Instructions

Exploring Culture

In this year 202 Spanish class we practiced our skills in many different ways. We did homework on Lingrolearning. This had us practice our reading, writing, speaking, and as well as listening. We had quiz every week to test our knowledge and skills. Later in the semester we had to learn through a site called ImmerseMe. I personally learned a lot through this site. Compared to the Lingrolearning, I just wished that it showed us the units that we were on. My speaking and understanding through listening became a lot better this semester.

Overall I had to practice a lot to get to where I am. I think I learned a lot when it came to learning about the culture and customs since it was the last two units that we learned. Speaking to Karen during talkabroad he’ll me understand certain things and differences between Spanish speaking countries compared to the US. I am a Hispanic female and I realized that Karen was also placed into the same stereotypes as me. Like for example, I was always told that hispanics were lazy, uneducated , and poor. These were proven wrong in multiple cases this semester witching the videos we watched in class as well as speaking with Karen in talkabroad.

Engaging in Communities

It is extremely important to communicate within differences communities. Over decades we people have learned from one another when it comes to everything like food, music, traditions, art, etc. Without communication people would not be able to evolve and learn from each other.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vR-75RI-hamA4QueeER4_OPVZp3VTsXCATJokWQ2DXE/edit?usp=sharing

The biggest time I was able to communicate with Spanish speaking people in real life experiences was in Puerto Rico. Yes during class we used talk abroad, Lingrolearning, ImmerseMe, as well as speaking check ins with the professor, however being there in person was completely different. It was better than I could Imagine and things we are talk in the class I was able to use some of it in the real world situations. I also went to Miami which is the most common place for Hispanics to live in America and is the state for the most Spanish speaking.

Interpersonal Communication

During the semester of 2023 Spring we did many different forms to practice our Spanish communication. This included both the listening and speaking. We used talkabroad two times, I spoke with Karen who is from Nicgauria. I spoke with the professor three times throughout the semester as well. Lastly I got to practice alone my communication through Lingrolearning assignments as well as ImmerseMe. During the start of the semester we also use Flipgrids to communicate and complete projects.

At first in the start of the semester I did struggle just because I was a little bit rusty due to winter break and not practicing my Spanish during the break. I have always been better when it came to listening and writing compared to speaking. Talkabroad I find helpful since you get to speak with someone who is 100% fluent however when I do mess up or do not understand something being said Karen (my partner) was unable to help me. Speaking with the professor was good as well and I ended up doing better then I thought that I would. I would ask questions and was able to learn from my mistakes. I really enjoyed the ImmerseMe because you got to practice in 5 different ways which makes you understand and retain the information. I definitely saw a lot of growth from the start to finish! This so far is the most I was able to understand taking the class.

Presentational Speaking

We did a lot of speaking exercises and practice in many different ways. At first we had to use the app which was called Flipgrid where we would answer in response to the questions asked. We also had speaking test with the professor on certain units that we learned as well as a speaking final. Later in the semester we were able to practice our skills on a site called ImmerseMe. Lastly we did at least 4 projects based on speaking about unit topics.

In the video above it was based on a project where we had to speak about certain customs in the Hispanic culture. I based mine off of quinceanera, this was personally compared to other projects since I had one when I was younger. I think speaking is one of the harder parts of Spanish for me. I have a speech impediment and sometimes struggle when it comes to sounds. Being online it is 100% up to you to learn how to pronounce the words correctly. One thing I would do is focus more on practicing out loud compared to just in my head.

Presentational Writing

There were many different times that I had to put my writing to use. Pretty much every other day there was some form of writing whether it was in Lingrolearning, ImmerseMe, discussion posts, exams, even in quizzes. We had to do a lot of reading as well and write our thoughts down about what was read.

Writing is one of my stronger portions in Spanish. I practice the spelling most times in my notes as well as seeing the words/terms visually. One thing I learned that helps with spelling and writing that I learned is using note cards as well as listening to music with the subtitles. I do not think I would do anything different with writing besides learning present , past , and future tense better.

Interpretive Listening

I personally think this was the last practice session this semester due to it being an online course. I mostly practice listening on ImmerseMe, on projects, talkabroad, as well as speaking with the professor.

One thing I learned from last semester that I did a lot through this one was listening to music. People retain information better through music and videos. I also listened through different websites that were mandatory for the class. Talkabroad and the projects I felt were the best time I could practice the skills. One thing that was difficult was having the class online.

Interpretive Reading

We had to read a lot of different things. Stories, homework, discussions, a recipe even. We used a lot of different reading materials throughout this semester. I did a lot of reading for this class and I think that being an online class that I ended up reading more compared to the in person classes.

My strongest portion in the class is reading. Since I practice writing words I can easily remember them when I read. Being able to read you can slowly analyze the text as well slowly. I will say that I grew with each assignment that I completed. I think every time learning a new subject there were times I would forget certain words from the last unit. Practice made perfect for me when it came to reading within this class and being able use those skills with every portion. Everything connects with each other.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vR-75RI-hamA4QueeER4_OPVZp3VTsXCATJokWQ2DXE/edit?usp=sharing