This study examines Korean tourists' experience of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in overseas travel using grounded theory. The data is based on semi-structured interviews with 17 South Korean tourists, and the analysis using paradigm theory demonstrated 146 concepts, 29 subcategories, 11 main categories, and a core category entitled ‘enhancing the quality of tourism experiences and the motivation for English learning through effective communicative accommodation’ regarding ELF. The findings show that despite their awareness of the growing role of ELF, participants had concerns about using English in overseas travel and had experienced language barriers. However, these were mainly caused by different linguistic expression (dialects, accents) among speakers, not from using English per se. To overcome miscommunication, participants employ diverse strategies, which contribute to enhancing the quality of tourist experiences and raising the motivation for learning English. The study makes theoretical and practical recommendations to promote effective intercultural communication between tourists and hosts for sustainable destination management.

本研究利用扎根理论考察了韩国游客在海外旅行中将英语作为通用语言 (ELF) 的体验。该数据基于对17名韩国游客的半结构化访谈，并使用范式理论进行分析，展示了146个概念、29个子类别、11个主要类别以及题为“提高旅游体验质量和英语学习动机”的核心类别通过关于 ELF 的有效沟通调节。调查结果显示，尽管参与者意识到 ELF 的作用日益增强，但他们对在海外旅行中使用英语感到担忧，并且遇到了语言障碍。然而，这些主要是由于说话者之间不同的语言表达（方言、口音）造成的，而不是由于英语本身的使用造成的。为了克服沟通不畅的情况，参与者采用多样化的策略，有助于提高旅游体验的质量并提高学习英语的动力。该研究提出了理论和实践建议，以促进游客和东道主之间有效的跨文化交流，实现可持续的目的地管理。