DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS' ENGLISH FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES COMPETENCE IN TOURISM STUDIES AT TERTIARY LEVEL

Ineta Luka

The Department of Foreign Languages,

School of Business Administration Turiba

Graudu 68, Riga LV-1058, Latvia

 

BIODATA OF AUTHOR

Dr.paed. Ineta Luka is Associate Professor, the Head of the Foreign Languages department of the School of Business Administration Turiba, Latvia. The courses taught: "English for Special Purposes" and "Pedagogy of Higher Educational Institutions". Research fields: ESP competence, language pedagogy, higher education, adult education and lifelong learning. The author of the monograph on language teaching-learning at tertiary level studies, the author of 22 and co-author of 6 scientific papers, has presented in international scientific conferences, symposiums and congresses in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Finland, China and Austria, has received 4 awards for scientific contribution in language teaching-learning.

Abstract

The topicality of the present evaluation research is marked by the changes in teaching-learning process, which is shifting from teaching to learning. The study implementing a mixed method research design was conducted from 2003 to 2007 in the fourth largest tertiary education institution of Latvia, which among other programmes provides well-acknowledged higher education in tourism. The goal of the research was to study the efficiency of the English language learning model in the development of tourism specialist's English for Special Purposes ( ESP ) competence.

ESP competence components, criteria and indicators were defined; the description of the competence levels was made. Based on the ideas derived from action theory and social constructivism theory, and the results of the analysis of curriculum and syllabus theories and competence theories, the model for the development of tourism students' ESP competence was constructed and validated in the studies, suggestions for ESP educators were elaborated. The created model promotes students' language competence and educator's professional activity, the language becomes a means of acquiring one's profession.

Keywords: language competence , ESP competence, competence development, process, cooperation

Abbreviations: ESP - English for Special Purposes