A Lecture for the Sixth Northeast Asia Management and Economy Joint Conference Gwangju Kimdaejung Convention Center May 30, 2007 Linguistic Auditing and EIL for East Asian Tourist Industry Judy Yoneoka Kumamoto Gakuen University Email: judy@kumagaku.ac.jp 1

Topics of Presentation １．The linguistic landscape of East Asia ２．International tourism in East Asia ３．An overview of Linguistic auditing ４．Focus on Kumamoto: Linguistic Auditing to assess present and future needs

East Asia Japan Map from Fauser, 2007 presentation

English Education in NE Asia China Taiwan Korea Japan Russia Beginning age primary 3 primary 5 prim 3 (1) JH 1 (p5) prim 5 Since 2001 1997 (2008) 2002 Hours/week 5 1 to 2 3 (1/mo) 3 Number of students 300-350 million Other CET4/6, p1 in cities *p1 in big cities *english villages *93% teach as gen'l *research

Role of English as a regional language in East Asia? ERL?

The OTHER regional language: 漢字 Advantageｓ: Chinese characters are widely recognized 　Meanings are (generally) understood 　　　　　　　山、川、道、路 Disadvantages: Which characters? 　勞 or 労？ 運転手 　How to pronounce?　　

2. International Tourism in East Asia In 2004, China received 109 million visitors from overseas, 60 times that of 1978. Recently, TTG Asia cited China as the 2004 best travel destination in the world. http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/126448.htm In 2006 international tourists to Japan were 7,334 thousand PAX, up 9.0% compared with last year, and renewing the record high. http://www.tourism.jp/english/statistics/inbound/ The number of Koreans travelling abroad passed the 10 million mark for the first time in 2005, growing at a rate of 14.2% for the year. http://www.airhighways.com/korea.htm

TOP TOURISM GENERATING COUNTRIES TO JAPAN, KOREA + CHINA 2006 3,923,986 2,338,921 2,117,200 JAPAN 3,745,881 Taiwan 896,969 1,309,100 RUSSIA 2,405,063 Americas 555,705 811,700 U.S.A. 1,710,292 338,162 USA 816,700 MALAYSIA 910,458 HK 352,300

Proficiency in International Languages Needed in Tourist Industry EIL = English as an International Language LOTE = Languages other than EIL OLIL = Own language as an International Language ＬＯＴＥ OLＩＬ EIL EIL Based on Honna, 2007 presentation

English as an East Asian Tourist Language？ In all, English remains a traveller's most useful language overall, although for longer stays in any East Asian country picking up at least some of the local language is essential. When looking for English speakers, tourist areas tend to be a good bet and in general younger people or those around universities are most likely to speak at least some English. That being said, there are many areas where no English is spoken so patience and a good phrasebook are always a safe bet. http://wikitravel.org/en/East_Asia

What is linguistic auditing and how can it help? Began in Europe Helps businesses realize their language goals Uses an assessment method based on structured tests and face-to-face interviews Gives advice on appropriate training solutions Analyzes specific objectives and requirements ...SAVES time money unnecessary language training http://www.modulor.us/language_audits/en

From Honna, 2007 presentation

Needs Assessment Actual and immediate needs (= What does the company need to do in another language now? ) By questionnaire to Kumamoto hotels and actual tourists Hidden and potential needs (= What could the company do in another language to be more successful and profitable?) By questionnaire to potential Korean tourists

Evaluating responses 1. How prepared is the hotel to meet their linguistic needs? 2. What is the best way to meet their needs? (translation resources, language services, tailored ESP courses etc.) 3. What resources do they already have? (human, machine, community, finance) 4. What is the hotel doing already?

Focus on Linguistic Auditing in Kumamoto 1. Kumamoto as a tourist town In 2003, Kumamoto declared itself a tourist town 3-year plan (2005-2007) to develop tourism 400 year anniversary of Kumamoto Castle 2. Kumamoto as the heart of Kyushu Kyushu Bullet Train to be completed in 2012 3. Kumamoto as an international town UD and the 4-language plan

A page from the Kumamoto Prefectural UD online manual

Tourists to Kumamoto

Where do the international tourists come from? (2003 - 2005 data) Korea 59% Taiwan 22% USA 5% Unknown 4% Other Asia 2% China Hong Kong Other Europe 1% Germany UK

Increase of Korean Tourists in Japan/Kumamoto 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 increase Japan 981 1099 1272 1397 1585 162% 熊本 29 60 85 99 106 370% Unit = 1,000

Needs Assessment: Language Needs of Korean Travelers to Kumamoto 135 respondents across Korea Age breakdown; 19-24 32% 25-29 44% 30-39 12% 40-49 9% 50- 3%

Do you want to visit Japan (again)? Have you been to Japan? Do you want to visit Japan (again)? 60% of Koreans surveyed have been to Japan, and almost all (96%) would like to go (again). Only 13% of Korean visitors have been to Kyushu, whereas 23% indicated they would like to go to Kyushu (again).

What do you like to do/see most when traveling? History, local food and nature rated highest. Shopping rated only 6%.

How do you like to travel? tours 3% free time/short term 71% backpacking/ longer term 26% However, most Korean travelers to Kumamoto come on tours!

How is your language ability? Note the inverse trends: Most people rated themselves as fair or poor at English Most people rated themselves as good or none at Japanese

Fig. 9 Do you plan/expect to use English in Japan? Fig. 8 What language(s) do you plan/expect to use in Japan? Fig. 9 Do you plan/expect to use English in Japan?

If Korean/English were used in advertising/menus, would you be more likely to use the business? Advertising/literature in Korean is a key factor for over 85% of Korean tourists, but advertising in English “will do” for over half of the potential visitors.

Part 2: Linguistic Responses of Hotels in Kumamoto

The Questionnaire Mailed to 60 hotels in Kumamoto in October 2006 All hotels had presence on at least one international hotel website 17 hotels responded Response rate = 28%

RESULTS 1: Number and type of foreign guests per month 3 general groups: 1-9 8 hotels 47% 10-50 5 hotels 29% 51-1600(!) 　4 hotels 24% More Western (65-90%) 　5 hotels　29% Half and half （50％）　　4 hotels　24% Less Western (0-49%) 　　8 hotels　　47%

Number of guests per hotel by nationality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 TOTAL % Korean 1120 89 4.9 1.8 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.1 3.6 2.5 1334 59% Chinese 480 0.9 69 41 0.5 0.2 618 27% Western 20 210 1.4 1.2 280 12% Other 37 45.7 2% Korea 59% Taiwan, China, HK 26% USA, Europe 8% Unknown 4% Other Asia 2% Compared with percentage of tourists who stay in Kumamoto (2005 data)

Languages used with Foreign guests with Asians Other: Asian languages 30%, 10% Gestures 33%, 20% with Westerners Other: Gestures 20%

Number of Employees who speak Foreign Languages (all hotels)

Linguistic Preparedness of Hotels (上＝spoken, 下 = written) 82% 59-65% 47% 70-76%

CONCLUSIONS… Speaking English is important, And useful for MANY but not ALL tourists But to really promote tourism in Kumamoto Use more Korean and Chinese

Or at least write in romaji and kanji and DIRECTIONS… Or at least write in romaji and kanji as much as possible…

…and Dreams: The Kumamoto Welcome Card

Thank you for your hospitality, and please come to visit us soon! For a copy of this handout, please visit www2.kumagaku.ac.jp/teacher/~judy/