Methodology For The Formation Of Professional Values Of The Would-Be Managers

Abstract

The issue of formation the system of professional values of the would-be hotel managers of restaurant and hotel service in the higher school' environment is quite a topical one, and theory and practice of higher education have accumulated considerable experience in this process. However, we have to admit that in modern pedagogical science no research has been so far dedicated either to the development of effective and logical system of preparing the would-be specialists of the restaurant and hotel service for professional value-oriented activity, or to the identification of optimal conditions for the functioning of such system. The statements above convinced the authors in the need to develop the respective proprietary system and the elective course, which would meet the peculiarities of the given speciality, of the requirements of the Federal State Education Standards of higher education, and of the requirements to the personality of the modern world reflected in national and international documents.

Keywords: Hotelmanagerprofessionalrestaurantservicevalue

Introduction

Encyclopaedia of Professional Education (Encyclopaedia of Professional Education, 1999) defines the “teaching methodology” concept as a branch of pedagogical science, a specific theory of teaching. This methodology is aimed at teaching a certain subject, and its objectives are to study the patterns of this process and to define the regulatory requirements for the activity of a teacher based on such patterns. The sphere of methodology includes studying purpose, content, forms, methods, and tools of teaching a certain subject.

Pedagogical Thesaurus (Kodzhaspirova, 2005) describes teaching methodology as a specific kind of didactics implying a body of ordered knowledge about principles, content, methods, tools, and forms of organizing the teaching and educational process on certain subjects ensuring the solution of the set problems.

Polonsky (2004) believes that methodology is a component of pedagogy dealing with the process of teaching a certain subject and developing the regulatory requirements for content, teaching and learning. It is embodied in the content of education (curricula and textbooks), as well as in methods, forms, and tools of teaching. In the system of pedagogical sciences, it acts as a specific kind of didactics, a theory and practice of teaching a particular subject. A distinction is made between the methodology of teaching and the methodology of education.

Problem Statement

In accordance with the purpose, hypothesis and objectives of our study, we will use the concept of methodology formulated by Galskova (2000). She believes that methodology is a theoretical and applied science aimed at establishing the scientific basis of purposes and content of teaching and learning, as well as at the development of the most effective methods, techniques, and forms of teaching, with the account of its objectives, content, and specific learning environment.

The suggested methodology is based on the academic works and views by Galskova (Galskova & Gez, 2006), based on the theoretical assumption that the process of teaching foreign languages may be viewed in both pragmatic and educational aspects. The pragmatic aspect of teaching is related to the student's acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities, which would allow them to tap into the social and cultural values of a target-language country, and to widen educational and social opportunities for their personalities. Following the views of Galskova, we believe that the implementation of educational aspect of teaching foreign languages within the suggested methodology is particularly related to the development of the ability of the would-be managers of hotel and restaurant services to somehow understand the goal and the motives of the representatives of foreign culture, and to appropriately respond to the peculiar manifestations of their verbal and non-verbal behaviour stipulated by cultural traditions and values of another community. This will enable the students to understand and to respect the values of their own culture, and to raise their moral level

Research Questions

• To analyze the current state of the term “Professional Values” based on the consideration and definition of the conceptual and categorical framework and the analysis of theoretical concepts that are strategically important for the following development of the studied questions.

To develop the methodology based on the extra course.

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study is to develop a methodology based on the thoughts of Galskova, Bystrai, Ter-Minasova, Butenko and Khodos to form the system of professional values of the would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services in the context of intercultural interaction.

Research Methods

To achieve the research aim, theoretical scientific methods are used: comparative, system, and structural types of analysis, synthesis, and pedagogical modelling. Pedagogical papers and pedagogical system in Russia, exemplified with teaching foreign languages to the students of non-language faculties is the empirical material in this paper.

Findings

The theory of intercultural learning (Bystrai, 2000) is of fundamental importance to the methodology of the formation of the system of professional values of the would-be managers of hotel and restaurant services. This methodology argues that learning languages is one of the most effective ways of spreading the educational process in the spirit of tolerance and respect, i.e., those professionally meaningful traits, which, as we believe, are an integral part of successful professional self-fulfilment of would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services. While developing this methodology we also used the concepts of linguistic and sociocultural method of teaching foreign languages (Ishkhanyan, 1996). This method appeals to social and cultural environment. Such an approach implies that learning a foreign language goes hand-in-hand with learning the country’s culture, ideas, customs, and values. This, in turn, will enable would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services to get oriented towards basic professional values, typical for the hospitality industry.

Since our study is person-centred, the suggested methodology is also based on the American technique for the development of critical thinking through reading and writing. This technique was developed by American scientists Charles Temple, Kurt Meredith, Jeannie Steele, and Donna Ogle, and by Russian researchers and practitioners Butenko and Khodos from Krasnoyarsk. The technique for the development of critical thinking is closely related to the concept of person-centred teaching and learning. In our study, we shall follow the view of the American scientists and interpret critical thinking as a manifestation of curiosity, as a formulation of a person’s own point of view on the effective management of the enterprise, their ability to justify it with logical arguments, and as a usage of research methods.

