INTEGRATING CONTENT AND COMMUNICATION IN AN “ENGLISH FOR TOURISM” COURSE. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Roxana MIHELE
Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Letters, ROMANIA.
Email: mihaela.mihele@ubbbcluj.ro
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3186-0922
Ioana MUDURE-IACOB
Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Letters, ROMANIA.
Email: ioana.mudure@ubbcluj.ro
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0978-8538
ABSTRACT
In the field of English for Specific Purposes, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been reputed to be an effective approach to fostering both linguistic and professional competencies. The present study explores the Tourism students’ needs, lacks and wants regarding their academic and professional usage of Specialized English to prepare for future jobs in the hospitality industry, and it is based on the data analysis collected in a survey addressed to 1st year Tourism Geography students enrolled at the Faculty of Geography, Babeș-Bolyai University. The special roles of task-based activities, usage of authentic materials as instruments of practice and autonomous learning in language and content learning are investigated in correlation with increased levels of student satisfaction. The encouraging results of our findings are further discussed for best practice implementation and the pedagogical implications for designing future ESP curricula and syllabi. This study investigates how increased value can be added to ESP classes by CLIL approaches, particularly when such an approach is founded on task-based learning, design of authentic learning materials and language learning optimization via AI driven tools. New learning requirements and tailored employability skills are essential for Tourism students, who show strong interest and readiness in exploring and utilizing a wide range of digital tools to enhance their industry-related competencies and the current study indicates how such learning needs can be molded in CLIL tailored language courses. While experimenting with both foreign language and specialized content in such customized micro-communities of practice, learners are exposed to a plethora of scenarios in which motivation enhancement, and the building of transversal skills are genuine gains.
KEYWORDS:
CLIL, task-based activities, authentic materials, increasing students’ motivation, integrated learning
Full text
Cite this article as:
Mihele R., & Mudure-Iacob, I. (2025). Integrating content and communication in an “English for Tourism” course: Opportunities and challenges in students’ academic and professional training. Romanian Review of Geographical Education, 14(2), 21-33 http://doi.org/10.24193/RRGE20257