Language strategies used by tourism degree students for learning German as a third language

CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 267 ARTÍCULOS Cí culo de Lingüís ica Aplicada a la Comunicación ISSN: 1576-4737 h p://dx.doi.o g/10.5209/CLAC.59069 Language s a egies used by ou ism deg ee s uden s o lea ning Ge man as a hi d language M. C is ina San ana-Quin ana 1 Recibido: 22 de eb e o de 2017/ Acep ado: 22 de ene o de 2018 Resumen. This s udy examines he pe cep ions o Tou ism majo s uden s o s a egies o lea ning Ge man as hei L3. Using ques ionnai es adop ed om he Ox o d (1990) S a egy In en o y o Language Lea ning (SILL), his esea ch aims o answe he ollowing ques ions: (1) Wha a e he mos and he leas equen ly used language lea ning s a egies (LLSs) among lea ne s o Ge man as a hi d language? (2) Is i possible o iden i y di e ences be ween he s a egies employed i he language is s udied o a speci ic pu pose (LSP) in he Tou ism Deg ee P og amme? I so, (3) which s a egy is bes adap ed o his speci ic g oup? The esul s o his s udy show ha (1) acco ding o he analysis o he da a om he SILL ques ionnai e, he s uden s we e medium use o s a egies in lea ning Ge man as hei L3, and ha me acogni i e s a egies (mean =3.55) we e he mos equen ly used, while a ec i e s a egies (mean= 3.06) we e he leas equen ly used. (2) The bes LLS o choose will depend on he s uden s’ needs, and Ge man in he Tou ism Bachelo ocuses on communica i e compe ence and in e ac ion o acili a e mo e lexible, and abo e all mo e expe imen al, lea ne beha iou . (3) Social s a egies a e he ones ha ha e been iden i ied as he bes o his speci ic g oup, because hese LLSs help o imp o e s uden s’ o al communica ion skills. Palab as cla e: Language lea ning s a egies, Ge man o Speci ic Pu poses, Tou ism S udies, S a egy In en o y o Language Lea ning (SILL), Communica ion skills, Social s a egies. Cómo ci a : San ana-Quin ana, M. C. (2018): Language s a egies used by ou ism deg ee s uden s o lea ning Ge man as a hi d language, en Cí culo de lingüís ica aplicada a la comunicación 73, 243-254. Índice. 1. In oduc ion. 2. Language lea ning s a egies (LLSs). 3. Me hodology: Subjec s and analysis p ocedu es. 3.1. Subjec s. 3.2. Ins umen s: S a egy in en o y o language lea ning (SILL). 4. Resul s o using di e en kinds o language lea ning s a egies. 5. Discussion. 6. Conclusions and sugges ions. Re e ences. 1. In oduc ion The Common Eu opean F amewo k o Re e ence o Languages (CEFR) aims o se he s anda ds o lea ne s in di e en coun ies o c ea e a close link be ween language, cul u e and he Eu opean iden i y o achie e a common communica i e sphe e (Council o Eu ope, 2001). Language lea ning s a egies (LLSs) and _____________ 1 Uni e sidad de las Palmas de G an Cana ia (IATEXT) E-mail: c is ina.san [email protected] 268 San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 au onomous lea ning ha e a ac ed a ai amoun o a en ion in ecen yea s. This migh well be ela ed o a ocus on au onomous language lea ning in he Eu opean con ex gene ally, and he in luence o CEFR. The e has been inc easing in e es in language lea ning and language lea ne s since he 1970s wi h he eme gence o he cogni i e e olu ion, special a en ion has been paid o LLSs e e since (Fa manlu & Abdolmana i-Rokni, 2014). Bu he p ominen change has occu ed in language eaching and lea ning o e he las o y yea s. In he pas , he emphasis was on eache s and eaching, while now he emphasis is on lea ne s and lea ning (Mohammadi e al., 2013). No mode n language eache , esea che o policy- make needs o be eminded o he eno mous changes ha ha e aken place in mode n o eign language eaching and lea ning o e ecen decades (G en ell & E le , 2007). Se e al s udies indica e some o he lea ning s a egy p e e ences epo ed by s uden s in di e en cul u al con ex