Contribution to Deliverable 7 (WP3) - uni-tuebingen.de

Contribution to Deliverable 7 (WP3)

PRACTICE ENTERPRISE PEDAGOGY,

LANGUAGE LEARNING & EDUCATIONAL ICT

National Report: Germany

Andreas Glombitza (University of Tübingen)

[[email protected]]

March 2010

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

PELLIC – Practice Enterprise for Language Learning & Intercultural Communication

© PELLIC, March 2010

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CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 2 2. MAIN FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Introduction to the three cases analyses ............................................................................ 3

2.2 Vocational Education (public) ............................................................................................. 3

2.3 Secondary education (public) ............................................................................................. 6

2.4 Special and supportive vocational education ...................................................................... 8

2.5 Analysis of student data ...................................................................................................... 9 3. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................................... 15 4. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 16



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NATIONAL REPORT ON PRACTICE ENTERPRISE PEDAGOGY, LANGUAGE LEARNING AND

EDUCATIONAL ICT IN GERMANY

1. INTRODUCTION

This report presents the results of a survey conducted in the context of the PELLIC project. The

data is based on the two online questionnaires and additional interviews. One of the

questionnaires was administered to students working in practice enterprises all over Germany,

the other, more comprehensive one to teachers from three educational institutions who use PE

pedagogy in their teaching.

After some general observations on the use of PE methodology in Germany, this report will

present three case studies from different types of educational institutions, focusing on the role of

ICT and language learning in PE contexts, as well as teaching practices in the institutions

selected: the general setup of the PE project, purpose and development of PE activities within

the curricula, assessment practices, user satisfaction with the method and an evaluation of its

efficiency. The following section complements this with a perspective of students who are

currently engaged in a PE company.

According to the EUROPEN affiliate in Germany, “Zentralstelle des Deutschen

ÜbungsFirmenRings” in Essen, there are around 600 practice enterprises currently operating in

Germany. The contexts of use of PE pedagogy in Germany seem to be primarily in vocational

and continuing education, such as public and private business schools, adult education centers

(Volkshochschule), as well as other institutions, such as church-sponsored special education

centers. It is also used to some extent by secondary schools (Gymnasium). The three case

analyses presented in this report concern public vocational education, a secondary school and

a special/supportive education center. In the first and the third case, the Übungsfirmenring

provides special, commercial framework services for the practice enterprises, such as virtual

bank accounts, and provides a database for the PE companies to find PE “business partners”.

In the second case, the PE project is part of an entrepreneur contest sponsored by the federal

ministry for education and research.



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1. MAIN FINDINGS

2.1 Introduction to the three cases analyses

The institutions selected for the teacher survey are: Berufsschulzentrum Leonberg, Zweites

Städtisches Gymnasium Rottenburg and Diakonische Jugendhilfe Region Heilbronn e.V. The

Berufschulzentrum Leonberg is a public vocational school center with a broad range of business

oriented curricula and trades in its portfolio. The Zweites Städtisches Gymnasium Rottenburg is

a public secondary school offering CLIL (content and language integrated learning). The

Diakonische Jugendhilfe Region Heilbronn e.V. is a private institution sponsored by the

Lutheran church, offering the “BaE integrativ & kooperativ” program for youths with learning

disabilities and social disadvantages. The student survey was administered to all practice firms

in the German Europen network. The analysis of student responses complements the case

studies with a broader outlook on PE practice.

2.2 Vocational Education (public)

a. Introduction

The Leonberger Schulzentrum is a large center with over 3000 vocational students, offering a

diversity of business oriented curricula and trades. The informant for the survey is a teacher in

the business department who specialized in Practice Enterprise pedagogy when the school

administration decided to introduce the methodology into the curriculum. Together with a

colleague, she is organizing the school’s permanent two practice enterprises. The survey was

conducted online. Additionally, an extensive on-site interview was conducted. The informant’s

teaching experience is over 10 years, and she has been using PE methodology for

approximately 5 years (when the school administration decided to introduce PE methodology

into the curriculum).

b. Analysis of the teacher data

ICT

ICT is being used at the Leonberger Schulzentrum in the form of emailing and Microsoft Office

applications, as well as an accountancy program. Learning platform or online communication

tools are not being used.

