Experiences in communication in english with non native guests at hoang anh gia lai hotel

6 2.1.2 General introduction about the reception department at HAGL hotel .... Amir, manager of HoangAnhGia Lai Hotel, for giving me opportunity to work as a receptionist at Hoang AnhGi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aim of study 1

1.3 Scope 2

1.4 Methodology 2

1.5 Theoretical background 2

1.5.1 Receptionist 2

1.5.1.1 Definition: 2

1.5.1.2 Understanding: 2

1.5.2 Communication 3

1.5.2.1 Definition: 3

1.5.2.2 Non-native pronunciations of English and communication with the non-native speakers English 3

CHAPTER II: FINDING AND DISCUSSION 6

2.1 General introduction 6

2.1.1 General introduction about Hoang Anh Gia Lai Plaza Hotel Danang 6

2.1.2 General introduction about the reception department at HAGL hotel 8

2.2 My job description : 9

2.2.1 The first period – the period of observation 10

2.2.2 The second period - the period of access and practice 11

2.2.3 The third period - the period of practice 12

2.3 Evaluation and results 13

2.3.1 Evaluation 13

2.3.2 Results 14

CHAPTER III: CONCLUSION 17

3.1 Conclusion 17

3.2 Recommendations 17

3.2.1 To HAGL Plaza Hotel Danang 17

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report could not be completed without the help, encouragement, and support from a number of people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation

First, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Ms Tran Thi Ngoc Hoa, who has given me much valuable advice and encouragement in the writing of this report Without her guidance, my research paper would still far from finished

Second, I would like to thank all teachers at Department Of Informatics And Foreign Language for conveying knowledge to me during the past three years

Special words of thank also go to Mr Amir, manager of HoangAnhGia Lai Hotel, for giving me opportunity to work as a receptionist at Hoang AnhGia Lai Hotel

I also wish to thank to reception department of HoangAnhGia Lai hotel (HAGL hotel) and all officials and employees create to favorable conditions for

me to complete this symposium

Finally, I cannot fully express my gratitude to my family, my dear friends who always stay by my side to encourage me every time

To accomplish this report, I’m grateful to all of you

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

Possessing many beautiful landscapes, mild climate, and friendly people, Vietnam has a potential development for tourism Danang recently has risen to

be one of the top visited tourist destinations in the world In consequence, restaurants and the hotels in DN have the boost to develop and extend

Popularly known for the quality of service, Hoang AnhGia Lai plaza is an international 5-star hotel, together with a convenient location, located at the central of Danang city, 1.5 km from the Danang international airport Therefore, the hotel welcome domestic and foreign tourists as a daily habit Based on that feature, HAGL hotel will provide many opportunities for anyone who wishes to practice and improve English skills in a professional working environment

As a trainee of English for business major at Danang College of Economics and Planning, I decided to spend my internship working as a trainee receptionist at this hotel Working as a reception staff not only gave me experience for my future job but also helped me use English correctly I had a platform to contextualize what I learned after three years at school

After my internship, I have finally come to a conclusion: the communication with native speakers was not very frequent Most of the visitors were from non-English predominant countries Thisresults in several difficulties which motivated me to carry out the research: “the limitations in skills of communication in English of foreign visitors at HAGL hotel”

1.2 Aim of study

This report aims to describe what I learnt and obtained during internship time which is “Experiences in communication in English with non-native guests

at Hoang AnhGia Lai Hotel” My goals were to materialize the knowledge learnt

at school into real-life situations, withdraw lessons and make use of the internship to practice my communication skills with the non-native speakers

1.3 Scope

Due to the limit of time and scope, the research only focuses on pronunciation skills, communication skills, and situation solving skills in Reception department at HAGL hotel

1.4 Methodology

To carry out this research, I spent most of the time observing real-life situations such as observing talks and interviews, recording dialogues or learning from other receptionists at the hotel In addition, I also search for relevant information to my research on the internet or from materials of the hotel

