Abstract:

Globalization has emphasized the notion that we live in a mutually dependent world where problems have an impact not only on a local but on a global context. Raising individuals’ awareness of their role as global citizens constitutes an educational challenge that education systems around the world must be able to address.

Recent research has addressed the possibility and importance of developing a global citizenship education in English Language Teaching contexts, particularly due to its curriculum flexibility and cross-cultural nature. This is particularly relevant what concerns to tourism and hospitality students as they should prepare to deal with a wide range of nationalities and cultures.

The integration and development of some contents and learning objectives of global citizenship in the specialized context of English for Tourism and Hospitality will depend on the identification of commonalities between both, without compromising the search for satisfaction of the needs identified when designing the curricular unit. Considering that tourism is a sector of activity with impacts of various kinds, which may have repercussions both locally and globally, it is possible to identify several thematic contents that facilitate the integration of Global Citizenship Education in the specific context of English for Tourism and Hospitality.

In this work, we aim to present the English for Tourism and Hospitality class as an ideal context to integrate the teaching and learning of some global citizenship educational goals, especially concerning the possibility of the development of intercultural competence.

Keywords:

English for Tourism and Hospitality Purposes, Global Citizenship Education, English Language Teaching.