Over the Semester of Spanish 101F I have improved dramatically with all of my skills in learning another language, along with speaking, reading, writing, and listening. My annunciation of words and accent have also increased with accuracy, this is important for in the future when I want to communicate with others solely in Spanish. Towards the beginning of the semester I had difficulty with the quizzes and understanding the words in Spanish when my teacher would speak to the class. Writing was a different type of challenge, attempting to organize my thoughts down only in Spanish was by far my hardest thing to overcome in this semester. From only knowing very little in this language compared to the large variety of words I know in English, it took a lot of patience and focusing to make an accurate paragraph in Spanish.

Understanding the cultural differences between life in the U.S. compared to life in Hispanic countries is very important. Knowing what is and what is appropriate in certain countries can make you seem either educated or not when dealing with another culture. Understanding different types of norms and customs will allow you to fit in. For instance, in Central, South America, or Spain, the proverbial bubble is much smaller in those countries. Personal space is often shared when greeting, often by hug or kiss depending on the location and type of relationship. Not allowing your mind to make up stereotypes of a “box” to fit another culture in will allow you to accept and embrace it easier with greater understanding.

Engaging in communities allows you to be more understanding of what is happening around you. Becoming involved within the community, either locally or globally, will have you “in the loop”. The value of being active can give you a sense of satisfaction and it can build long lasting relationships.

Interpersonal Communication is the activity between two or more people. In this class we’ve discussed not only in class between each other and the teacher but also on discussion board. Speaking to your other classmates and listening is a great way to practice your Spanish. Developing the sense of awareness to comprehend a question and then respond accurately is a key thing to practice with a new language. Creating questions amongst yourself and asking other students during our oral exams is the most important part when trying to learn another language. As each time we would participate in class with answering questions from the book or during the oral exams, I feel like myself and the class as a whole improved drastically as the year progressed. Challenging your knowledge, and making mistakes is how to improve. Learning what you did wrong so you don’t make the same mistake again is the growth that we need.

Presentational Speaking. In class this semester we didn’t submit any voice clips or any voice clips for grades. How we did get graded for our speaking ability and practice was participation in class and our oral presentations. _Our oral presentations were our opportunity to show the professor the skills we’ve worked on. The speaking portion in my opinion is the most important part of the course. Communicating via mouth/word is the most common platform to communicate, and challenging yourself in the classroom environment is a great way to do so. Starting off the year I wasn’t sure how well I would be able to speak in Spanish since I didn’t know any words or phrases. Speaking clearly and confidently were the parts that I needed to work on the most and still need to. Over time I grew more comfortable speaking in class and developing my Spanish tongue.

Presentational Writing. As seen in the PDF file above, learning to properly conjugate the verbs was some adversity that I had to overcome. Hours throughout the semester with practice was the reason for my ability to correct that Composition paper. Also with ending words with the correct o/a at the end of words was also tricky for me at the beginning, it can be very elementary when followed by el/la but that always won’t be the case. Practicing repeatedly is the only way to improve in Spanish and to correct your grammar mistakes. My final Composition showed my growth overtime with me correcting the mistakes that I’ve made earlier in the semester.

Composition-2Draft-Brendon-Vitha

Interpretive Listening. In the Supersite where we do our homework and during class are where we practice our listening skills the most. When the teacher asks a question or we’re getting quizzed in the Supersite. Starting off the year it was challenging to understand and comprehend the teachers accent and all of her words. Not knowing half of what was being said I knew that I had to work much harder to succeed. I have always been interested in Spanish and learning it enough to be well off in a Spanish speaking country. Learning over time on what certain words sound like to interpret them took many hours of practice. Having to re-wind the audio recording for our quizzes and exams to know only having to listen to it once was a stepping stone that I was looking for. Growing with each activity takes time and adaptation to the users voice and your skill to understand the words coming out.

Interpretive Reading. In supersite when it has short paragraphs that have key information in it, to the book that is tied to our lesson plan, and the word documents that have the questions on it for our oral exams are the spots in the curriculum which reading has been practiced. Our supersite clips of reading were a little test on if you could understand what was written and also if you knew the vocabulary. The start of it in September was far more challenging than in December. Learning more of the language and how it acts along with practice is what gives you growth. The book for our class gives you the practice every time you open it for reading, it’s the only way to get the information. Just as the supersite took practice in order for it to get easier, it’s the same thing for the book. My takeaway from the readings was learning the vocabulary in order to be able to participate in class. Knowing what the words mean and how to properly conjugate is extremely important.