The Role of ESP-Based Training in Enhancing Speaking Fluency and Professional Confidence for Prospective Front Office Professionals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20961/b02djk67Keywords:
English for Specific Purposes, speaking fluency, professional confidence, Front OfficeAbstract
This study investigates the role of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)-based training in enhancing speaking fluency and professional confidence among prospective Front Office professionals in the hospitality industry. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study first collected quantitative data through speaking assessments and professional confidence questionnaires, followed by qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews and workplace observations. The quantitative findings revealed improvements across all speaking dimensions, including fluency, pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and ESP-specific vocabulary, as well as increased confidence in communicating with guests, handling complaints, providing hotel information, and managing check-in/check-out procedures. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified four major themes: handling guest complaints as the most challenging communicative task, improved fluency through repeated workplace simulation, development of professional confidence, and remaining challenges related to unfamiliar accents and intercultural politeness. The findings indicate that ESP-based training enhances not only linguistic performance but also learners’ psychological readiness for authentic workplace communication. The study contributes to ESP and hospitality education by demonstrating the interconnected development of speaking fluency and professional confidence through needs-based, task-oriented training. Practically, the findings suggest that hospitality curricula should integrate target-situation simulations, complaint-handling scenarios, pragmatic communication strategies, and technology-supported practice to better prepare students for professional Front Office communication in international hotel environments.
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