Anna Helm | The George Washington University (original) (raw)
Papers by Anna Helm
Capital Cities and Urban Sustainability, 2019
Education for Sustainable Development in Foreign Language Learning, 2021
Global Business Languages, 2014
Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention t... more Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention to how to teach sustainability across the curriculum. The business language course, positioned at the nexus of business and the humanities, is the ideal environment for bringing to bear perspectives from multiple disciplines on questions around sustainability. This article examines the notion of “sustainability pedagogies” framed within three key aspects of sustainability education noted in the scholarship: interdisciplinarity, transformative learning, and experiential learning. In each of these areas, we provide an example of how the sustainability pedagogies can be implemented in business language courses.
The authors would like to thank Roric McCorristin, who provided invaluable assistance in developi... more The authors would like to thank Roric McCorristin, who provided invaluable assistance in developing the course and short-term study abroad program described in this article. His extensive knowledge and experience working in the area of sustainability contributed enormously to make both the course and program a success. We were grateful for his eagerness to share contacts and set up site visits in Germany. Special thanks go to his contacts in Germany who took extra time with us and our students: Andreas Wieg (Deutscher Genossenschafts-und Raiffeisenverband e.V.), Micha Jost (Energiegenossenschaft Starkenburg), and Christopher Holzem (Bürgerwerke). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support for crossdisciplinary business language/culture innovations by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the George Washington University.
Global Business Languages, 2020
This paper presents a cross-disciplinary project in which business German and international marke... more This paper presents a cross-disciplinary project in which business German and international marketing management students were teamed up to complete work for a real client. Each team developed a proposal for a new marketing and communications strategy for a non-profit organization focused on the German language and cultures. We first examine real-client projects as a subcomponent of experiential learning, with benefits highlighted in the secondary literature including the opportunity for students to apply their course-gained knowledge and skills and to interact with local communities, which lends purpose and authenticity to their classroom learning. We then present our cross-disciplinary version of a real-client project, outlined in four phases with specific tasks, deliverables, and goals. Project outcomes demonstrate the ways in which the real-client project allowed students to apply content knowledge and skills from their respective fields, while supporting peer-to-peer learning w...
Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 2013
An effective way to teach about sustainability and environmentally conscious practices in German ... more An effective way to teach about sustainability and environmentally conscious practices in German language, literature, and culture programs is within the context of a business German course. In this article we first situate educational sustainability in the US, leading into an examination of why the context of German business can be particularly productive for teaching sustainability along with aspects of recent and current German history and culture. We then present a unit focused on “green” business, starting with a general introduction to the topic and migrating into the specific area of Oko-Mode: organic, fair-trade clothing. The “green business unit” described here culminates in a business case as classroom task, featuring a small German eco-fashion company called LaissezFair. The unit further engages students through the use of a variety of media for comprehension and introspection and critical reflection of their behavior as environmentally conscious consumers in our globalized society.
Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention t... more Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention to how to teach sustainability across the curriculum. The business language course, positioned at the nexus of business and the humanities, is the ideal environment for bringing to bear perspectives from multiple disciplines on questions around sustainability. This article examines the notion of “sustainability pedagogies ” framed within three key aspects of sustainability education noted in the scholarship: interdisciplinarity, transfor-mative learning, and experiential learning. In each of these areas, we provide an example of how the sustainability pedagogies can be implemented in business language courses.
Capital Cities and Urban Sustainability, 2019
Education for Sustainable Development in Foreign Language Learning, 2021
Global Business Languages, 2014
Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention t... more Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention to how to teach sustainability across the curriculum. The business language course, positioned at the nexus of business and the humanities, is the ideal environment for bringing to bear perspectives from multiple disciplines on questions around sustainability. This article examines the notion of “sustainability pedagogies” framed within three key aspects of sustainability education noted in the scholarship: interdisciplinarity, transformative learning, and experiential learning. In each of these areas, we provide an example of how the sustainability pedagogies can be implemented in business language courses.
The authors would like to thank Roric McCorristin, who provided invaluable assistance in developi... more The authors would like to thank Roric McCorristin, who provided invaluable assistance in developing the course and short-term study abroad program described in this article. His extensive knowledge and experience working in the area of sustainability contributed enormously to make both the course and program a success. We were grateful for his eagerness to share contacts and set up site visits in Germany. Special thanks go to his contacts in Germany who took extra time with us and our students: Andreas Wieg (Deutscher Genossenschafts-und Raiffeisenverband e.V.), Micha Jost (Energiegenossenschaft Starkenburg), and Christopher Holzem (Bürgerwerke). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support for crossdisciplinary business language/culture innovations by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the George Washington University.
Global Business Languages, 2020
This paper presents a cross-disciplinary project in which business German and international marke... more This paper presents a cross-disciplinary project in which business German and international marketing management students were teamed up to complete work for a real client. Each team developed a proposal for a new marketing and communications strategy for a non-profit organization focused on the German language and cultures. We first examine real-client projects as a subcomponent of experiential learning, with benefits highlighted in the secondary literature including the opportunity for students to apply their course-gained knowledge and skills and to interact with local communities, which lends purpose and authenticity to their classroom learning. We then present our cross-disciplinary version of a real-client project, outlined in four phases with specific tasks, deliverables, and goals. Project outcomes demonstrate the ways in which the real-client project allowed students to apply content knowledge and skills from their respective fields, while supporting peer-to-peer learning w...
Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 2013
An effective way to teach about sustainability and environmentally conscious practices in German ... more An effective way to teach about sustainability and environmentally conscious practices in German language, literature, and culture programs is within the context of a business German course. In this article we first situate educational sustainability in the US, leading into an examination of why the context of German business can be particularly productive for teaching sustainability along with aspects of recent and current German history and culture. We then present a unit focused on “green” business, starting with a general introduction to the topic and migrating into the specific area of Oko-Mode: organic, fair-trade clothing. The “green business unit” described here culminates in a business case as classroom task, featuring a small German eco-fashion company called LaissezFair. The unit further engages students through the use of a variety of media for comprehension and introspection and critical reflection of their behavior as environmentally conscious consumers in our globalized society.
Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention t... more Heightened urgency about the question of the earth’s survival has generated increased attention to how to teach sustainability across the curriculum. The business language course, positioned at the nexus of business and the humanities, is the ideal environment for bringing to bear perspectives from multiple disciplines on questions around sustainability. This article examines the notion of “sustainability pedagogies ” framed within three key aspects of sustainability education noted in the scholarship: interdisciplinarity, transfor-mative learning, and experiential learning. In each of these areas, we provide an example of how the sustainability pedagogies can be implemented in business language courses.