The Case of English for Specific Purposes on Academic Writing Difficulties of Hospitality and Tourism Management Students

Abstract

This study assessed the case of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) on academic writing difficulties of hospitality and tourism management students. This study used a qualitative approach upon a case study design because it deals with the study of an individual language learner. This study was conducted in the second semester of the academic year 2021-2022. The respondents of this study were ten hospitality management students and ten tourism students from the College of Business and Management. The researcher used an interview guide as the main data-gathering instrument supported by documentary analysis. Content analysis was used in interpreting the gathered data. Results indicated that hospitality and tourism management students performed poorly in writing because they had low self-efficacy toward writing. The majority of the students had little courage to spell words correctly, they had little confidence to put thoughts into writing and had much fear in writing a composition. Moreover, based on documentary analysis, students struggle to organize and use writing mechanics. Students encounter numerous writing problems regarding the correct use of grammatical rules, and they find writing in a second language quite tricky.