoken discourse on tourism topics Between Groups 4.818 1 4.818 4.170 .043 Within Groups 154.800 134 1.155 Total 159.618 135 face to face conversations Between Groups

Within Groups Total

36.361 1 36.361 28.642 .000

telephone conversations Between Groups 170.110 134 1.269 Within Groups 206.471 135 Total .295 1 .295 .176 .675 Tourists' needs Between Groups 224.110 134 1.672 Within Groups 224.404 135 Total 1.204 1 1.204 .669 .415 reservation details Between Groups 241.200 134 1.800 Within Groups 242.404 135 Total .282 1 .282 .384 .536 personal details of clients Between Groups 98.189 134 .733 Within Groups 98.471 135 Total .335 1 .335 .425 .515 A1.8Listening to news related to

tourism Between Groups 105.547 134 .788

Within Groups 105.882 135 Total 10.760 1 10.760 8.520 .004 Speaking A2.1Conducting telephone

conversations with clients Between Groups 169.240 134 1.263

Within Groups 180.000 135 Total .001 1 .001 .000 .986 Providing information about travel

plans (e.g. itineraries, tour programmes)

Between Groups 248.558 134 1.855

Within Groups 248.559 135 Total 7.363 1 7.363 10.41

3 .002

Suggesting travel information (e.g. information about tourist attractions, accommodation, restaurant, insurance, etc.)

Between Groups

94.747 134 .707

Within Groups 102.110 135 Total 29.715 1 29.715 38.01

0 .000

Giving details about transportation (e.g. air, rail, and bus travel )

Between Groups 104.756 134 .782

Within Groups 134.471 135

63

Total 1.231 1 1.231 1.696 .195 Giving clients directions Between Groups 97.240 134 .726 Within Groups 98.471 135 Total

19.377 1 19.377 12.22

2 .001

Asking for information from clients

Between Groups 212.440 134 1.585

Within Groups 231.816 135 Total 50.800 1 50.800 48.17

3 .000

Inquiring clients’ needs and decision

Between Groups 141.310 134 1.055

Within Groups 192.110 135 Total 30.110 1 30.110 24.90

6 .000

Negotiating for mutual understanding

Between Groups 162.000 134 1.209

Within Groups 192.110 135 Total 10.919 1 10.919 8.834 .004 Taking reservations Between Groups 165.640 134 1.236 Within Groups 176.559 135 Total 7.495 1 7.495 6.165 .014 Giving details about foreign

exchange Between Groups

162.910 134 1.216

Within Groups 170.404 135 Total 10.603 1 10.603 6.459 .012 A2.11 Explaining pricing Between Groups 219.956 134 1.641 Within Groups 230.559 135 Total 2.690 1 2.690 2.923 .090 Reading A3.1 Reading written documents

related to the tourism industry Between Groups

123.310 134 .920

Within Groups 126.000 135 Total

35.926 1 35.926 40.05

5 .000

Reading news related to tourism Between Groups 120.185 134 .897 Within Groups 156.110 135 Total 2.651 1 2.651 2.450 .120 Getting detailed information of

tourist documents Between Groups

144.989 134 1.082

Within Groups 147.640 135 Total 7.761 1 7.761 7.727 .006 Reading information from the

Internet, E-mails Between Groups

134.585 134 1.004

Within Groups 142.346 135 Total

30.376 1 30.376 28.95

8 .000

Reading telexes, faxes Between Groups 140.558 134 1.049

64

Within Groups 170.934 135 Total .004 1 .004 .003 .956 Reading business letters Between Groups 162.989 134 1.216 Within Groups 162.993 135 Total .244 1 .244 .264 .608 Reading brochures or tourist

leaflets Between Groups

124.101 134 .926

Within Groups 124.346 135 Total

10.760 1 10.760 14.82

8 .000

A3.8 Reading articles from travel magazines

Between Groups 97.240 134 .726

Within Groups 108.000 135 Total 7.561 1 7.561 9.302 .003 Writing A4.1 Producing faxes in a proper

format Between Groups 108.910 134 .813

Within Groups 116.471 135 Total 43.042 1 43.042 48.48

4 .000

Producing tourist leaflets or brochures

Between Groups 118.958 134 .888

Within Groups 162.000 135 Total 2.690 1 2.690 5.201 .024 Writing texts for giving

information Between Groups 69.310 134 .517

Within Groups 72.000 135 Total 1.285 1 1.285 1.445 .231 Writing travel timetables Between Groups 119.156 134 .889 Within Groups 120.441 135 Total

43.677 1 43.677 41.63

9 .000

Writing travel plans Between Groups 140.558 134 1.049 Within Groups 184.235 135 Total 10.840 1 10.840 14.41

0 .000

Taking telephone message Between Groups 100.800 134 .752 Within Groups 111.640 135 Total 36.652 1 36.652 28.26

1 .000

Writing advertisements Between Groups 173.789 134 1.297 Within Groups 210.441 135 Total 10.919 1 10.919 13.10

6 .000

A4.8 Writing e-mails Between Groups 111.640 134 .833 Within Groups 122.559 135 Total

59.573 1 59.573 48.10

2 .000

65

Appendix D Correlation between duration of work

and Needs of English Years NeedListening NeedSpeaking NeedReading NeedWriting

Years Pearson Correlation 1 .250** .045 -.123 -.542**

Sig. (2-tailed) .003 .604 .154 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

NeedListening Pearson Correlation .250** 1 .813** .645** .574**

Sig. (2-tailed) .003 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

NeedSpeaking Pearson Correlation .045 .813** 1 .352** .715**

Sig. (2-tailed) .604 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

NeedReading Pearson Correlation -.123 .645** .352** 1 .409**

Sig. (2-tailed) .154 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

NeedWriting Pearson Correlation -.542** .574** .715** .409** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

66

Appendix E Correlation between duration of work

and Problems of English Years FacedListening FacedSpeaking FacedReading FacedWriting

Years Pearson Correlation 1 .112 .109 -.437** -.120

Sig. (2-tailed) .193 .206 .000 .163

N 136 136 136 136 136

FacedListening Pearson Correlation .112 1 .930** .583** .946**

Sig. (2-tailed) .193 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

FacedSpeaking Pearson Correlation .109 .930** 1 .393** .928**

Sig. (2-tailed) .206 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

FacedReading Pearson Correlation -.437** .583** .393** 1 .659**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

FacedWriting Pearson Correlation -.120 .946** .928** .659** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .163 .000 .000 .000

N 136 136 136 136 136

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).