Perception of Students of the Degree in Tourism Regarding the Importance of a Foreign Language: English

Abstract

Being the most widely used global language, English has been exerting a tremendous influence around the world in various spheres of our lives. These comprise, amongst others, travel, tourism and hospitality industry, in all of which the use of English has become an imperative need. With its ever-growing importance, the role of English in travel, tourism and hospitality industry has been assuming greater significance and also undergoing some functional changes. This work aims to present the main results of a quali-quantitative nature, after applying a questionnaire survey, carried out amongst students of the degree in tourism, in a Portuguese private higher education institution, to ascertain their perception of the importance of the English language in the tourism sector. From the data collection carried out with 32 students, it was possible to assess, and there is still a way to go for these students, future professionals, to feel secure in the proficient use of the English language, as the vast majority evaluates their performance in the English language as average.