(301)FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING NEEDS FOR MARINA WORKERS IN ALICANTE: THE CLIL METHODOLOGY

摘要

Partly because coastal tourism tends to be seasonal, many workers are low-skilled and much lesslikely to speak a foreign language than the better-educated permanent employees. Some seasonalemployees are migrants and may not even speak the local language. Yet it is precisely the seasonaland lower-skilled employees who are most likely to have direct contacts with foreign visitors, in kiosks,information booths, ticket offices, petrol stations, repair bays, shops, ships’ stores and so on - that is,in the reception of tourists. This is important because foreign visitors constitute a significant proportionof coastal tourists, but although workers may - or may not - speak some English other languages areneeded too. There is, therefore, a need for foreign language learning by low-skilled workers inmarinas, yachting harbours and cruise ports. There are two major obstacles to fulfilling this need andlittle is available for low-skilled workers and they themselves are often unwilling to spend valuableleisure time on learning another language. This is unfortunate as the ability to speak a foreignlanguage not only increases technical skills but also social competence and is therefore a valuablemeasure in developing the skills of adults in the labour market.One solution is to combine language learning with skills training, but such initiatives are rare. Thegeneral neglect of low-skilled workers, despite European and national priorities, also means that thereis a shortage of learning materials in a wide range of occupations, and few if any for foreign languageteaching combined with skills training. There is, however, a well-developed methodology for such anapproach, known as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). This methodology not onlycombines language with vocational learning but also quickly engenders confidence in the ability tolearn, a confidence often lacking in low-skilled workers. Although there are language courses availableto marina workers in Alicante, the area where the research will take place, the CLIL approach is rarelyif ever used. Courses are general and are unable to take into account the specialised vocabularyneeded for vocational occupations. Nor are they necessarily available in the languages needed. Inorder to discover the target languages most needed by marine tourism operators, as well as othervariables, such as the situations for language learning, the most useful elements of a curriculum andthe desired modes of learning, a needs assessment survey was conducted in Alicante under theframework of the European project “MARINA - Meeting the language and skills needs of coastal andriver tourism workers” (2009-1-NO1-LEO05-01015)co-financed by the European Commission. Thispaper aims to describe the main results.