To become a good receptionist, we must meet the following qualities First,

a good receptionist must be confident in any situation There are many difference situations that a receptionist must face And in any situation, a receptionist need to confident to get a good deal Second, a receptionist should honest, truthful and trustworthy During working process, receptionist has

conditions exposed to money, private property of the guest, so honest qualities

of a receptionist isextremely valuable Third, always cheerfully, beaming with guests.Having good communication style, attitude, and sincere hospitality.Respect and willing to help guests In all cases must follow the rule

“guests is never wrong”

1.5.2.2 Non-native pronunciations of English and communication with the non-native speakers English

a.Non-native pronunciations of English

Non-native pronunciations of English result from the common linguistic phenomenon in which non-native users of any language tend to carry the intonation, phonological processes and pronunciation rules from their mother tongue into their English speech They may also create innovative pronunciations for English sounds not found in the speaker's first language.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-native_pronunciations_of_English

b.Communication with the non-native speakers English.

Not all non-native speakers have trouble communicating in English Many speak at a native level, but many do not How to communicate with a non-native speaker:

Speak clearly and pronounce your words correctly Exaggerated

pronunciations will not help your listener and may cause more confusion However, you may find that it helps to pronounce some words as the non-native speaker does This will be especially true if the proper pronunciation is very different from the non-native pronunciation

Recognize that people wrongly think that turning up the volume somehow creates instant understanding Avoid this common mistake Yelling at the

person doesn't make them understand (However, do not speak too quietly)

Do not cover or hide your mouth because listeners will want to watch you

as you pronounce your words This helps them figure out what you are saying in

many cases

Avoid running words together (Do-yawanna eat-a-pizza?) One of the

biggest challenges for listeners is knowing where one word ends and the next one begins Give them a small pause between words if they seem to be

struggling

When possible, opt for simple words instead of ones that are complex

The more basic a word is, the better the chance is that it will be understood:"Big" is a better choice than "enormous" for example "Make" is a better choice than "manufacture”

Avoid verb phrases that sound very similar to non-native English speaker

"Look out" sounds very close to "look for" Both are similar to "look out for." Many times you can use another word in these cases (Example: look out = be careful, look for = search for, look out for = watch for)

As much as possible, avoid using slang and colloquialism ('um ',

'like ','Yeah, totally.') They are likely to be unknown as well, especially if they are not easy to find in the dictionary

Avoid using contractions or short forms Use long forms “Can’t” is one

word you must use the long form with It is difficult for a non-native speaker to understand the difference between “can” and “can’t” in a sentence For example,

“I can’t take you on Friday” and “I can take you on Friday” Use the long form,

“cannot” “I cannot take you on Friday”

Be explicit: Say “Yes” or “No” Do not say: “Uh-huh” or “Uh-uh” Those

words are not in grammar books!

Be patient and smile The more relaxed you are, the more you are in

control of your communication Do not give a busy lifestyle or a meeting agenda permission to control your speech Think as you speak and do not speak as you think

http://www.wikihow.com/Communicate-with-a-Non-Native-English-Speaker

CHAPTER II: FINDING AND DISCUSSION 2.1 General introduction

2.1.1 General introduction about Hoang AnhGia Lai Plaza Hotel Danang

Name of company: The Branch of Hoang AnhGia Lai Joint-stock Company in Danang

Name of transaction: HAGL Plaza Danang

Slogan: “Solidarity is invincible power”

Address: 01 Nguyen Van LinhStreet, Danang city

HAGL Resort QuyNhon

HAGL Resort Dalat

HAGL Hotel Pleiku

HAGL Plaza Danang

HAGL Plaza Hotel is also the famous hotel in Danang Its address is 01 Nguyen Van Linh Street – a central street which connects some main streets of Danang city It is also a hotel that receives a large number of tourists of Danang city HAGL Plaza Hotel Danang was invested by HAGL Joint Stock Company, directly managed and built with 5 star standards It is located in the center heart

of dynamic and full of vitality city, HAGL Plaza Hotel Danang has 188 comfortable rooms including Superior, Deluxe, Premier Deluxe and Executive Suite It was built from 2005 to July and come in operation on 2/9/2007 Within

3 months in operation, the hotel served nearly 3000 visitors (hinhanh)