Language Learning

At the Leonberger Schulzentrum, language learning is not part of the curriculum in which PE

activities are used. English is being taught, but as a separate subject, as well as Business

German.

PE pedagogy

The use of PE pedagogy at the Leonberger Schulzentrum is very strongly focused on

Accountancy & Finance. Practice Enterprise methodology is integrated into the curriculum as

one of three obligatory subjects (Wahlpflichtfach) for second year students, the other two

subject choices being Economic Geography and a traditional-style Accountancy & Finance

course. It is interesting to note that students in the PE-courses, according to the informant, tend

to show better performance than those in the traditional course on Accountancy and Finance in



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the final written test (which is the same for both courses), and also seem to enjoy advantages

when entering the job market.

Classroom size is between 20 and 30 students. A PE project takes a complete school year.

Resources needed for the PE project include a dedicated meeting room with flipcharts,

PCs/Laptops for internet use and emailing as well as Microsoft Office applications, but there is

no use of online communication tools, blogs or a virtual learning environment. Blackboards are

not needed. Tasks within the PE project are generally carried out as team work activity or

individual activity (no information given about group size and composition of teams). The most

prominent reason for using PE methodology is, according to the informant, “to link theory with

practice”, followed by “to strengthen organisational skills”. The full ranking is:

1. to link theory with practice

2. to strengthen organisational skills

3. to strengthen leadership

4. to strengthen critical analysis

5. to strengthen communication skills

6. to strengthen team work

PE methodology is being used as a relatively minor part within the overall curriculum (0-20%).

Guided tasks are mixed with more open/creative ones within the PE project. The main

outcomes of the project are written records, mainly the documents involved in buying and

selling products (offer, order, etc.). The project is very closely monitored (80-100%) by the

teachers. They provide oral feedback from their assessments, which is provided every week at

a roundtable with all members of the PE project. The assessment is provided by the teachers

only, there are no project tutors and no mentor companies involved. Peer feedback is not used

systematically in the assessment process. The assessment is carried out mainly based on

competencies, followed by written skills. The full ranking is:

1. based on competences

2. based on written skills

3. based on oral skills

Asked for the importance of communication practices within the PE project, the informant

mentioned that it was generally more difficult getting students to doing phone calls or writing

less formalized emails and letters when interacting with other PE companies. The PE

companies themselves, when a school years ends, are taken over by the next course. The

bookkeeping records are usually set back to zero.

The rating for satisfaction with PE methodology is at 3. The relation between effort and outcome

is also rated at 3. The informant mentioned in the interview that when she started the project,

the time investment had been exceedingly high, but that at the present the additional workload

generated by the methodology was acceptable. She also stressed that the additional practical

qualification is seen as an advantage by employers, so that in her impression, students who

chose the PE Accountancy & Finance class enjoy better chances of being hired.



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c. Conclusion

The use of PE methodology at the Berufschulzentrum Leonberg is focused primarily on

technical aspects of the subject taught, such as correct bookkeeping. Language learning is not

generally integrated into these activities. Business interactions only occasionally transcend

national boundaries. The use of ICT is moderate and includes mainly email as a medium of less

formal exchange among practice enterprises. The observation by the informant that students

tend to have difficulties with less formal interactions such as telephone calls clearly

demonstrates the need for support from a communicative perspective, such as the learning and

support modules that are being developed in the context of PELLIC.



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2.3 Secondary education (public)

a. Introduction

The Zweites Städtisches Gymnasium Rottenburg is a secondary school with less than 1000

students. The informant is a teacher applicant (Referendar) at the Gymnasium, a public

secondary school. He answered the online survey. An additional telephone interview was

conducted for additional information. The teacher’s experience in using PE methodology, as

well as in teaching in general, is less than five years.


ICT

ICT is currently being applied in the school in the form of Internet usage. For this purpose, the

school has set up a dedicated “media room”. There are, however, plans to also introduce the

learning platform Moodle. The LMS Moodle is currently hosted and supported by the

Landesbildungsserver, an initiative by the Landesinstitut für Schulentwicklung Baden-

Württemberg (state institute for school development Baden-Württemberg), which offers a variety

of e-learning services for public schools.

Language Learning

The Gymnasium has recently introduced CLIL (content and language integrated learning).

Currently, Geography and Biology are being offered in English. Language teaching is not part of

the PE project, which is being conducted as part of the subject Wirtschaftskunde (economy).

