Factors that affect the language learning of Tourism Graduates at Escuela Superior de Tizayuca

Abstract

The Bachelor's Degree in Tourism at the Escuela Superior de Tizayuca recognises in the professional profile that the graduate must have the ‘Ability to communicate orally and in writing through foreign languages: English and French mainly, to facilitate communication with the different agents involved in tourism’; to achieve this, it includes training areas and subjects in its curriculum and offers its students the means, spaces and resources to achieve language proficiency through the Language Centre and the Self-Learning Centre for Languages.

This research work, which aims to diagnose the factors that influence the language learning of the Tourism Graduates of the Tizayuca College, is of a non-experimental type, in a cross-sectional study with a descriptive scope. To obtain the results, a survey was designed based on the training guidelines of the educational programme of the Bachelor's Degree in Tourism, as well as the resources offered by both the Language Centre and the Language Self-Learning Centre. Sampling was applied with a 95% confidence level and a 4% error rate is accepted in accordance with the recommendations of Castañeda (2002).

The results show that the factors that have a positive impact on language learning are the training in the subjects included in the professional and complementary language core of the educational programme, as well as the academic support areas (Language Centre and Language Self-Learning Centre); however, the poor use of the resources offered by the Language Centre has a negative impact on the students' achievement of certificates and accreditation of the extraordinary competency-based exams.

The results show that the factors that have a positive impact on language learning are the training in the subjects included in the professional and complementary language core of the educational programme, as well as the academic support areas (Language Centre and Language Self-Learning Centre); however, the poor use of the resources offered by the Language Centre has a negative impact on the students' achievement of certificates and accreditation of the extraordinary competency-based exams