What are the course objectives for the
English for Hotel Management Course?
As the world becomes more of a global village, the ability to travel is all the more common and popular. One of the key areas of the travel industry is in the hotel industry and for that Hotel Managers find a greater and greater need to be able to function in an international environment. For a business in this industry to thrive, it is essential to be able to communicate in English and feel comfortable doing so.
The English for Hotel Management Course that we run at Portsmouth deals with all the variants required in this field. We have had managers from small, family, city and country hotels as well as managers of large chain hotels, luxury hotels and spa hotels. They come with a need to be able to communicate with their staff and with their guests, with native English speakers as well as second language English speakers.
The hotel industry is a service industry, therefore the register used needs to be polite and neutral. It is necessary to know how to respond to requests and sometimes complaints in a helpful way. On this course, we help our clients build their abilities to function at their very best in these areas.
Hotel managers need to be able to manage in various areas of the hotel and therefore need a wide range of English vocabulary, from catering to concierge language, from maintenance to front of house and marketing language. The topics covered in hoteliery are wide and varied and as such we tailor our course to work specifically to fit in with the clients’ particular type of hotel, be it an eco-hotel or a family run ski resort hotel.
The course is designed to develop the communicative performance of hotel staff in their dealings with clients and other contacts and relationships in the field, in an international context. It is also intended to enable them to use standard hotel terminology with appropriateness of linguistic context and style.
English for Hospitality: Communication Skills
As well as formal classroom teaching to learn English, study activities include role-play, case studies and simulations, and video and audio recorded simulations.
One of our most recent clients from the hotel industry wanted to make a presentation for their internal televised system explaining all the services to their guests, and at the end of their course was able to leave confident that they were ready to have this filmed professionally on their return to their country.
The focus of the course is on practical & effective business English for professionals and communication skills may include:
- Meetings and Teleconferencing – i.e.: to deal with the staff in the hotel or with clients.
- Negotiations – i.e.: using diplomatic language to help solve an issue with a customer.
- Making Presentations – i.e. explaining hotel systems clearly.
- Dealing with Numerical Data – necessary for budgets and books.
- Telephoning – essential for dealing with clients.
- Socialising and Networking – to feel easy in a social setting with guests.
- E-mail, Letter and Report Writing – for confirming guests requests and bookings.
- Cross-cultural awareness – always useful for international settings.
Hotelier English: Lexical Content
Subject to needs analysis of the participant’s requirements, the course may include vocabulary extension in these areas, subject to specialisation and need:
- Enquiries and reservations.
- Reception.
- Hotel services and Hospitality.
- Food and Drink service.
- Local tours.
- Handling Complaints, dealing with difficult clients.
- Checking out.
- Negotiating.
- Event and Conference management.
- Risk Assessment.
- Cultural awareness.
- Health and Safety.
Special emphasis is placed on the relevant vocabulary, register and grammatical structures that are used in the field of hospitality and the client is given the maximum opportunity to practice using the language that he or she has acquired by various means and practice activities.
English lessons for Hotel Management: A Case Study
Last year Pierre DuPont from the South of France came to us to study on our English for Hotel Management course, read his account of his course, and his feelings here.
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Fact Check
Minimum age: 25
Average age: 40
Maximum class size: 1 to 4 (depending on course)
25 hours (60 minutes) per week, plus 5-10 hours self-access
Options for an extra 5 hours
Start any Monday
Minimum 1 week
All levels for 1:1 classes. Group classes above level A2 -
Duration / Timetables / Programme
Course duration can be for between 1 and 4+ weeks (2 weeks is the average). The programme is highly intensive and includes 25 contact hours plus 5 to 10 self-access study hours plus 7.5 hours social English over optional teacher accompanied lunch per week plus optional evening social activities (such as restaurants, guided tours, live music, cultural events). We would recommend that most students do a combination course: 1:1 in the morning, giving the students the opportunity to not only study English but work on individual and specialised needs necessary for professional communication; mini group of maximum 4 people the afternoon, focusing on professional communication in an international context with students of different nationalities and cultures.
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Sample Timetable
8:30 - 9:15 Optional guided self-study.
9:15 - 10:30 Period 1 with Morning Tutor (1:1)
10:30 - 10:45 Morning Coffee Break
10:45 - 12:00 Period 2 with Morning Tutor (1:1)
12:00 - 13:15 Lunch with teacher/s and fellow students (optional)
13:15 - 14:30 Period 3 with Afternoon Tutor (mini-group – max 4 participants)
14:30 - 14:45 Afternoon Coffee Break
14:45 - 16:00 Period 4 with Afternoon Tutor (mini-group – max 4 participants)
16:00 - 17:30 Optional Self-Access Study
Evening Social Activity Programme (optional)
Accommodation
An Executive homestay will maximise your exposure to native speakers while learning about the culture in England, and provides an opportunity to network and build long-term friendships. Offering high levels of comfort and convenience; most of our homestays are current or retired professionals.
Social Programme
The Executive Social Programme and its tutor accompanied lunch system, provide opportunities to socialise in English and network with professionals from all over the world. And the evening? The evening social programme is full and varied. It may include evening meals, nights out, cultural events or sports!