A Needs-based Evaluation of the English Language Program Offered to Tourism and Archaeology students in a University Context in Jordan

The present study aimed at assessing the possible mismatch of Tourism English skills between the training offered at the Archaeology and Tourism Department at Mu’tah University and the skills (tasks) required in the tourism sector in Jordan. To do this, the study used a combination of two evaluation models to first evaluate the effectiveness of Tourism English (TE) training offered at the university, and then investigate needs and perceptions which might help improve the existing program and plan for a TE course syllabus, accordingly. This needs-based evaluation was taken from the viewpoints of various stakeholders including the current students of the Archaeology and Tourism Department, the recent graduates, English and subject matter instructors, and local employers (i.e., Tourism agencies and bureaus). Combining both models informed the two stages of the study (i.e., evaluation and needs analysis) and necessitated collecting qualitative and quantitative data through multiple instruments, namely, a questionnaire for both students and graduates, interviews and the examination of the available documents and materials. The results from all sources revealed that the English language program with its two course types (General English and Specialty courses) was ineffective in meeting the students’ TE needs and expectations. The triangulated data appeared to ascribe this ineffectiveness to the lack of alignment between the courses (in their aims and objectives, content and materials, teaching methodology and assessment) and the students’ needs and expectations. This also resulted in the participants’ dissatisfaction with the program as far as TE training was concerned. What is more, the students and the graduates were perceived to have limited proficiency in English, to the extent that they seemed unable to use the language to fulfill study and work purposes. Nonetheless, the participants had positive attitudes towards English as the language which all Tourism students and graduates should master. Therefore, all the participants positively perceived making improvements to the existing program through having a Tourism English syllabus. All stated that such a syllabus, when designed, would be of great help to the Tourism students in their study and future careers. Moreover, all agreed that the syllabus should be communicative in focus, integrate the language skills needed in the tourism field; more specifically, the oral and communicative interpersonal skills, and include familiar topics and functions of tour-guiding and tour-operating. It is suggested that the program offered at the Tourism Department should be more TE-focused in both content and communication; e.g., to include a special TE course as part of the curriculum offered. Such a course is suggested to depend on a syllabus which provides sufficient content, gives more focus on TE communication; endorses needed skills and functions, allows for ample opportunity for practice, and makes use of various teaching techniques and assessment tools to facilitate the learning process. All in all, this would help meet needs and expectations. More cooperation is needed, either between the English and the Tourism departments as to how their missions might be revised to emphasize TE training, or with other institutes in the country including the public and the private sector. The findings of the study are not limited only to the improvement of the program in the research context, but they denote implications for other similar contexts in which English is taught for specific purposes. Despite being a case study, it is implicated that the results might be generalized to other ESP contexts inside and outside Jordan. Further research might take the results of the study as a blueprint to design and implement the intended syllabus, following Nation and Macalister’s (2010) syllabus design criteria, namely, goals, content and sequencing, format and presentation, and monitoring and assessment.