Background

The number of Russian tourists in Khanh Hoa has been increasing rapidly in the past few years, and in 2013 the number reached 270,000. The sudden increase in the number of Russian tourists who cannot communicate in another language, rather than their mother tongue, created a shortage in supply of local employees with good Russian language skills. Therefore, it is essential that training in Russian language should be organized for employees in tourism-related businesses in Khanh Hoa province so that they can better serve Russian tourists. This should make the province a more attractive destination for tourists from Russia and Russian-speaking countries.

Objectives

The Russian language courses aim to improve the competitiveness of Khanh Hoa province in tourism through training for a large number of employees in tourism-related businesses (from now on these will be referred to as learners). The learners are divided into two groups for appropriate training methodologies: the first group includes shop assistants, taxi drivers, owners of small hotels/restaurants and the second group comprises of waiters/waitresses in large restaurants, receptionists in large hotels, tour guides and civil servants working at the airport, etc.

Four training courses for the first group of learners will consist of 12 classes (120 minutes/class, 3 classes/week), and at the end of the course, learners will be able to communicate with tourists for daily basic transactions.

Two training courses for the second group of learners will last about 3 months with 30 classes (120 minutes/class, 3 classes/week). At the end of the course, learners should possess the proficiency that can help them communicate fluently with tourists in most situations at work.