tai lieu TAdu lich

The Basis Guiding Skills in English for Tourism

By Nguyen Thi Tuong

I. Introduction
Tour operators, Travel agencies and other people employ guides mainly to inform tourists about the places they are visiting. Therefore a guide has to have a good sound knowledge not only of a particular place but also of other things which are generally relevant. During the training a guide intensively learns a vast amount of information about a whole range of subjects and has to be capable of jumping from one topic to another in the same sentence! But the way in which a person conveys this knowledge is the key: the guide has to be good at judging what the audience is interested in and know how to keep their attention. These are not easy skills, it is really an art.
The purpose of this paper is to present some basic guiding skills and to make some suggestions for teaching and learning English Tourism for ESP course effectively.

II. Basis Guiding Skills
To help the guides to get success in their job, we provide the four basis guiding skills as follow:

1. Introductions
The introduction sets the stage and mood for the whole tour. It is the first and most lasting impression the tourist will have of you. There are the main points for introducing such as:
· Greet the tourists
· Attitude is everything
· Introduce yourself
· Give a little background of yourself and company
· Introduce your tour (subject, content)
· Give itinerary
· Set a meeting point
· Answer any questions
A good tour guide should be able to make their tourists feel safe, comfortable and interested right away. Tourists with a good tour guide should have a clear idea of what they are going to see on their tour and understand the itinerary.

2. Voice projection
Failure to understand or hear the tour guide is the main reason that tour groups break up and drift away form their tour guide. Not only do the visitors need to hear you but they must also understand what you are saying. However, many problems can be avoided if you master the main points below:
· Start with correct position
· Talk loudly enough so that everybody can hear you
· Talk clearly enough so that everybody can understand you
· Vary your voice
A good tour guide should be able to control their voice so that everybody can hear them even if you are in a pagoda and can not talk loudly. A good tour guide should vary their voice so that the commentary captures the attention and interest of their tourists.

3. Group management
The safety of your tourists is your responsibility. To avoid any problems and to make sure that everybody enjoys themselves you must control your group. This means making sure that everybody can see and hear properly and that everybody fells comfortable and safe. The main points are given out in the following ways:
· Review safety issues (crossing streets, personal belongings, …)
· Use the “umbrella method” to lead the group
· Head count to make sure you have all your group
· Group discipline
· Prepare in case somebody gets lost
· Position yourself so that you do not block the tourist’s view
A good tour guide should be well positioned. He should also be fast when walking in front at all times when leading the group and at the back at all times helping every body cross the street. Tourists should feel safe and be able to see and understand everything the tour guide is saying.

4. Conclusions
The conclusion is the final impression on the tourist and will therefore affect their memory of you and the tour. A good conclusion will help maintain the natural flow of the commentary. It also offers a chance to answer any questions of your tourist. Here are some main points for concluding:
· Summarize the key points from the commentary
· Ask for any questions
· Briefly the next topic and give directions to the site
· Main points for end of Tour conclusion
· Head count
· Ask for any last questions and thank the tourists
· Show them where to go for refreshments, souvenirs…
· Give suggestions for other activities
· Make yourself available for any other help
· Say goodbye, wish them well and hope to see them again
A good tour guide should be able to finish their commentary smoothly. Tourist should not feel like the tour guide has nothing left to say or that the tour rushed.

III. Conclusion
To work effectively in their jobs is the expectation of all tour guides. However, the way to get success is not always easy. This requires the tour guides to have not only deep knowledge about the subjects but also suitable skill to apply in guiding. If the tour guides understand the guiding skills well, they will impress tourists with the sights of the places where are the tourist’s destination. Thus they can hold the tourist’s attention and interest. Tourists will be satisfied and of course, we will keep their loyalty and ensuring that they will come back again. By this way, we contribute to the development of tourism industry of Vietnam - our country.

REFERRENCES

[1] Harding, K. Going International. Oxford: OUP.
[2] Jacob, M. & Strutt, P. (2003). English for International Tourism.
Addison Wesley Longman Limited.
[3] Kruse, B. (2000). English for Travel. Nhà Xuất Bản Thanh Niên.
[4] Revell, R & Stott C. (1996) English for Hotel and Tourist. Hà Nội :
Nhà Xuất Bản Khoa Học và Kỹ Thuật.
[5] Trần Thị Dung. (2007). English for Tour Guide. Trường Cao Đẳng
Du Lịch Hà Nội.
[6] Wood, N. (2003). Tourism and Catering. Oxford University Press.
[7] Website: http://vietnamtourism.com