Apart from that, the curriculum also includes English as a subject, but not English for special

purposes.

PE pedagogy

The PE project at the institution is carried out in the context of a practice-enterprise online

contest (“Jugend gründet”) sponsored by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

(Federal ministry for education and research). It is conducted entirely within Wirtschaftskunde

(economy), an obligatory subject (Wahlpflichtfach) in the 12th grade (one year prior to

graduation). The project takes between 3 and 4 weeks (one teaching unit). The teaching time

used for the project is between 0 and 20%. The average classroom size is between 20 and 30

students. Resources needed for the PE project include blackboards, PCs/Laptops for internet

use and emailing as well as Microsoft Office applications and online communication tools, but

not flipcharts, dedicated meeting rooms or blogs. The “Jugend gründet” contest website offers

VLE functionality (“virtual campus”), including learning modules, the possibility to contact a

“mentor” and an “avatar”, i.e. an animated chatbot.

PE methodology, according to the informant, is being used primarily “to strengthen

communication skills”, followed by “to link theory with practice”. The full ranking is:








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The PE activity is only used as a minor part of the overall curriculum (0-20%) and takes

between 6 and 15 hours of class time. Tasks within the project are being carried out exclusively

as team work, with teams consisting of 3 to 5 students. No information is given regarding mixed

teams. The tasks that are being used comprise guided as well as open/creative ones. The

outcome expected from the PE project is mainly oral presentations, as well as a written

document that is handed in for the contest via the “Jugend gründet” website. The project is only

monitored to an extent of 20-40%. Students are, however, provided with assessment including

oral feedback on their oral presentations, in every session. The feedback is provided by the

subject teacher as well as peers. For the contest, the PE business plan is being evaluated

externally by a jury. The in-school evaluation is based on competences first, then written and

oral skills. The full ranking is:




Satisfaction with the use of PE methodology is rated 4 out of 5, with the explanation that

“sometimes there is lack of motivation resulting from students failing to take the simulation

seriously”. The relationship between effort and outcome is also rated at 4 of 5, the explanation

being that “there is a high effort involved familiarizing teacher and students with the method, but

this is balanced by high efficiency in learning outcome”. In the phone interview, the informant

also mentioned that he perceives the method as especially useful for fostering presentation

skills and team work competences.

c. Conclusion

The use of PE methodology at the Zweites Städtisches Gymnasium Rottenburg is clearly

distinct from the other two cases examined. The ZUEF is not involved, and the duration of the

whole project is generally shorter. The focus of the “Jugend gründet” contest is on creating a

businessplan and then engaging in a simulation of, according to the website, “the first eight

years of the company”. The “Jugend gründet” website offers some VLE functionality, as well as

support in the form of online learning modules. It provides the possibility of interaction, but only

with the mentors and a chatbot, not with other PE companies. This lack of interaction with “real”

participants would explain the observation made by the informant that it is difficult to keep up

students’ motivation by making them take the simulation seriously (rather than seeing it as a

complex computer game). The PELLIC VLE will be designed to support networking and

interaction among PE companies, in order to create a context that is more easily authenticable

by students.



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2.4 Special and supportive vocational education

a. Introduction

The Diakonische Jugendhilfe Region Heilbronn e.V. is an incorporated church-sponsored

society offering the “BaE integrative & kooperativ” program for youths with learning disabilities

and/or social disadvantages for whom it is especially difficult to find a regular (company based)

apprenticeship. The aim of the program is the integration of students into a regular

apprenticeship after 2 or 3 years within the program. The informant is a teacher who filled out

the online questionnaire. The teacher’s experience is between 5 and 10 years, and she has

been using PE methodology for less than 5 years.


ICT

ICT is applied via Internet usage, E-mailing and Microsoft Office applications. There is no use of

a virtual learning environment, online communication tools or Blogs.

Language Learning

Language Learning is not integrated into the PE activities. English is taught as a separate

subject. The institution offers integration courses for immigrants (German), but no English

language courses for special purposes.

PE pedagogy

Two subjects get involved in the PE project: Business & Economy and Accountancy & Finance.

