SPAN 202

Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

I used a Spanish dictionary. LingroLearning provided context.

The Spanish dictionary helped whenever I got stuck or did not know a word to best describe something. LingroLearning offers in-depth accounts of Latin American culture, detailing such staples as mate and creation myths. My worldview was not challenged, but I did appreciate its expansion through learning about various holidays and traditions. My understanding of the importance of family for Spanish-speaking people was reaffirmed. I also learned of the names of some indigenous groups.

Engaging in Communities

Engaging in different communities helps dispel potential stereotypes from arising. Diversity is beneficial to the global community. We as humans should be priding ourselves on our diversity, not sewing hate and discontent because of it. The latter is something America, my immediate community, is unwilling to give up, it sadly appears.

Interpersonal Communication

In TalkAbroad #1, my partner and I discussed stereotypes and how they take wing. In TalkAbroad #2, my partner and I discussed influencers and traditions. For a number of modules, I recorded myself answering LingroLearning’s prompts, such as reading a poem.

I found the interpersonal communication activities outside of class the most difficult. I would often be taken aback by the questions my TalkAbroad partner would choose to ask; I did not prepare fully. I would have a script in my head, but most of the time that proved fruitless, as they asked questions I did not consider. I would also forget certain words and have to resign to use English.

In class, I was lucky enough to near consistently be partnered with a rather patient student who was more proficient in Spanish than I. They certainly made my interpretive listening experience much easier.

Presentational Speaking

There were a number of video projects I had to make for this course. Some of the ones I can remember offhand are the poem reading, the video about traditions in Latin America, and a video on stereotypes and how they come to be.

Presentational Writing

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“El poema es “An Ode To A Dominican Breakfast”. En eso poema la Afro-Latina poetisa llamada Yesenia Montilla, ella habla de su relacion con su cultura. Ella es dominicana. Sus padres son immigrantes.

Yesenia prefiere desayuno dominicano mejor que desayuno americano. Ella llama a los huevos americanos poco cocidos. Yesenia no quiere panqueques. Yesnia le gusta mucho mangu con queso frito, el plato especial. Mangu con queso frito tiene puré de plátanos. Yesnia baila y practica Taino. Es lamentable que la historia Taino no se encuentre facilmente. Las imágenes del poema son divertidas. Mucho hablar de comida.”

For presentational writing, I completed several rough drafts in class. The final drafts would then be completed at home on a new piece of paper, or sent in directly through a LingroLearning submission. I made the corrections via an online document on Canvas that detailed the professor’s short-form codes.

I did much better than I expected with these rough draft assignments, no doubt due to the dictionary’s help. The conjugation came entirely from my head. I liked having to rewrite the rough drafts for a final submission. It helped me memorize words and avoid common mistakes, I feel.

Interpretive Listening

I participated in numerous impromptu one-on-one conversations with peers in class. Every day, if I recall correctly, we would complete at least two of these conversations. I listened to other students’ presentations. I also had to watch videos such as Gastón Acurio’s “Can home cooking change the world?” and talk with a partner about the information given in said video. There was a video about a Romani influencer too.

Interpretive Reading

The Contrasena website contained all of the class reading material. There, I had to complete quizzes that related to the text assigned. These text included a story about a nervous young man leaving for college and an overview of how Latin American countries feel about stereotypes and progressive ideas. I found the readings about certain cultures interesting.