**Speaking Pack: Hotel Front Desk Job Interview – "Tell me about yourself"** **1. PACK SUMMARY** Situation: a job interview for a hotel front desk position, answering "Tell me about yourself." Tone: polite, clear, and focused. Interviewers want short, relevant answers, so every sentence connects your experience to working with hotel guests. Script length: 76 words, about 38 seconds at 120 words per minute. **2. SELF-INTRODUCTION SCRIPT** Hello, I'm Minh. I've worked at a busy café in Ho Chi Minh City for three years. I take orders, make drinks, and handle payments. I speak Vietnamese and English. I often help tourists with the menu. I stay calm when there are many customers. Last year, I finished a six-month hotel service course. Now, I want to work with international guests. That's why I'm interested in this front desk position. Thank you for your time. **3. TRANSLATION** Xin chào, tôi là Minh. Tôi đã làm việc tại một quán cà phê đông khách ở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh được ba năm. Tôi nhận gọi món, pha chế đồ uống và xử lý thanh toán. Tôi nói tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh. Tôi thường giúp khách du lịch về thực đơn. Tôi giữ bình tĩnh khi có đông khách. Năm ngoái, tôi đã hoàn thành một khóa học dịch vụ khách sạn kéo dài sáu tháng. Bây giờ, tôi muốn làm việc với khách quốc tế. Đó là lý do tôi quan tâm đến vị trí lễ tân này. Cảm ơn anh/chị đã dành thời gian. **4. DELIVERY MARKS** HELLO, / I'm MINH. I've worked at a busy CAFÉ / in Ho Chi Minh CITY / for THREE years. I take ORDERS, / make DRINKS, / and handle PAYMENTS. I speak VIETNAMESE / and ENGLISH. I often help TOURISTS / with the MENU. I stay CALM / when there are MANY customers. Last YEAR, / I finished a six-month HOTEL service course. NOW, / I want to work with international GUESTS. That's WHY / I'm interested in this front DESK position. THANK you / for your TIME. Intonation notes: Your voice should fall at the end of each full statement, on MINH, THREE years, GUESTS, and TIME. A clear fall makes you sound sure and finished. After the last stressed word, keep the voice low on the words that follow. For example, in "a six-month HOTEL service course," the voice falls on HOTEL and stays low on "service course." In the list "ORDERS, DRINKS, and PAYMENTS," the voice usually rises a little on ORDERS and DRINKS, which tells the listener more is coming. Then it falls on PAYMENTS to show the list is finished. You could also let the voice fall on each item. This sounds slower and more careful, and it's fine in an interview too. "HELLO" can go either way. A small rise sounds warm and friendly. A fall sounds more formal and calm. Both work at a hotel interview. "Last YEAR," and "NOW," should rise slightly because the sentence isn't finished yet. **5. FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS** *Why do you want to work in a hotel?* I like meeting people from different countries. I want to use my English every day and help guests have a good stay. *How do you handle an angry guest?* First, I listen carefully and stay calm. Then I say sorry and try to fix the problem quickly. If I can't fix it, I ask my manager for help. *What did you learn in your hotel service course?* I learned how to welcome guests and how to talk to them politely. I also learned about check-in and check-out. *What are your strengths?* I'm calm and patient, even when it's very busy. I'm also friendly, and I can speak English with guests. *Can you work early mornings, nights, or weekends?* Yes, I can. At the café, I'm used to busy times, so I'm happy to work different shifts. Change these sample answers so they match your real life. Only say things that are true for you. **6. WATCH-OUT WORDS** *worked* (in "I've worked") Common mistake: Vietnamese speakers often drop the ending and say "I work." Some add an extra syllable and say "work-ed." Both change the meaning or sound unnatural. How to say it: "worked" is one syllable, and the ending sounds like /t/. First, lift the back of your tongue and press it against the soft back part of the roof of your mouth for /k/. Then move the tip of your tongue up to the hard ridge just behind your upper front teeth for /t/. Before "at," you can link the /t/ into the next word, so it sounds like "work-tat." *three* (in "three years") Common mistake: In Vietnamese, the letters "th" make a strong /t/ sound with a puff of air, so many speakers say "tree" or "sree." How to say it: Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth, or just touching the back of your upper front teeth. Blow air out between your tongue and your teeth. Your voice is off for this sound. Then move straight to /r/. Lift the tip of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth, but don't touch it, and round your lips a little. *guests* (in "international guests") Common mistake: Many speakers drop the last sounds and say "guest" or "gues." The final /sts/ sounds are hard because Vietnamese words don't end with groups of consonants. How to say it: Start with /g/. Press the back of your tongue against the soft back part of the roof of your mouth, with your voice on. For /s/, hold the tip of your tongue close to the ridge behind your upper teeth, leaving a small gap so air hisses through. For /t/, press the tip of your tongue on that ridge to stop the air. For the last /s/, drop the tip slightly to open the small gap again and let the air hiss out. Say it slowly at first, "gues-t-s," then faster. **7. SELF-CHECK** Record yourself saying the script, then listen back and check these points. 1. In "I've worked at," do you hear a short /t/ sound joining "worked" to "at," like "work-tat"? Or does it sound like "I work at"? 2. In "for THREE years," does "three" start with a soft hiss of air? Or does it sound like "tree"? 3. Is there a clear pause after "Last year,"? Is "HOTEL" louder and longer than "service course"? 4. At the end of "international guests," can you hear the /s/ hiss after the /t/? Or does the word stop at "guest"?