Back in business! Professional German(s) at Rhodes College

• Published in: Die Unterrichtspraxis Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 47 - 51
• Main Authors: Morais, Nina, Holihan, Kathryn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cherry Hill American Association of Teachers of German, Inc 01.03.2024
• Subjects: Careers; Curricula; Engineers; Experiential Learning; German language; Gig economy; Language Skills; Learning; Portfolios; Professionals; Professions; School Holding Power; Student Interests; Student retention; Germany
• DOI: 10.1111/tger.12279
• ISSN: 0042-062X

At Rhodes College, a small liberal arts institution in midtown Memphis, German majors and minors are required to take the course "German in the Professional and Business World," which is the fifth-semester German course in the program sequence and corresponds to standard proficiency guidelines for advanced-low (B2.1) language learners. [...]of such changes, the German program at Rhodes has seen improved results in both student retention and enrollment. By way of such authentic encounters, students employ their language skills to interact with guests, discover a diversity of career paths, and realize the role of German in professional development. [...]the revised course "German in the Professional and Business World" adopts traditional features of the business German curriculum, complementing them with experiential learning opportunities, which in turn transforms theoretical representations of the German professional world into hands-on, actionable encounters with German speakers at home and abroad. In this iteration, students also visited a prominent Memphis brewery, where they met Fabian B., a German-born and trained cellar manager and head of quality assurance and control.