Elements and Performance Criteria

emails, memos and faxes
brochures and promotional material
menus and wine lists
schedules and itineraries
formal and informal letters
reservation and booking information
simple reports, such as progress and incident reports
conference programs and signage
visual and graphic materials.

signs
maps
diagrams
forms
labels
tickets.

emails, memos and faxes
letters of enquiry and complaint
letters to customers
thank you letters and invitations
response to requests for routine information
covering letters
brief reports on events, negotiated arrangements, offers and opportunities.

providing factual information on the workplace
conducting simple product and service transactions
answering queries about products and services
responding to requests for general assistance and factual information within the scope of responsibility.

general information on workplace health and safety rules
how to use simple equipment.

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:

reading comprehension skills to understand and identify the document purpose, main ideas, key issues, facts, attitude and mood in written texts in the specific language (some use of a dictionary may be made but infrequently)
appropriate linguistic knowledge and skills to communicate meaning effectively when writing documents relevant to the specific language in a particular workplace (some errors may occur in writing, provided facts are not distorted and meaning is clear)
ability to understand meaning with reasonable accuracy when reading texts related to straightforward everyday situations, in order to respond or take action according to the business of a particular workplace
ability to read and write the script relating to routine workplace information needs in a particular language (including alphabet, syllable and character-based languages) specific to the business requirements of a particular workplace.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

operational conditions of a tourism or hospitality customer service environment
that the person being assessed is undertaking typical tourism or hospitality workplace activities such as providing quotations, issuing itineraries and vouchers, issuing letters, processing reservations while reading and writing in the language being assessed
provision of services to customers within typical workplace time constraints
use of relevant and current tourism and hospitality materials and equipment, such as timetables, brochures, rate schedules and menus
use of relevant and current office equipment such as computers, faxes and email facilities

use of resources which would be commonly used to assist workplace written communication, including:

dictionaries
maps
pamphlets
menus
tour brochures.

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:

written testing of written language use (note: this should not be the sole method of assessment)
written and oral questioning or interview to test the candidate's ability to read and interpret workplace documents written in a language other than English in a customer service environment
review of samples of written communications translated by the candidate
review of samples of workplace written communications prepared by the candidate
review of project activities that simulate the application of reading and writing in a customer service activity
written and oral questioning or interview to test knowledge of the culture, social and cultural conventions and cross-cultural communication requirements associated with the language
written and oral questioning or interview to test linguistic knowledge, generic structure and other specific language features, such as vocabulary and sentence structure
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:

SITTTSL006A Prepare quotations
SITTTSL009A Process travel-related documentation.

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.