s, bu he esea ch sugges ha s uden s do no use hem widely. This si ua ion has mo i a ed applied esea che s in he ield o L2 lea ning and eaching o y o diagnose he p oblems and ind solu ions o hem. Mu ay (2010) says ha he e ha e been many s udies o he e ec i e use o LLSs in he second language (L2) class ooms ha ha e p oduced posi i e esul s. Despi e such abundan lea ning s a egy use, e y li le esea ch has s udied he ela ionships be ween LLSs and he acquisi ion o a hi d language. Resea ch conduc ed in o LLSs, has ocused mainly on lea ning a i s o a second language, bu hi d language lea ning s a egies and s udies o Ge man ha e ecei ed li le o no a en ion o da e (Nasse Naja i Ti eh Shabanka eh & Hadizadeh, 2011). On he o he hand, ecen li e a u e on LLSs shows ha s udies ha e been conduc ed on nume ous popula ions, bu e y ew ha e s udied a Spanish popula ion (Judge, 2012). The aim o his a icle is o use a case s udy o help explo e he LLSs mos equen ly used by s uden s in highe educa ion. The no el y o ou con ibu ion is he ac ha we analyse he ela ions be ween s uden s s udying Ge man as hi d language o speci ic pu poses (LSP) in he Deg ee P og amme in Tou ism in a Eu opean con ex and LLSs. This s udy aims o in es iga e LLSs used by he Tou ism Deg ee P og amme a he Uni e sidad de Las Palmas de G an Cana ia (ULPGC) in Spain. The speci ic aim o he s udy is o answe he ollowing esea ch ques ions: (1) wha a e he mos and leas equen ly used LLSs among lea ne s o Ge man as a hi d o eign language? (2) Is i possible o iden i y di e ences be ween he s a egies employed o s udy a language o LSP in he Deg ee P og amme in Tou ism? I so, (3) which s a egy would be he mos sui ed o he speci ic g oup? 2. Language lea ning s a egies (LLSs) Acco ding o Ox o d (1990, 16), LLSs “a e e y impo an because hey a e ools o ac i e sel -di ec ed in ol emen , and app op ia e LLSs a e ela ed o imp o ed p o iciency and g ea e sel -con idence”. The Council o Eu ope also de e mines ha “a s a egy is any o ganised, pu pose ul and egula ed line o ac ion chosen by an indi idual o ca y ou a ask which he o she se s o himsel o he sel o wi h which he o she aces” (2001: 1). B own (2000) desc ibed s a egies as speci ic me hods o app oaching p oblems o asks, modes o ope a ion o achie ing a San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 269 pa icula end. Mos de ini ions o LLSs s ess hei impo ance in language lea ning. On he o he hand, many au ho s show ha a numbe o a iables ha e also been iden i ied as in luencing s uden s in hei choice o lea ning s a egies, such as mo i a ion, gende , cul u al issues, a ec i e ac o s, age, e c. Many o hem ha e u ilised he SILL o examine how lea ning s a egies employed by s uden s can be imp o ed o enhance hei academic achie emen . Hence, hey ha e shown he impo ance o LLSs and hey sugges ha mo e p o icien second (L2) language s uden s use sequences o s a egies o comple e a ask e ec i ely; see G een and Ox o d (1995), Chamo and El-Dina y (1999), G i i hs (2003), Gan and e al. (2004), Za e-eea (2010), Az ien & Adnan (2011), Fa manlu & Abdolmana i-Rokni (2014), Nos a inia e al. (2014), and Tang & Tian (2015); o ha SLLSs co ela e wi h academic success, such as O’Mally and Chamo (1990), Cou inho (2007), La asani & Fa yad es (2011), Heo e al. (2012), Fazeli (2012), Ko kmaz (2013), Del Ángel and Galla do (2014) and Ba ios (2015); o wi h mo i a ion, Ellis (1994), Dö nyei (2001), Schmid and Wa anabe (2001), Wen (2001), Qin and Wen (2002), Dö nyei (2003), Luo & Jian (2004), Cohen & Maca o (2007), Man ed (2007), Rahimi e al. (2008), Maca o & Mu on (2009), Xu (2011); and ha using hem imp o es s uden s’ language awa eness, Ga e and James (2000), Naka ani (2005), Gallaghe -B e (2007), Lee & Ox o d (2008), T agan and Vic o i (2012), Nos a inia e al. (2014), and Cáce es-Lo enzo (2015). Howe e , no much wo k has been done on LLSs and hi d language acquisi ion, and no esea ch on he ela ionships be ween LLSs and Ge man o LSP in he Tou ism Bachelo P og amme. 3. Me hodology: Subjec s and analysis p ocedu es 3.1. Subjec s The a ge popula ion o his esea ch was a g oup o Spanish g adua es. Pa icipan s in his s udy we e s uden s in hei 3 d semes e o he Bachelo 's deg ee in Tou ism a he ULPGC in 2015-2016. The esea che adminis e ed a sel - epo ins umen called a “s a egy in en o y o language lea ning (SILL) ha assesses LLSs o 60 s uden s s udying Ge man as a hi d language. 3.2. Ins umen s: S a egy in en o y o language lea ning (SILL) This cu en s udy adop s he amewo k de eloped by Ox o d (1990), which is one o he mos widely-accep ed classi ica ion scheme in ol ing a a ie y o language lea ning s a egies. The SILL was chosen o his s udy because i is he mos equen ly used s a egy scale and i is highly eliable and alid (Ellis, 1994; Sung, 2011; Judge, 2012; Ba ios, 2015; Chuin & Kau , 2015), bo h in i s o iginal English e sion and in ansla ion as in he p esen case. The SILL is a ool ha s uden s and eache s can use o assess he speci ic language lea ning s a egies ha a e employed by s uden s o lea n a o eign language. This s udy used e sion 7.0 o he SILL, bu i was ansla ed in o Spanish so ha s uden s could answe he ques ions in hei mo he ongue. The SILL consis s o 50 i ems, which a e assessed on a i e-poin Like scale anging om 1 o 5 (5 always; 4 equen ly; 3 occasionally; 2 a ely; and 1 ne e o almos 270 San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 ne e ). The 50 i ems a e classi ied in o wo majo g oups: di ec and indi ec , sub- di ided in o six ca ego ies (Ox o d, 1990): (a) di ec s a egies a e s a egies ha a e di ec ly in ol ed in language lea ning. All he di ec s a egies a e associa ed wi h “ he men al p ocessing o he language” (Ox o d, 1990, 37) such as memo y, cogni i e and compensa ion s a egies: (1) Memo y s a egies (i ems 1-9) used o lea ning, s o ing and e ie ing in o ma ion. This includes he use o lash ca ds o g ouping wo ds wi h simila unc ions, helping lea ne s o emembe new ocabula y. The use o memo y s a egies is mos equen ly applied a he beginning o he p ocess o language lea ning. (2) Cogni i e s a egies (i ems 10-23) o manipula ing he language ma e ial and e-o ganising in o ma ion o de elop knowledge s uc u es such as highligh ing, analysing, o summa ising messages. These a e used o unde s and he meaning and exp ession o he a ge language. Fo ins ance, he use o skimming s a egy helps lea ne s loca e he main idea in a ex . (3) Compensa ion s a egies (i ems 24-29) a e used o help lea ne s use he new language o comp ehension and p oduc ion, despi e he sho comings in hei knowledge o he language, such as guessing om con ex and ges u es o using synonyms. (b) indi ec s a egies, such as me acogni i e, a ec i e and social s a egies, on he o he hand, do no di ec ly assis s uden s in language lea ning. They a e used o plan o language asks and e alua e lea ning: (4) Me acogni i e s a egies (i ems 30 o 38) a e used o manage he lea ning p ocess so ha lea ne s can mo e easily o ganise and make he mos o hei e o s. They include iden i ying p e e ences and needs, planning, moni o ing, and e alua ing hei own lea ning. (5) A ec i e s a egies (i ems 39 o 44) help lea ne s o con ol hei eelings, mo i a ions, and a i udes o language lea ning, like deep b ea hing, using checklis s o alking abou eelings and ewa ding onesel . (6) Social s a egies (i ems 45 o 50) e e o he s uden ’s communica ion wi h people who use he a ge language, like asking ques ions o co- ope a ing wi h o he s. Desc ip i e s a is ics we e employed o in es iga e he language lea ning s a egies ha Spanish unde g adua es use. SPSS s a is ical so wa e was used o analyse he su ey da