Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

During my time in Spanish 102 I have used a daily app called Duolingo, as well as the Aventuras VHL textbook practices to help grow my understanding of the language. 

VHL text readings helped me understand the values and in hispanic culture by watching the routine “Flash Culturas.” These videos gave me an inside look on different spanish speaking countries day to day life. Seeing the differences challenged my world view by visually showing me a new culture for me to compare to my own. For example, I do not come from a close or family oriented type of family, but I know for most spanish speaking countries it is very common to be family and sports oriented. I worked through a misconception I had, that hispanic people like to live with a lot of family, by realizing that being close to family is just part of their culture.

Engaging in Communities

It is very important to engage in your immediate community so that you are aware and in the know. It is also just as important to engage in and value the global community too, because we are all humans who live in the same world. What can happen in one community could happen to yours, so it is always good to help out when you can (community service, etc..) and stay aware of what is going on everywhere on the globe.

Interpersonal Communication

TalkAbroad is an online video communication website used to connect students to native speakers from different countries. This website provides trained conversation partners in eight different languages. Hundreds of universities, highschools, and colleges use it for real-time conversation practice.

Personally, I have used TalkAbroad twice and I believe it has helped not only my articulation in spanish but grown my vocabulary too. The first time I used it, it was difficult to process what was being said to me in spanish and then have to immediately think of a response to say back in spanish. I overcame that by realizing I understood more than I thought, so the process of my  responses got faster. I excel at understanding spanish when it is spoken to me. The only thing I would do differently next time is prepare and practice my vocabulary ahead of time.

Presentational Speaking

Speaking/vocabulary was my only mental challenge with TalkAbroad, but I am proud to say I excelled with my understanding. Below is my recorded TalkAbroad conversation.

Then, in a paragraph, write a reflection that includes each presentation you completed in which you explain what challenged you and how you grew and overcame those challenges.  What did you excel at? What/how would you do differently next time? 

Presentational Writing

Throughout the semester I did compositions that cover certain chapters at a time. Compositions usually have two parts and ask you a series of questions to answer.

I believe I have grown with my presentational writing because compositions were very hard for me in the beginning. It became easier overtime as I learned the different conjugations for present, past, and future tense verbs. I excelled at my understanding of the questions being asked of me and my vocabulary. I could work on my sentence structure in order to do better next time.

Interpretive Listening

I used and listened to Duolingo daily while taking Spanish 102. Duolingo is a popular language learning education app. This app allows you to log on and do as many or as little language exercises as you want. It allows you to climb a leader board based on your progress and keep a streak.

I found Duolingo to be very helpful, by listening and interacting on it daily you are bound to learn something new everyday. Attending class helped with my understanding, specifically when you started learning past, present, and future tense verb conjugations. This was actually the most challenging part for me because I truly did not understand it, nor know how to recognize each one. I then started taking the time out to watch extra videos and textbook passages to better comprehend. The most interesting thing I found while listening was the pronunciation of certain words and how sometimes the sentence structure will be flipped versus the way it would be said in english. My experience with listening allows me to take away the attitude that it is always good to listen as many times as you need, so that you understand. By seeing my improvement, I see my growth.