Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Exploring Culture
Watching videos of native Spanish-speakers discussing their opinions concerning various topics helped me gain understanding of cultural perspectives. Reflecting on these videos, they helped me see a wider variety of similarities and differences between the culture in the United States and Spanish-speaking countries. For example, foods that are extremely common in many Spanish-speaking countries are extremely rare in the United States, and vice versa. Another example includes how both Spanish-speaking countries and the United States practice many of the same sports, but they may go by different names or vary as to which is most and least popular. These videos challenged my worldview in a positive way as they opened my eyes to the immense role that peoples’ place of birth and culture have on their lives and the things they consider normal or acceptable. The perspectives presented in these videos revealed how amazing and powerful our differences are because they make the world so much more colorful.
Above is the video I reflected on in the discussion board below concerning sports in Spanish-speaking countries and my own sports preferences.
Engaging in Communities
Engaging in ones’ immediate community and in the global community are both extremely important. As someone who desires to have a career as a dance performer and teacher, and who currently teaches dance classes at a local studio, I can say from experience how much of an impact this engagement can make. On the local level, engaging in your community allows for relationships to be built and for giving back to others. Kindness and generosity truly go a long way, and when we help others in our community, the community as a whole reaps the benefits as it becomes a better area. These are some of the reasons why, as mentioned above, I engage in my immediate community by teaching dance classes to the youth. On a global scale, the more connections we can personally have the better. This is beneficial not only economically, but also on a personal level as we experience the beauty of having a diverse group of peers who all bring different qualities to the table in a positive manner. These then, are reasons why I engage in the global community as my family supports missionaries to several countries who do amazing works of kindness.
Above is a photo I took while teaching a ballet class to the youth in my community.
Interpersonal Communication
This semester, I completed two TalkAbroad conversations (video calls with a native Spanish-speaker) and three oral conversations with professor Christine Mitchell, my Spanish 102 professor. I also contributed to discussion boards where I communicated with other students in Spanish, and even created and responded to videos through Flipgrid in Spanish. These all allowed me to answer and ask questions, to practice having conversations about everyday topics and interests, and to experience what it is like to conjugate on-the-spot. Reflecting on these opportunities, I can see the growth and progress I have made. For example, before my first TalkAbroad conversation I was very nervous concerning my ability to speak clearly and understand my partner. However, now having completed two TalkAbroads, I feel much more confident in my ability to hold a conversation and to communicate about various topics. I have also grown in the area of written communication as I can now more quickly develop responses to discussion board posts. In the beginning of the semester, it took time for me to understand what others had written in Spanish for their posts and to create simple responses. Now, I can much more efficiently complete these tasks. Creating videos through Flipgrid also became easier with practice. As I developed my Spanish-speaking skills over the semester, I was able to more readily understand my peers video posts and develop appropriate responses. Overall, my interpersonal communication skills have improved immensely and I feel I would be prepared to have a conversation in Spanish if the opportunity arouse. There were certainly difficult moments as I worked to conjugate properly and recall all the vocabulary I knew while completing these activities. However, putting in the practice has made all the difference in my progress. If I were to do any of these activities again I would approach my preparation differently by familiarizing myself even more with applicable vocabulary. I learned a great deal from these exercises, and they truly helped me develop a stronger appreciation for the Spanish language.
Above is one of my Flipgrid videos displaying my interpersonal communication skills.
Presentational Speaking
This semester, I have completed presentational speaking activities such as recording verbal responses to prompts as well as myself presenting the alphabet, along with various words, in Spanish. Recording verbal responses to prompts challenged me as it required not only preparation of responses in Spanish, but also correct pronunciation and clarity in my voice as I recorded. I overcame these challenges as I practiced speaking out load and became more confident in my ability to pronounce words correctly. Recording myself presenting the alphabet and a variety of Spanish words was also challenging as it required much attention to detail as I worked to not allow my knowledge of the English alphabet confuse my thoughts. I overcame this through much repetition and practice concerning the pronunciation of the letters and words. I excelled in being able to enunciate clearly because of the practice I put in before completing these activities. If I could do these activities again there are a few words that I would accent differently, however, overall, I am proud of the work I was able to accomplish in the area of presentational speaking.
Above is my video presenting the alphabet and various words in Spanish.
Presentational Writing
This semester, I have completed written presentational communication in Spanish by authoring short paragraph responses to interesting prompts. These prompts have ranged from explaining how to prepare a meal to presenting information I have researched about a specific country’s work force. I have certainly grown through each of these activities as they have helped me better understand how to structure sentences that are grammatically correct and flow well in Spanish. They have also helped me to learn more about various Spanish-speaking countries through the research I have had to complete in order to respond to various prompts. At first, it was difficult and time consuming to articulate well and to formulate sentences that communicated what I desired them to. However, I overcame this as I added more vocabulary words to my arsenal and gained a better understanding of how to expound upon my ideas in Spanish as I do in English. This became increasingly easier as I completed more of these activities. I excelled in finding the sources I needed to complete these activities and in researching new information and vocabulary to support my ideas. Next time, I can do even better by expounding on my ideas even further and developing longer responses to the prompts I am given. All in all, I progressed greatly in my presentational writing skills.
Above is a copy of one of the written presentational activities that I produced.
Interpretive Listening
I have completed interpretive listening activities this semester as I listened to recorded conversations, stories, and songs in Spanish. The Spanish conversations and stories covered different topics and ideas, and the songs were in several different music genres. The most challenging aspect for me in interpreting these recordings was how fast words were being spoken or sung. As I have continued listening to Spanish and having conversations in it, this has become less of a challenge. I found learning about Spanish music to be very interesting as it gave me insights into the culture. These listening experiences helped me see what I am working up to and showed me both the progress I have made with each activity I have completed, as well as how much there is still to learn.
Above is an example of one of the songs I have listened to this semester to improve my interpretive listening skills.
Interpretive Reading
I have practiced Interpretive reading this semester by reading short articles and stories in Spanish. These readings covered a variety of different topics, some being the experiences of real people, and helped me become more comfortable interpreting larger works. It was challenging at first not to become overwhelmed when I saw a longer section of reading to complete. However, the more I have practiced interpretive reading and grown in my understanding of vocabulary, this has subsided. While it still takes me time to read through the information, I am more readily able to understand the topics being discussed and to process the reading as I do in English. It has been interesting to read stories in Spanish as they have taught me more about what life is like for those in Spanish-speaking communities. I have grown through each reading activity I have done and taken away the ability to be more involved in the Spanish-speaking world because I can now more fluently read and interpret works within it.
Above is an example of an activity I completed this semester involving interpretive reading.