Language components
included in Tourism courses in
European universities
-final results-
Research conducted by the work
group “SLEST” for the “Leonardoda-Vinci” project
The present project is financed with the approval of the European Commission. The authors are the sole owners of this
publication and the commission denies all responsibility for the possible use of the information contained herein.
Numbers and characteristics of institutions
France
Germany
Britain
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
Spain
There are
almost 900
tourism
training
centres! The
number of
universities
which offer the
Introduction to
Tourism
Diploma is
between 30 and
50 (10 of these
universities are
located in the
Paris region).
In 2003 the
number of
students who
were signed up
to a tourism
course was
4183.
There are
courses in
almost 16
universities
(mainly
“Fachhochschulen”); the
name given to
study courses
is usually
“Tourismusmanagement”
Almost a third
of the 333
universities and
colleges in
Great Britain
offer courses in
“Tourism
Science” at
various levels.
The learning of
languages is not
always
envisaged and it
is not
compulsory to
take a languages
course
There are at least
60 universities
offering in the
three year BA
(mainly Faculties
of Economy or
Philosophy) there
are various
programmes of
study from
“Management of
the Territorial
Assets” to
“Management of
Tourism”; the
situation is
characterised by
some confusion
with regard to the
content. 18
universities also
offer the MA
There are 27
private
universities
offering both
the MA and
BSc and 18
state
universities
(with MA
courses);
there are also
another 10
“colleges”
offering BSc
courses
There are 2
universities and 3
higher training
centres
(“college”). At
university
courses are part
of the Economy
Faculty
There are 45
universities
which all
follow the
same model,
and 73
professional
training
centres
(public and
private); the
duration of
level 1 is 2
years, and
the duration
of level 2 is
2 years)
Characteristics of the language courses
France
The training
levels go from
BAC+1 to
BAC+5 (BAC
is the
equivalent of
state exams
awarded at 18
in Italy). There
is no reference
to specific
language
courses, but
generally
English is
present. There
is also the
possibility of
optional
language
courses.
Germany
- There is no
reference to
specific
languages
-2
universities
do not offer
language
courses
- English is
always
compulsory
Britain
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
In many
universtites, the
courses are very
“flexible”: students
can decide which
modules to take
and at what level to
start; it is set up in
modular form and
each university
decides
autonomously
which modules to
offer. Many
courses concentrate
on managerial
skills than
languages. The
most commonly
taught languages
are French,
German and
Spanish (never
compulsory!)
There are no
references to
specific
languages in
tourism (in
some
universities
language
courses are not
even offered; in
fact the general
plan of
ministers is that
there is no need
for language
courses at study
level, only a
final test).
Taught
languages are
more than any
others, apart
from English,
French,
German and
Spanish.
The contents
include,
apart from
the sector
specific
vocabulary:
- Geography
Architecture
- History
- Hotel +
Restaurant
- Free time
- Business /
Economy
Two languages
are compulsory
(at various
levels), one has
to be English;
a third
language is the
student’s wom
choice.
University:
general
languages +
economic / all
the students
learn the same
language
College: also
specific
language, even
though a lot of
the time it is
very
generalised
Spain
- English is
always
compulsory
- Often
German and
French are
compulsory
Characteristics of the exams
France
Germany
Britain
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
Spain
The courses and
the exams are
orientated
towards the
learning of
subjects like:
Law and
Economy of
Tourism,
European
Management of
Tourism,
Country
Promotion
Traditionally
the
characteristics
of the exam
are not
specified in
the
programme of
studey. Each
tutor/
professor
teaches what
they know
best
The departments
responsible for
the teaching of
languages
decide in full
autonomy on the
development
and the content
of the exams. In
general they are
based on the
four skills in the
form of
coursework and
continuous
assessment,
rather than soley
by a final
examination.
The exam
requirements
are generally
not specified
in the
programme
of study
(apart from
general
indications
like “written
exam” or
“oral”).
The teacher or
professor
decides every
time on the
content (oral,
written, level
etc).
Exams are
usually more
written than
spoken (often
the weights are
60%:40%).
Traditionally,
they are not
specified in
the
programme of
study.
The colleges
seem to have a
more
“realistic”
exam (with
regard to
content for the
tourism
environment).
Duration of courses / hours dedicated to
languages
France
Germany
Britain
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
The duration
of the course
is divided as
follows: short
courses (from
1 to 2 years)
and long
courses (from
3 to 5 years).
There is no
specific
reference to
the number of
hours
dedicated to
foreign
languages
(need to look
at each case
individually);
in some
universities
languages are
not
compulsary.
In a few cases
language
courses are
offered, but
they are
optional.
Taught
languages are
almost always
English,
French and
Spanish
(other
languages are
optional).
Hours
dedicated
vary between
90 and 180
hours per
course.
Normally
courses are 2 or
3 years in
length.
Normally there
are 2 to 4 hours
a week
dedicated to the
learning of
languages. Some
universities
offer training
abroad, for a
duration of 3 to
6 months.
At univeristy
generally 2
languages are
taught for 2 or 3
years (often
English is
compulsory). The
situation is very
varied, but on
average it is 9
credits for the
first language and
6 for the second
for the entire
duration of the
course (results in
it being difficult
to indicate the
exact number of
hours, as the
course contents
are not given in
hours) (in Rome
Sapienza
University, 4
credits equals
about 60 hours of
learning).
Duration of
course: 4
years;
minimum
of 120
hours for
each
language
(up to 60
hours per
semester).
There are 2 or
3 years at
university and
2 or 3 at
college; it is
usually
scheduled for
about 60-90
hours per
annum for
each language.
Spain
There are 90
hours
dedicated to
English per
year
(compulsary
as a first
language,
subdivided
into 2 or 3
years of
study). There
is currently a
proposal to
double the
number of
hours.
Final level of achievement
► “Common European Framework”
France
No reference to
the European
picture. There
are different
grades of
linguistic
knowledge
(generally 5)
that show the
level of the
students’
competence in
languages.
(projects that
make reference
to the European
picture are
currently in
progress).
Germany
There is NO
reference.
Britain
There is NO
reference
(only for
example
“GCSE – Clevel”, for the
rest the
definitions are
always very
general).
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
Spain
None of the
programmes
of study in the
40 universities
where Touism
Science is
taught make
reference to
the Europan
levels.
There is NO
reference; the
level generally
required is
“good level of
mastery of the
language”
(including
specialised
vocabulary;
see the first
page).
No level of
study is
referred to, but
generally they
talk about
“elementary
level” and
“advanced
level”
There is never
any reference.