a, using he p ocedu e o desc ip i e analysis such as he mean and s anda d de ia ion o each i em (see Table 1). Table 1: he SILL ques ionnai e MEAN SD 1) a Relaciono los con enidos nue os con lo que ya sé 3.95 0.98 2) a U ilizo palab as nue as en las ases que cons uyo 3.62 1.03 3) a Relaciono el sonido de una palab a con una imagen o dibujo 3.12 1.14 4) a Asocio una palab a a una si uación o imagen men al 3.53 1.03 5) a U ilizo imas pa a eco da palab as nue as 2.57 1.29 6) a U ilizo láminas o ichas pa a eco da nue as palab as 2.53 1.20 7) a U ilizo ges os ísicos pa a ap ende nue as palab as 2.42 1.37 8) a Repaso las lecciones a menudo 3.10 0.97 San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 271 9) a Relaciono las palab as nue as con el luga en el que apa ecen 3.07 1.22 10) b P onuncio o esc ibo las palab as nue as a ias eces 2.81 1.25 11) b In en o habla como un na i o o el p o eso 3.38 1.17 12) b P ac ico los sonidos de la lengua ex anje a 3.68 1.08 13) b U ilizo las palab as que conozco en con ex os di e en es 3.43 1.09 14) b Empiezo con e saciones en la lengua ex anje a 3.34 1.12 15) b Veo la ele o ídeos y escucho música en la lengua ex anje a 3.83 1.20 16) b Leo po place en la lengua ex anje a 2.85 1.36 17) b Esc ibo mensajes, no as, ca as, e c. en el idioma ex anje o 3.20 1.34 18) b An es de lee un ex o de enidamen e comp uebo de qué a a 3.54 1.16 19) b Busco palab as en mi idioma pa ecidas de la lengua ex anje a 3.23 1.27 20) b In en o encon a no mas o eglas que me acili en el es udio 3.39 1.22 21) b Busco el signi icado de algunas palab as descomponiéndolas 2.95 1.34 22) b P ocu o no aduci palab a po palab a 3.33 1.26 23) b Hago esúmenes de las in o maciones 3.33 1.27 24) c In en o adi ina el signi icado de las palab as ex añas 3.72 1.04 25) c Me ayudo de los ges os cuando no ecue do una palab a 2.93 1.27 26) c Me in en o palab as nue as cuando es oy bloqueado 2.76 1.43 27) c Leo sin busca el signi icado de odas las palab as 3.24 1.26 28) c In en o adi ina lo que o a pe sona dice 3.60 1.17 29) c Uso sinónimos o pe í asis al exp esa me 3.32 1.11 30) d Busco nue as o mas de ap ende una lengua ex anje a 3.69 1.10 31) d Ano o mis e o es e in en o hace lo mejo 3.70 1.09 32) d P es o a ención a quien es é hablando 4.08 1.00 33) d Re lexiono sob e cómo se ap ende o o idioma 3.63 1.19 34) d Plani ico mis es udios pa a ene su icien e iempo 3.25 1.02 35) d Busco a o as pe sonas pa a p ac ica hablando 3.02 1.11 36) d Busco opo unidades pa a lee en lengua ex anje a 3.28 1.15 37) d Sé lo que engo que hace pa a mejo a mis habilidades 3.60 1.03 38) d Re lexiono sob e mi p og eso en el es udio 3.67 1.04 39) e P ocu o elaja me cuando es oy enso 3.80 1.07 40) e Me doy ánimos pa a habla en la lengua ex anje a cuando es oy enso 3.13 1.26 41) e Me ecompenso a mí mismo cuando lo hago bien 3.45 1.17 42) e No o cuando es oy enso y me pongo ne ioso 3.85 1.16 43) e Ano o en un dia io mis sen imien os sob e la lengua ex anje a 1.75 1.13 44) e Compa o mis sen imien os con o as pe sonas sob e el ap endizaje de la lengua ex anje a 2.36 1.19 45) Le pido a la o a pe sona que habla la lengua ex anje a, que epi a o hable más len o 3.17 1.24 46) Pido que me co ijan cuando hablo 3.31 1.32 47) P ac ico la lengua ex anje a con o os es udian es 3.07 1.38 48) Solici o la ayuda de los p o eso es 3.07 1.30 49) Hago p egun as en de la lengua ex anje a 3.48 1.16 50) In en o comp ende la cul u a de la lengua ex anje a que es oy ap endiendo 3.73 1.07 272 San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 4. Resul s o using di e en kinds o language lea ning s a egies The e we e 60 esponden s who illed in he SILL ques ionnai e. The means (Table 2) showing he a e age use o lea ning s a egies by he whole s uden popula ion o he s udy a e be ween 3.06 ( he lowes ) and 3.55 ( he highes ). Table 2 illus a es ha he mean o equency o o e all s a egy use was 3.26 wi h a s anda d de ia ion o 0.44. Ox o d (1990) sugges s a mean o 2.4 and lowe o “low”, a mean ange o 2.5 o 3.4 o “medium,” and a mean ange o 3.5 o 5 o “high” le els o s a egy use. Consequen ly, hey indica e ha hese lea ne s o Ge man as a hi d language use s a egies o app oxima ely a medium deg ee (‘some imes used’, a e age be ween 2.5 and 3.4 on he SILL scale om 1.0 o 5.0). Table 2: Summa y o Desc ip i e S a is ics o LLSs Use Language Lea ning S a egies Mean SD Di ec S a egies Memo y S a egies 3.10 0.53 Cogni i e S a egies 3.31 0.29 Compensa ion S a egies 3.26 0.37 Indi ec S a egies Me acogni i e S a egie s 3.55 0.32 A ec i e S a egies 3.06 0.84 Social S a egies 3.30 0.26 G and Mean 3.26 0.44 Table 3 p esen s he desc ip i e s a is ics o he use o s a egy ca ego ies in descending o de by equency o use, and we obse ed ha he Ge man majo s used bo h di ec s a egies and indi ec s a egies indis inc i ely in hei language lea ning. Acco ding o he esul s o his Table, whe e he s a egies we e anked om he highes mean o he lowes mean, he mos equen ly used s a egy was he me acogni i e s a egy (mean=3,55, SD=0.32), ollowed by cogni i e s a egy (mean=3.31, SD=0.29), social s a egy (mean=3,30, SD=0.26), compensa ion s a egy (mean=3,26, SD=0.37), and memo y s a egy (mean=3,10, SD=0.53) and he a ec i e s a egy (mean=3.06, SD=0.84) was he leas equen ly used by pa icipan s in his s udy. Table 3: Rank o de ing o equency o use o ca ego ies o LLSs Language Lea ning S a egies Rank Me acogni i e S a egies 1 Cogni i e S a egies 2 Social S a egies 3 Compensa ion S a egies 4 Memo y S a egies 5 A ec i e S a egies 6 San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 273 5. Discussion An analysis o he da a om he SILL ques ionnai e showed ha he LLSs mos equen ly used o he six ca ego ies is me acogni i e s a egies, which is in line wi h he indings o o he esea ch s udies, such as Rahimi e al. (2008), Ecke h e al. (2009), Nace a (2010), Fazeli (2012) o Ba ios (2015). Rega ding me acogni i e and a ec i e s a egies on he o he hand, he esul s o his s udy o he mos and leas equen ly used s a egies a e also simila o o he s s udies om he li e a u e e iewed, such as Mohammadi e al. (2013) and Ge ami & Baighlou (2011). In ela ion o Ox o d’s (1990) LLS heo y, she emphasised ha cogni i e s a egies a e ypically ound o be he mos popula s a egies employed by language lea ne s, meaning ha ou indings do no ag ee wi h his concep exp essed by Ox o d. Howe e , Ox o d (1990) indica ed ha a ec i e s a egies end o be leas - equen ly used by language lea ne s, hus ag eeing wi h he esul s o his pape . Me acogni i e s a egies help lea ne s egula e he p ocess o acqui ing a language and gaining enough con idence o be au onomous and e icien . These s a egies allow lea ne s o con ol hei own lea ning and use o he language (Rez ani Kalajahi e al., 2012). This means ha lea ne s wi h easonable me acogni i e awa eness also ha e a s ong belie in hei own capabili ies o success ully unde ake a ask (Nos a inia & Sa eiy, 2014). The bachelo in Tou ism allows s uden s o mas e he p o essional skills needed o succeed in he leisu e and ou ism sec o , as well as gaining specialised knowledge and, o en, ele an p ac ical expe ience. To be success ul in a leisu e and ou ism ole, p o essionals gene ally need o be able o communica e e ec i ely wi h all kinds o people. The Deg ee P og amme in Tou ism a he ULPGC also includes lessons in a mode n language in he p og amme, because good language skills a e highly alued by he p o ession: he s uden s lea n o wo k in mul icul u al eams, hey will s a c ea ing hei p o essional ne wo ks du ing hei s udies and will imp o e hei language skills. A bachelo ’s deg ee cou se in Tou ism a ULPGC akes ou yea s and he equi