TOUR GUIDING CONVERSATIONS: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THEM?

Gusti Astika

Abstract

This research presents conversations between guides and tourists during
guiding tours. The data were taken from a larger research on tasks in tour guiding,
collected from observations of several tours. The conversations were discussed in terms
of how the guide and the tourist developed the topics of the conversations. This paper also
analyses problems in the conversations using the framework from Varonis and Gass
(1985). They suggest that problems in communication can be identified by looking at the
‘trigger’ and the ‘indicator’ of problems in conversations. The analysis of the conversations
indicated that the guide and the tourist in their conversations were actively
engaged in the topic. They gave opinions, contributed to the conversations, and provided
information to the topic. The analysis also indicated that there were four types of
indicators of communication problems: (1) explicit questions, (2) clarification requests,
(3) confirmation checks, and (4) rephrasing.

Keywords

trigger; indicator; communication; communication problem

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References

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Associates.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/paedagogia.v11i1.35988

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