DINAMIKA ILMU - Vol. 18 No. 1 - ESP Teacher’s and Students’ Perceptions on Teaching Speaking for a Tourism Program

Oct 15, 2026

English for Specific Purposes is examined through teacher and student perceptions on teaching speaking for a Tourism Program. Eight male and female tourism students and their English teacher from a private vocational secondary school in Surakarta participated in a semistructured interview. Results indicate English for Tourism prioritizes building students’ speaking skills, with shared positive perceptions. Speaking is seen as crucial for future careers, while learning difficulties include grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and content, alongside challenges of low confidence, low motivation, and limited materials.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

A. Introduction

Tourism industry and the role of English speaking

Definition and scope of ESP

Implementation challenges in vocational secondary education

Role of ESP materials in course goals

Perception and its influence on teaching-learning

DINAMIKA ILMU Vol. 18 No. 1, 2018 P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 doi: [http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/di.v18i1.945](http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/di.v18i1.945) ESP Teacher’s and Students’ Perceptions on Teaching Speaking for a Tourism Program Khoirunnisa Graduate School of English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia Suparno Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia Slamet Supriyadi Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia Corresponding e-mail: [annisanisa662@gmail.com](annisanisa662@gmail.com) Abstract This study was focused on English for Spesific Purposes to look into the teacher’s and students’ perceptions about teaching speaking for a Tourism Program. Eight males and females Tourism students and their English teacher in a private Vocational Secondary School in Surakarta were purposively selected as the participants of this study. They were invited to take part in a semistructured interview. The findings showed that English for Tourism emphasizes more on building students’ speaking skills. All participants share their positive perceptions on teaching speaking for the Tourism Program. The students perceive that speaking is crucial for them since it strongly affects their future career. Moreover, there are several difficulties faced by the students during the learning process including grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and content. There are also some challenges such as lacking confidence, low motivation, and limited learning materials. However, both teacher and students are actively involved in overcoming those problems. This study shed light on the importance of teacher-students collaboration. Therefore, it is suggested that they should work collaboratively to improve the quality of ESP programs. Keywords: ESP, English for Tourism, Teaching Speaking A. Introduction The tourism industry is one of the largest components of global economy. It grows rapidly as the result of global needs. The accelerated growth of the tourism industry affects the use of English as an International Language. The employees of tourism companies have to master English well since they must communicate efficiently and effectively with foreign customers. As reported by Prachanant (2012), Pinelopi (2015), and Li (2016) in their studies about language use in the tourism industry, speaking receives more attention in exploring students’ language skills. It means that speaking skill is very crucial for Tourism students. Those phenomena lead to the belief that teaching English for Spesific Purposes (ESP) is very important in order to develop students’ English skills for Tourism purposes. The term ESP is defined as “goal oriented language learning” (Robinson, 1991) . Hutchinson & Waters (1992) define ESP as an approach to language learning which is based on the learners’ needs. It means that the contents and the methods of ESP teaching are based on the needs of the students. It is in line with Xhaferi (2010) who states that ESP courses deal mostly with “language in context” rather than “language usage” (grammar rules or ways of structuring the language) . The skills taught and developed in the classroom are those the learners exactly need. It can be concluded that ESP is an approach to language learning which is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners in certain disciplines or professions. In any case, the implementation of teaching ESP in Vocational Secondary Schools (VSS) is not easy. Moreover, for non-English speaking countries like Indonesia, it becomes more challenging. Many students still lack competence to communicate effectively using English. It can be understood because English is only used in the school environment. Furthermore, the materials or textbooks used in all programs are the same. There are no specifications regarding the materials and skills that should

FAQs

What is the focus of the study regarding ESP and speaking?

The study focuses on teacher and student perceptions about teaching speaking for a Tourism Program within ESP.

Why do students consider speaking important in the program?

Students perceive speaking as crucial because it strongly affects their future career.

What difficulties and challenges do students face during learning?

Students face difficulties in grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and content, along with challenges such as lacking confidence, low motivation, and limited learning materials.

Oct 15, 2026

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