emen is 240 (ECTS) c edi poin s o e he eigh semes e s o class oom s udy. I is o ganised a ound ou hema ic “pilla s” ha o m he undamen al amewo k o he p og amme. One o hese pilla s is mode n language, whe e he g adua es ha e se e al languages a ailable o hem. Spanish and English a e compulso y languages o s uden s, and hen hey ha e o choose a hi d language oo (Ge man, F ench o Chinese). Ge man alls wi hin he subjec o “Language o Speci ic Pu poses (LSP)” in language educa ion in he Tou ism deg ee. LSP can be de ined as he eaching o a language as a second o o eign language o ce ain g oups o s uden s o whom he syllabus, asks and me hodology a e specially ailo ed o hei in e es s and needs (Labo da, 2011). The main a ge o LSP is o p o ide he communica i e compe ence necessa y o be hi ed in di e en p o essional con ex s (Rod íguez- Piñe o Alcalá, 2013). This implies he need o each no only he ypical con en s o he language (speaking, w i ing, ocabula y, g amma ), bu also speci ic asks. Basically, Ge man eaching ocuses on communica i e language educa ion, since eal communica ion is conside ed o be he essen ial pu pose o lea ning languages (Ca idad de O o, 2004; Jiménez, 2016). Gi en he signi ican unc ion o communica ion s a egies in he exchange be ween in e locu o s du ing si ua ions 274 San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 o communica ion, i is unde s andable ha hey a e also conside ed an enhancing ac o in he acquisi ion o a language (Le Pichon & e al., 2010). As an LSP, w i en communica ion skills a e impo an bu o al skills mus be p ac ised much mo e as hey play an impo an ole in success ul ou ism business and p o ide he s uden s wi h he skills o mas e he daily managemen asks in ol ed in wo king in he ou ism indus y. In his case, me hodologies and ma e ials ha e o be adap ed o pa icula g oups o lea ne s and o s uden s’ needs, which can be unde s ood as he language knowledge ha he lea ne equi es o p o essional de elopmen . In o he wo ds, knowing how o p onounce wo ds co ec ly, he use o app op ia e g amma ules and an adequa e ocabula y is no su icien o speak a o eign language success ully. We also need o de elop he knowledge ha enables us o know wha and how o say some hing depending on who we a e speaking o, whe e we a e speaking and wha we a e alking abou . Tha is, we need o de elop communica i e compe ence (San os e al., 2016; Be engue -Román e al., 2016). Fu he mo e, o be able o speak a o eign language com o ably, we need o de elop speaking s a egies. This is he eason why Ge man as an LSP in Tou ism pu ecep i e skills and e bal p oduc ion in he o eg ound o he Ge man lessons, hus o al communica ion is a undamen al a ge (Roca & Bosch, 2005). In his sense, LLSs ha e c ucial alue o second/ hi d language lea ne s because hey can help s uden s o ad ance hei communica ion compe ences (La asani & Fa yad es, 2011). Ox o d (1990, p.1) s a ed ha s a egies a e pa icula ly impo an o language lea ning “because hey a e ools o ac i e, sel - di ec ed in ol emen , which is essen ial o de eloping communica i e compe ence”. So, ha means ha SILLs help o de elop linguis ic and socio- linguis ic compe ence in he a ge language o inco po a e hese in o one’s in e - language compe ence. The mos app op ia e o all he s a egies o Ge man as LSP s uden s s udying Tou ism a e he “social s a egies” o co-ope a ing wi h o he s and unde s anding he cul u e as well as he language. Social s a egies e e o he lea ne ’s communica ion wi h people who use he a ge language and hey in ol e lea ning h ough communica ion wi h o he people, which can be seen as a o m o social beha iou ha in ol es asking ques ions, coope a ing wi h o he s and empa hising wi h o he s (Ox o d, 1990). I is used o lea n he a ge language h ough in e ac ion wi h o he s. A he same ime, lea ne s can use social s a