The specific feature of the suggested methodology comes to the fact that this methodology is implemented in teaching a foreign language through a comparative analysis of culture, social environment, and experience of the organization of restaurant and hotel services in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. This aims at the formation of the system of professional values of the would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services, as well as at improving profitability and competitiveness of Russian restaurants and hotels.

Choosing conversational texts as a means for implementing the suggested methodology may be justified by the structure of the language training of the would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services. This structure has certain peculiarities stipulated by the future professional activity. Here the abilities to refer to the printed sources play an important role, since it is printed matter, which helps the would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services in the situation of a rapidly changing world – thanks to it, they become acquainted with the most advanced experience in Russia and abroad on any kind issue that they might need. Besides, the profile of a management expert should include academic and information skills, where the ability to work with literary sources acts as a basic component.

Following the views of Leontiev (1970); Passov (1985); Zimnyaya (1991), we believe that a text is a product of certain mechanisms of a certain personality's speech, a linguistic product, which should meet certain psycholinguistic, linguistic, and methodological requirements.

The psychological aspect of the text ultimately comes to the fact that the text is a product of speaking and should act as a means to influence the interlocutor in a way that is necessary for the speaker. On the other hand, the text is at the same time an object of perception, and an object of semantic processing for its recipient. That is why the content of the text should represent and reflect connections and relations between different objects, include the point of view of the speaker, their assessment and attitude towards the meaningful relationships in the external world, and be emotionally charged through the lens of the speaker's personality. Here, according to the person-centred approach as a methodological basis of our study, it is necessary to take into account such things as peculiarities, spiritual needs, and desires of the would-be managers of restaurant and hotel services. The learning material should be interesting to them, that is, it should comply with the level of their intellectual and professional development, and thus evoke activity due to this.

As far as the psycholinguistic aspect is concerned, one of the basic problems with our study topic is the problem with the semantic perception of the text. In particular, it means that a would-be manager of restaurant and hotel services should understand the purpose and the main motive, and this is only possible if the text has been drawn up appropriately and intrinsically combines its external (formal) and internal (semantic) arrangement, that is, the plane of expression and the plane of content are united.

The methodological aspect implies proper arrangement of a conversational text, which, in particular, should not contain any unfamiliar speech units. The novelty is attained due to new combinations on the problems of management in a hotel or in a restaurant based on previously studied material.

The repetition of automated lexical units and grammatical material in the texts, and the inclusion of them both into the network of diverse connections is of particular importance. It is a precondition for the formation of flexible, sustainable skills, which are capable of being transferred into the speech activity. Such network of diverse connections may be created by means of a series of conversational texts with different degrees of difficulty and of various volumes (Passov, 1985). In accordance with the above statement, we think that it is feasible to draw up a series of conversational texts on the topic “System of Professional Values in the Activities of Restaurant and Hotel Managers”.

Conclusion

The suggested methodology is conceptually based on the theory of intercultural learning, the linguistic and sociocultural method of teaching foreign languages, the technique for the development of critical thinking. These concepts allow the researchers to use a comparative cross-cultural basis to form a system of professional values of the would-be managers of restaurant and hotel service. We believe that this system is one of the conditions for ensuring the modernization of the Russian hospitality industry.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia Boris Eltsyn and the South-Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University.

References

1. Bystrai, E. B. (2000). Methodological Techniques of Intercultural-Oriented Teaching of Foreign Languages. Current Issues of Linguistics, Country Study, Pedagogy and Methodology of Teaching Foreign Languages. Coll. of papers. Chelyabinsk, pp. 107–113.
2. Encyclopaedia of Professional Education. (1999). APO.
3. Galskova, N. D. (2000). Current Methodology of Teaching Foreign Languages: A guide for teachers. ARKTI.
4. Galskova, N. D., & Gez, N. I. (2006). Theory of Teaching Foreign Languages. Language Education and Methodology. Educational Guide for Students of Linguistic Faculties and Faculties of Foreign Languages of Pedagogical Higher Educational Institutions. Acad. Publ. Centre.
5. Ishkhanyan, N. B. (1996). Ways of Forming Linguistic, Social, and Cultural Competency during the Intensive Course of Learning a Foreign Language. Moscow.
6. Kodzhaspirova, G. M. (2005). Pedagogical Thesaurus: for students of pedagogical educational institutions, 2rd ed., reprint. Acad. Publ. Centre.
7. Leontiev, A. A. (1970). Certain Issues of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language. MSU Publ. House.
8. Passov, E. I. (1985). Communicative Method of Teaching Foreign Language Speaking: A Guide for Foreign Language. Prosveshcheniye.
9. Polonsky, V. M. (2004). Thesaurus on Education and Pedagogy. Vysshaya Shkola.
10. Zimnyaya, I. A. (1991). Psychology of Teaching Foreign Languages at School. Prosveshcheniye.