Elements and Performance Criteria

formal contracts for provision of conference services, meeting and event activities and venues, tour and guiding services, accommodation and international marketing activities
business arrangements involving tours, travel arrangements, restaurant, food and beverage services, entertainment and shopping
selling tourism products and services and agreeing to a price
agreeing to a purchase price from a supplier
solving customer or colleague complaints or resolving conflict.

guiding and interpreting activities
presentations at conferences
meetings and sales presentations
instructing and training
promotional activities
providing complex information on products and services.

humour
non-verbal communication
audience participation
demonstrations and visual aids.

formal and informal meetings
interacting with tourists
conferences, presentations, meetings and seminars
trade fairs, promotions, marketing activities and business tours
international meetings and exhibitions
promotional tours
staff professional development activities relevant to the specific language and culture
accompanying customers or colleagues to dinner
workplace-related social activities.

factual and personal information
instructions and arrangements
information about meetings, events, tours and places of interest
information about products, services, facilities, options, advice and costs.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

There are three critical considerations for the assessment of this unit:

This unit can be used to assess basic oral proficiency in any language other than English. Assessment must be customised to the requirements of a particular language.
Assessment should not only focus on the language being assessed but must also incorporate the practical customer service requirements of the tourism or hospitality industry, i.e. the assessment of language must be conducted while the candidate is carrying out typical tourism or hospitality vocational activities.
This unit can apply to any tourism and hospitality sector, workplace and circumstance. Assessment activities must ensure that the use of a specific language is contextualised and linked to vocational activities which are relevant to the particular tourism or hospitality sector and workplace. For example, if assessment is linked to restaurant service, language usage should relate to a restaurant.

Evidence of the following is essential:

ability to interact, establish and maintain rapport with customers in a language other than English
use of a range of language functions appropriate to negotiating in the workplace, conducting presentations, and participating in social and cultural activities according to the needs of a particular workplace (rare linguistic errors may occur)
ability to use a range of extended non-verbal communication skills effectively, as well as verbal skills such as narrative and descriptive statements
ability to use repetition, clarification and paraphrasing techniques to clarify requirements, solve problems and conflict, and reassure customers and colleagues.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

operational conditions of a tourism or hospitality business environment
that the person being assessed is undertaking typical tourism or hospitality workplace activities, such as making presentations, presenting tour commentary, selling tourism products and services, or dealing with complex issues while using the language being assessed
use of relevant and current tourism and hospitality materials and equipment, such as brochures, menus, presentation equipment and microphones for commentary delivery.

use of resources commonly used to assist workplace communication, including:

maps
pamphlets
tour brochures
cost sheets
rate information.

Methods of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

oral testing of conversational language use (note: this should not be the sole method of assessment)
direct observation of the candidate communicating in a language other than English
review of role-play activities that simulate simultaneous language use and customer service activity
written and oral questioning or interview to test knowledge of the functions of the language, culture, social and cultural conventions and cross-cultural communication requirements
review of portfolios of evidence and third-party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate.

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:

SITTGDE004A Lead tour groups
SITTGDE006A Prepare and present tour commentaries or activities
SITXCOM005A Make presentations
SITXMGT006A Establish and conduct business relationships.

Assessing employability skills
Employability skills are integral to effective performance in the workplace and are broadly consistent across industry sectors. How these skills are applied varies between occupations and qualifications due to the different work functions and contexts.
Employability skills embedded in this unit should be assessed holistically with other relevant units that make up the skill set or qualification and in the context of the job role.