PE methodology is only being used in these compulsory subjects. The PE project takes up 60-

80% of the teaching time. The number of students in the classroom is around 15. The facilities

needed for the PE project include meeting rooms, blackboards, flipcharts, as well as PCs or

Laptops for internet and email and Microsoft Office applications. Blogs, online communication

tools or a virtual learning environment are not seen as necessary resources. The most

important reason for using PE methodology is, according to the informant, “to link theory with

practice”, followed by “to strengthen organisational skills”. The full ranking is:







PE activities take up a large share of the curriculum (80-100%), and a PE project typically takes

30 to 60 hours. Social configurations during PE activities include team work and pair work, as

well as individual work. Workgroups consist of 3 to 5 students. The teams are mixed.

The range of tasks in the context of the PE project includes guided as well as open/creative

tasks. The outcomes expected from the PE projects are the completion of the assigned

business interactions, as well as written documents, oral presentations and a debate. The

project is being very closely monitored (80-100%). The mode of assessment is primarily based

on competences. The ranking is:



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The informant gave no further information regarding the assessment of PE activites. The rating

regarding satisfaction with the use of PE methodology is 3 out of 5. The reason given is that

“authenticity in simulating the relationship between supplier and customer is somewhat limited”.

The evaluation of effort related to outcome is 4 out of 5, with the reason that “basic business

interactions can be reconstructed in a good way and it is possible to model the interaction of

theory and practice. Setting up a PE company does not entail much organizational effort, due to

the services of the ZUEF”.

c. Conclusion

The use of PE methodology at the Diakonische Jugendhilfe Region Heilbronn e.V. is clearly

informed by the aim of the program, which is to get students into a regular apprenticeship. A

particularly high importance is thus placed on “linking theory with practice” and the immediate

applicability of knowledge, as the program works as a temporary substitute of a regular

company-based apprenticeship.

2.5 Analysis of student data

The survey for students has been answered by 47 students working in PE companies supported

by the ZUEF. All of the respondents are from tertiary education contexts, mainly public and

private business schools, but also continuing education.

About a quarter of the respondents are also learning English in their curricula, other languages

are not represented to an appreciable extent (there is one mentioning each of French, Spanish

and Italian).

No77%

Yes23%

Is learning English part of your curriculum?

Concerning the subjects that get involved in the PE project, there is a clear dominance of

business-related subjects (Business Management, Marketing, Economics, Accountancy,



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International Trade, Human Resources), but PE seems to be used to some extent for teaching

foreign languages (17%).

17% 15%

38%

23% 23% 26%

34%

28%

2%

In what subjects is Practice Enterprise methodology applied?

(multiple answers possible)

The most important resources needed for the PE project appear to be PCs or Laptops, in

combination with an emailing system and office applications. Virtual learning environment,

online communication tools such as Skype, and blogs, however, are mentioned to a significantly

lesser extent. Special rooms for meetings are needed by roughly one fifth, flipcharts are seen as

necessary by only 13% of the respondents.



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21%

13%

32%

26% 26%

9%

6%

2%

What resources do you need for the PE project?(multiple answers possible)

The use of PE activities does appear to imply some measure of increased workload for around

half of the respondents, but the increase is not evaluated as extreme.

111%

211%

333%

439%

56%

To what extent does the use of PE activities entail an increase of work load for students?

Please rate from 1 to 5, being 1 the lowest grade and 5 the highest one.

The work involved in these activities is predominantly developed during classroom time (57%)

or as a combination of both classroom and free time (29%). 14% of the respondents develop

the PE activities exclusively in their free time. Four fifths of the respondents always, usually, or



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occasionally get feedback from the assessment of PE activities. 17% of them rarely get

feedback from assessment.

Always 41%

Usually17%

Sometimes25%

Seldom17%

Never0%

Do you get feedback from assessment of PE activities?

The average number of teachers involved in the assessment is 3. The average level of

satisfaction with the use of PE methodology by students is 3,75 out of 5. These are some of the

positive aspects mentioned by respondents:

- PE methodology provides an opportunity for “independent learning”

- In a practise enterprise, activities that would be considered sensitive areas in real

companies (accountancy, month ends, annual accounts, etc.) can be done by

trainees, giving them the opportunity to “learn by doing” business processes without

being afraid of making mistakes

- Fosters teamwork

- All students are actively participating

- Students learn to work in group and distribute duties and responsibilities

- The transformation of learning into practice.



