Study on Curriculum Setting on Tourism English of Hainan Higher Education in the Context of Building International Tourism Island

Li+zhiwei

【Abstract】 Hainan， a tropical island in south China， is famous for its special location and beautiful scenery. It is called “Eastern Hawaii” and attracts tourists all over the world. As we all known， tourism industry is very important for Hainans economy. This paper aims at curriculum setting on Tourism English of Hainan higher education in the context of building International Tourism Island. This article introduces the current situation of tourism industry in Hainan， analyzes the problems occurred； especially the lack of tourist talents.

【Key words】Tourism English； curriculum setting； International Tourism Island

Introduction

Hainan is an attractive place to visit for many tourists. Lots of people come here and enjoy the fresh air， clean water and blue sky. More and more tourists， both civilians and foreigners would like to visit Hainan on vacation. For Hainan， to be a first class tourist international tourist destination， Hainan higher education should take the responsibility of educating high quality tourist talents， especially for tourism English education.

1. The present situation and its prospect of building International Tourism Island in Hainan

In 2009， Chinese Central Government authorized Hainan province to build International Tourism Island. To date， the achievement in building International Tourism Island is obvious. For infrastructure construction， Hainan spent lots of money and time on it. On one hand， in order to provide travelers with a convenient transportation， Hainan builds the highway from Haikou to Tunchang； in the major cities， Hainan government buys lots of new buses， especially for tour buses； the bullet train around Hainan Island came into service which is easy for tourists to travel around Hainan； the airport in Qionghai will be completed and put into use in next year.

2. The problems occurred while building International Tourism Island

As we known， lots of foreign travelers came to Hainan； most of them are speaking English. So the problem is that the English proficiency of our receptionists cannot satisfy the foreign tourists. They can communicate with the foreigners fluently. In railway station， only few staffs can speak little English as well as in bus station， no one can speak English. Another problem is the tourism public signs . Instead of help for foreign travelers， those wrong tourism public signs make them more confusing， because lots of the signs for the foreigners are hard to understand. Some use Chinglish to translate， or some English signs with the wrong spelling.

3. Suggestions for the curriculum setting on Tourism English

Language ability is central to the students who will work at the tourism industry in the future. As a staff in tourism industry， speaking Chinese and some foreign languages well is very necessary. It is known to all that English is the most widely used language in the world. In Hainans universities， most of them can provide many kinds of courses which are related to Tourism English. However， with the internationalization of tourism industry in Hainan， lots of tourists come from non-English countries such as Russia， Japan， Korea， Spain， Germany， and Thailand. So we need to communicate with these tourists from non-English countries. Unfortunately， according to the reality of Hainan province， few people can speak these foreign languages. It is very inconvenient to communicate with these tourists， let alone offering good service. Sometimes that brings more unnecessary bothers.

4. Conclusion

Hainan is the first choice of tourist destination； it is the paradise of travel. Hainan treats tourism as a leading industry， it needs drawing lessons from foreign successful tourism island. It needs the corporation of multi-department n， especially education department. Hainans local universities should meet the needs of tourism industry， providing rational curriculum setting on tourism English for students， providing more tourist talents for building International Tourism Island. Though Hainan attained great achievements in tourism industry， but it still has a long way to go.

References：

[1]Chris Cooper，John Fletcher et al.TOURISM：Principles and Practice.Dalian：Dongbei University of Finance & Economics Press，2010.

[2]Huang xiang，Su dan.English for Tourism.Guangzhou：Jinan University Press，2009.

[3]Larry A.Samovar，Richard E.Porter，Lisa A.Stefani.Communication Between Cultures.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2000.