Development of a Multicultural English for Communication Curriculum for Community-Based Tourism in Kanchanaburi Province

Abstract

This research aims to; 1) study basic information for the development of an English training curriculum for multicultural communication, 2) development of a multicultural English communication training curriculum, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of the English for multicultural communication curriculum for community-based tourism in Kanchanaburi province. A sample group of 100 people volunteered to attend training, selected specifically. The research tools were 1) a training curriculum needs questionnaire, 2) an English language training curriculum for multicultural communication, and 3) a training curriculum evaluation form. Data were analyzed by comparing the results of the training before and after the training (t-test), and the opinions of the participants on the English for Multicultural Communication training curriculum, using basic statistics including mean, percentage, and standard deviation. The results of the research found that 1. the target group has training needs consisting of a curriculum that the researcher has developed as appropriate to the local context and according to the needs of the target group, including 1) English for Tour Guides 2) English for Service Workers 3) English for Boats and Raft Operation 4) English for Thai Massage and 5) English for Driver. The content needed includes 1) greetings, introductions to oneself and others, saying welcome and farewell, 2) talking about food, giving directions/routes, 3) recommending activities and tourist attractions, 4) showing goodwill providing assistance and recommendations Inviting to buy products, 5) thanking, apologizing, talking on the phone, 6) talking about the date and time, and 7) first aid treatment. 2. Results of evaluating the effectiveness of the training curriculum from experts at the highest level, showed that the developed curriculum was appropriate and can be used when comparing the pre-training and post-training test scores for all 5 curriculums, and overall, they were significantly different at the 0.05 level, with the post-training scores being higher than the pre-training scores. This revealed that the English language training curriculum for Multicultural Communication in Community-Based Tourism in Kanchanaburi Province, 5 curriculums were effective in helping develop knowledge and ability to use English for multicultural communication in community-based tourism in all training curriculums, for the results of evaluating the satisfaction of the trainees, at the highest level.