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17%

213%

320%

427%

533%

To what extent are you satisfied with the use of PE methodology in the classroom? Please rate from 1 to 5, being

1 the lowest grade and 5 the highest one.

Concerning the relationship of effort and assessment, the average rating is 3.3. These are some

reasons given by respondents:

- The students get experience in terms of correspondence, the interaction with other

practice firms and the use of office stationary. While investing more time and effort

in the activities of our practice firm, all students benefit from the situations they're

facing.

- It is very satisfactory to leave the room after “working day” with the feeling of having

achieved something, which you rarely get as a regular student.

- The training is connected with a large time investment. Preparation time is not

included in the assessment. The assessment includes only the respective activity

(purchase, sales, camp, accountancy, personnel being, and marketing).



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16%

213%

331% 4

44%

56%

To what extent is the assessment satisfactory related to the effort invested in the development of the PE activity? Please rate from 1 to 5, being 1 the lowest grade and 5 the highest

one.

c. Conclusion

The data gathered from the student survey shows that there is a clear predominance of

business-related subjects that get involved in PE activities, but that there seems to be inclusion

of foreign languages in some curricula already. ICT hardware is seen as the most important

resource, but only in connection with emailing and office applications. Virtual learning

environments and online communication tools are rarely used so far. PE activities entail some

measure of increased workload for students. The work is, however, to a large extent done in

class, and only to a lesser extent in students’ free time. The relatively high rating of satisfaction

implies that students accept PE methodology as an efficient means of learning, even if it

increases their workload – as long as the effort is reflected in the assessment.



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3. CONCLUSIONS

The evidence from the case study shows that PE activities are used in very different forms in

different educational contexts. In the context of public vocational education, it is being used as a

vehicle for teaching Accountancy & Finance, raising students’ motivation as well as career

opportunities. In a secondary education context, PE methodology is applied on a much smaller

scale, rather as a “business game”, with a focus on entrepreneurship and the support of a

website that provides some VLE functionality, but no genuine interaction among PE companies.

In a special/supportive vocational education context, PE methodology serves to connect the

acquisition of knowledge with its immediate practical application, to compensate for a lack of

regular company-based apprenticeships. In all these cases, PE methodology is adapted in

extent as well as focus to a particular pedagogic environment.

ICT infrastructure is clearly needed for the implementation of PE projects, as essentially all of

them entail some measure of business correspondence. While email is recognized as a means

of less formal communication, more extensive integration of ICT is not the rule. Offering online

learning modules that support autonomous learning for open communicative tasks might be

helpful for students who otherwise show difficulties and even reluctance to engage in less

scripted communicative interaction, such as a phone call to another PE company, or an informal

email. Use of a VLE does not yet seem to be widespread. The VLE observed in a secondary

education context lacked the functionality of supporting interaction among PE companies,

possibly reducing authenticity for students and limiting motivation. ICT is certainly not yet used

at its full potential in the institutions studied. This can be taken as evidence that there is a need

for the products that are being developed in the PELLIC project, which combine supportive

online-learning modules with the VLE functionality for authentic communicative interaction

among PE companies, embedded in a blended learning setting.

Language learning does not seem to be highly integrated into PE contexts so far. In most

vocational contexts, PE business interactions appear to be conducted largely on a national

level, and thus in the native language (even in contexts where CLIL is already applied for other

subjects). In the face of a globalizing world, real-life business interactions on an international

scale are steadily gaining in relative importance. Most of them are conducted in English, the

undisputed lingua franca of international business life (cp. Crystal 2003: 6), creating an ever

increasing demand for English learning that makes fit for language use. Language learners

need to become competent as well as comfortable with using their English for such lingua

franca purposes. The potential of a combination of PE methodology with a CLIL approach in a

blended learning scenario, designed to meet these requirements, has certainly not been fully

realized in current pedagogy. The PELLIC project, with its focus on international business

communication practices, is a step in that direction.



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4. REFERENCES

Bfz-Essen GmbH. Zentralstelle des deutschen Übungsfirmenrings. http://www.zuef.de.

[accessed 15 Mar. 2010].

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. Jugend gründet. http://www.jugend-gruendet.de

[accessed 15 Mar. 2010. 15 Mar. 2010].

Crystal, D. (2003) English as a Global Language. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

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Contribution to Deliverable 7 (WP3) - uni-tuebingen.de