摘要：The stock portfolios described in this article are for use in a Business German
course, typically in a fifth semester course, and were developed for courses at the
University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida. Elements of the creation of stock
portfolios can be spread out throughout the semester and a timeline can be established
according to the chapters in the primary Business German text. An important advantage
in constructing simulated stock portfolios is that they act as a creative supplement to a
text by providing an authentic business situation, mitigating the problem of Business
German texts becoming quickly outdated, as stock market portfolios are inherently
current due to real-time and hypermedia technology. Additional benefits to creating
stock portfolios include the further development of the reading, writing, and listening
skills necessary for business, while also facilitating the participants¡¯ practical, real-world,
oral skills as they regularly present their projects. The wide set of skills that are
developed by the students over the course of this project are representative of the benefits
a ¡°constructivist¡± methodology brings to the classroom. In essence, constructivism shifts
the emphasis away from a teacher-centered lecture to a student-centered learning activity.
In other words, by developing stock portfolios in the Business German class the students
become ¡°co-constructors¡± of their knowledge about the stock market, as well as many
other aspects of business in Germany, thereby expanding and making current the typical
material commonly presented in Business German texts.