egies o de elop cul u al unde s anding and become awa e o he hough s and eeling o o he s. In he wo ld o cus ome se ices, cul u e ans e be ween se ice s a and gues s mus be seen as an in eg al aspec o o eign language use in communica i e in e ac ion in he p o essional se ice encoun e . The employmen o p ope communica ion s a egies in he hospi ali y indus y is an impo an aspec ha ensu es sa is ac ion o he managemen , s a and cus ome s. The mos impo an aspec o communica ion con e gence in he hospi ali y se ice encoun e is he s a 's ini ia i e in demons a ing a posi i e se ice a i ude h ough he use o a ilia i e skills when in e ac ing wi h gues s. And pa icula ly, social s a egies (indi ec ) enable lea ning h ough in e ac ion and unde s anding he a ge cul u e and p o ide in e ac ion and a mo e empa he ic unde s anding, which a e also San ana-Quin ana, M. C. CLAC 73 2018: 267-278 275 impo an ac o s in a aining communica i e compe ence (Ox o d, 1990), and include ac ions o in e ac wi h o he lea ne s o na i e speake s o he language. 6. Conclusions and sugges ions In conclusion, he s udy p o ides aluable in o ma ion abou he p e e ences o LLSs o lea ning Ge man as a hi d language used by Tou ism unde g adua es a ULPGC. The esul s o his s udy show ha he pa icipan s we e medium s a egy use s and epo ed also ha me acogni i e s a egies we e he mos equen ly used, while a ec i e s a egies we e he leas equen ly used. This s udy ecommends ha eache in oduce s uden s o LLSs and ha hey s ess hei impo ance o lea ning Ge man as measu es o acili a e sel -lea ning in speci ic asks. LLSs a e use ul o imp o ing language, bu mus be ailo ed o he s uden s’ needs, so speci ic ins uc ions ha e o be gi en o s uden s o enhance hei lea ning pe o mance. The ins uc o ’s goal is o de elop a s uden ha is able o e alua e and iden i y he app op ia e s a egy ha could sol e he language lea ning ask. Fu he mo e, he ins uc o has o make su e ha s uden s a e able o ans e he s a egies ha hey ha e mas e ed o any new lea ning si ua ion (Chuin & Kau , 2015). In any case, jus one me hodology migh no se e o all he deg ee cou ses; he speci ic cha ac e is ics o he s uden s need o be bo ne in mind (Gil e al., 2009), as well a hei pe cep ions o hei use o s a egy ca ego ies. Ge man eaching in he Tou ism Deg ee cou se has ocused on communica i e compe ence and in e ac ion o acili a e mo e lexible, mo e hough ul and, abo e all mo e expe imen al lea ne beha iou . Social s a egies a e used o lea n he a ge language h ough in e ac ion wi h o he s, as well as he o he cul u e. Asking ques ion is he mos help ul and comes closes o unde s anding he meaning, and lea ne s can use social s a egies o de elop cul u al unde s anding and become awa e o he hough s and eeling o o he s (La asani & Fa yad es, 2011). In his sense, social s a egies ha e been iden i ied as aspec s o bea in mind, because hese LLSs con ibu e o he de elopmen o communica ion. Resea ch has shown ha social s a egies we e anked hi d, wi h an a e age sco e o 3.30. Fu he mo e, eache s should also aise awa eness among s uden s o social s a egies in o de o amilia ise hem, so ha he mos p e e ed language lea ning s a egies o he esponden s we e social s a egies. Consis en ly, eache s should pay a en ion o aining Ge man s uden s in he Tou ism cou se o lea n by hemsel es, bu hey mus selec he LLS mos adap ed o hei own language lea ning needs, and hey mus be augh how o use hese s a egies and make he maximum bene i o hem in he lea ning p ocess. The indings o his s udy may sugges ha eache s o Ge man as a hi d language should encou age s uden s o aise hei awa eness o social s a egies use as e ec i ely p ac ical aining in communica ion skills. These s a egies can help hem o ad ance hei communica ion compe ences, which can be imp o ed o enhance hei p o essional achie emen .