The hotel specializes in some services such as: hotel, restaurant, sport activities (gymnasium, tennis ground, swimming pool…),personal care service

(massage, beauty salon), trading belongings, jewelry, souvenir, dance hall, karaoke… to meet the demand of both international tourists and domestic tourist who come to Danang city and stay at the hotel

b.The structure of the hotel:

(Source: Human resources Department)

: Direct relation : Function relation 2.1.2 General introduction about the reception department at HAGL hotel

The structure:

DIRECTOR

GENERAL MANAGER

ACCOUNTING

DEPARTMENT

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

SOUVERIR SHOP & BUSINESS CENTER

Reception Department consists of 22 members Head of reception is Mr Tang Thien Vu, Vietnam nationality This is the bridge part between the customer and the service in the hotel They are responsible for connecting to the correct part needed to meet requirements They get all calls to the hotel and make all procedures from check-in to check-out and answer all questions of guest about other services in the hotel Souvenir shop also belongs to front office This place sells souvenirs for guests and sign posts of the company In addition, this part also directly managers the operating bus at the hotel

2.2 My job description:

I had opportunity to work as a receptionist at HAGL hotel I arrived to the hotel to work in the morning on Tuesday, Thursday,Saturday, from 7:30 am to 11:30 am My main woks were:

- Welcoming guests and greeting them cheerfully

- Taking and giving the guest’s room keys

- Taking check-in, check-out process

- Answering telephone calls, noting down specific information or recording

as voice messages, transferring calls ensuring that no calls go unanswered

- Solving some requests and complaints of guests

- Introducing much information about different rooms and services of hotel

- Reading document of hotel

- Standing and observing how to wok of receptionists

- Observing and taking note conversations

Week 3

February 3rd,5th, and 7th

- Observing the process of the check-in, check-out

- Observing and taking note conversations

- Learning by heart some sentences used to welcome guest

- Learning how to make coupon of breakfast for guests

- Doing some tiny work

2.2.2 The second period - the period of access and practice: 4 weeks

2.2.3 The third period - the period of practice: 3 weeks

Week 1

April 7th, 9th, and 11th

- Welcoming guest

- Making check-in and check-out

- Answering telephone call

- Taking and giving the room key

- Solving some request and complaint of guest

- Introducing much information about different rooms and service of hotel

Week 2

April 14th,16th,and 18th

- Welcoming guest

- Making check-in and check-out

- Answering telephone call

- Taking and giving the room key

- Solving some request and complaint of guest

- Introducing much information about different rooms and service of hotel

- Helping the cashier to separate all types of payment

Week3

April21th, 23th, and 25th

- Welcoming guest

- Making check-in and check-out

- Answering telephone call

- Helping the cashier to exchange currency for guests

- Making some procedure to finish internship

- Meeting staff, leader of front office department and managers of HAGL Plaza Hotel to give them a big thank you for enthusiastic helping in my internship time

2.3 Evaluation and results

2.3.1 Evaluation

a Advantages:

The staff here is very friendly and helpful They are heartedly to tell me what to do and give me the useful work experiences They always help when I get stuck in work In addition, the hotel where I practice regularly receive a large number of foreign guests so I can have a lot of chances to practice English

Although the guests are not always friendly, but sometimes I also get very useful information when I meet an enthusiastically guests Theinformation is very good for my internship report

b Disadvantages

Besides the advantages mentioned above, I also meet many difficulties when I was working at HAGL hotel The first difficulty is that I have to speaking and listening English with non-native speakers International guests at hotels often are those that come from many different countries and not all of them are good at English such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean or French but when

I was in school, I only listened to English in CDs spoken by voice of the native people Therefore, sometimes I cannot understand what the non-native guests pronounce English

The second difficulty is that I was not confident when I talked with foreigners Speaking another language which is not your mother tongue will make you very confused and embarrassed, since then,you will not be able to maximize your language skills

c The solution to overcome disadvantages

In order to improve the above disadvantage, I realize that I need try to learn by heart all the new words to translate, listen and speak fluently, speak to myself at home, practice speaking skill with my friends, or attend courses on the internet Apart from this, I will try to practice listening skill through many