Development of foreign language communicative competence as a component of professional training of future hotel managers

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the issue of improving the development of foreign language communicative competence of future hotel managers in the process of their professional training. The formation of foreign language communicative competence in the industry under study is a comprehensive process based on the integration of linguistic, sociolinguistic, pragmatic, strategic and cultural components. For future hotel managers, foreign language communicative competence should be considered in terms of its pragmatic applicability, that is combining language proficiency, professional communication skills, and the ability to apply them in situations of intercultural interaction. To reveal the specifics of professional foreign language communication in the hospitality industry, we should pay attention to its following characteristics: customer orientation (communication manner has to be polite, neutral, aimed at creating a positive impression of the service provided); a high degree of standardization, which forms a specific type of discourse featured by a particular set of vocabulary and conversation scenarios; the need for rapid adaptation to unforeseen changing of communicative situations; awareness of intercultural diversity to provide successful communicative interaction. This requires special training based on the use of authentic materials, interactive teaching methods, along with modeling of communicative situations close to the conditions of real-life professional activity. Methodological approaches to the formation of foreign language communicative competence of hospitality students are a combination of traditional and innovative ways of optimizing the professional training. It has been established that the effectiveness of this process is determined by a combination of communicative, cultural, activity-based, and professionally-oriented approaches to ensure that training meets the real needs of the modern service sector.