English Speaking Problems among Tourism Vendors in Gili Trawangan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58258/fhdyr404Abstract
English plays an essential role in the tourism industry because it serves as the primary medium of communication between tourism workers and international visitors. However, many tourism vendors still experience difficulties in communicating effectively in English, which may influence the quality of tourism services. This study aimed to identify the English speaking problems faced by tourism vendors in Gili Trawangan, examine the factors causing these problems, and explore the communication strategies they employed to overcome communication barriers. This study adopted a descriptive qualitative research design involving six tourism vendors selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through observations, semi-structured interviews, and documentation and analyzed using an interactive qualitative data analysis model. The findings revealed six major English speaking problems, namely limited vocabulary, pronunciation difficulties, grammar mistakes, lack of fluency, difficulty understanding tourists' speech, and anxiety or lack of confidence. These problems were influenced by four main factors, including linguistic competence, educational background, environmental exposure, and psychological readiness. To maintain communication with foreign tourists, participants employed various communication strategies, including using simple expressions, gestures and body language, code-switching, translation applications, asking colleagues for assistance, and requesting tourists to repeat unclear utterances. The study concludes that successful communication in tourism workplaces depends not only on English proficiency but also on the effective use of communication strategies. Therefore, practical English for Tourism training is recommended to improve tourism vendors' communicative competence and service quality.References
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