A análise de um mini curso de inglês para fins específicos focado no turismo

Abstract

Courses of English for specific purposes, such as English for tourism, have been increasing on demand around the world lately and, as they focus on students’ needs, they present better results than those English courses applied to the general public. The present research aimed to investigate the process of learning English as a foreign language for specific purposes, with professionals that work on the attendance in bars and restaurants in Praia do Futuro, a neighborhood of Fortaleza (CE). The analyzed group was composed of 10 participants, with beginner level in English. A 30-hours of English mini course was offered to them. Classes took place once a week, with a 135 minuteslength each, emphasizing the exploration of interpersonal listening and speaking skills. Regarding the research methodology, specific vocabulary tests were applied in two moments of the study period, one at the beginning of the course and another at the end. The tests contained 20 words in English, which participants needed to identify the correspondent word in Portuguese. The analysis of this study reflects that the workers who participated in this research already had a reasonable knowledge of specific English vocabulary, due to their experience, but there was a significant increase in this level of knowledge, after the completion of the mini course, mainly due to the attitude and motivation of the participants, aiming at professional growth or a promotion at work.