Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Address the reflection exercises in each of the following sections. For each section, you will need to embed portions of these assignments and activities as artifacts to substantiate your reflection. Then, at the end of each section, include a link to the document or embed it as a PDF. 

Tutorials are available:

• Embedding a PDF
• Embedding Media (Images, Audio)
• Embedding a Video

An Effective Reflection Is

• Written in English.
• A demonstration, explanation, comparison of skill and growth described through what you learned and the challenges you had in that learning while highlighting your best work.
• A discussion of how you overcame any weakness or obstacles. Explain what you mean.
• Supported by evidence as represented by your artifacts (course materials, photographs, video, conversations, projects, news reports, authentic materials, etc.).
• Specific, addressing particular strengths, weakness, skills, transformative experiences, etc., avoiding vague generalizations (ex: “I learned a lot.”).

An Effective Reflection is not

• Only sharing an artifact without context or discussion.
• Only a description or explanation of an artifact. Focus on your learning and growth as a result of having completed that experience.
• An attempt to justify your work to an instructor. Instead, think more broadly about future audiences that might benefit from seeing evidence of your work and the skills you are developing.

Artifacts

A good artifact is a portion or clip of an assignment. It needs to be carefully selected to provide evidence/proof that supports what you are saying in your reflection.

Your reflection will help you determine what that will be. It is a quest for quality. It will represent you academically and professionally, and have personal meaning. It can be written, audio, or video.

At the end, ask yourself if the artifacts best demonstrates your abilities and growth over time.

At the end of your reflection in each section, link or embed the assignment/artifact. If the assignment has multiple pages and seems to overwhelm the section, consider adding just the first page and offering to provide the rest upon request.

Instructions

Exploring Culture

Overall i struggled in Spanish but throughout the course I started to study more. I studied with friends and sometimes occasionally studied with a tutor.

Studying with the tutors and on my own helped a lot. My biggest issue is conjugations. I need to study better with a tutor and friends. Contrasena helped me understand the cultures of Spanish speaking countries. Learning things like La Siesta and how workers get to nap during work. I don’t know of any misconceptions I had about Spanish speaking countries but it did give me a better perspective of different countries.

Engaging in Communities

Engaging with other countries is vital. If you are able to meet new people and see new perspectives it can change the thought process of people. Napping in America is seen as laziness while in Spain it is seen as a revitalization tactic.

I liked learning about new countries and perspectives because it introduced me to new ideas. Conversar and reflixionar were very helpful in seeing new ideals.

Interpersonal Communication

Over this course I talked about places on campus, where i am from, and much more. I learned a lot about what other countries do and even how their schools work. For each project we did discussion boards which opened input and observations into our projects,

At first I struggled in each project, but once I started to get the hang of it, then it all made sense. I was really good at being able to describe myself and where I am from. I struggled very heavily in describing places and their qualities. If i can pick up on keywords then I am much better at communicating. Sometimes though when I can’t i take too long to reply.

Presentational Speaking

In English, give a brief 2-3-line description of any presentational speaking activities you completed this semester inside or outside of class for or related to your Spanish learning. Include a recording of one of these speaking activities. (See Modes of Communication link for description and examples). 

I did not speak very much outside of the classroom in Spanish. If I did it was purely to study, but in class I talked a lot in Spanish. Usually it was oral evaluation or if a question we were going over was asked I would respond to it.

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? 

Overall my spanish speaking was subpar. There were times when it was very easy but overall it was very hard for me. I struggled heavliy on conjugations and on what comes first the verbs or the adjectives. For example when asked what my specialization is, in spanish you put the education before the special, but in english its special education. I need to sit down and try and find methods to really reinforce which is first and how to conjugate properly. I think my issue with conjugation came down to trying to remember the verb then remember how to conjugate it, i think i got so used to saying the indefinite, not the conjugated version.

Presentational Writing

In English, give a very brief 2-3-line description of the presentational communication of compositions, pamphlets, blogs, flyers, stories, articles, and any other written presentation activities you completed this semester inside or outside of class for or related to your Spanish learning. Include a copy of a written presentational activity you produced? (See Modes of Communication link for description and examples).

I don’t remember doing anything like an article or flyer.

Interpretive Listening

In Contrasena I did assignments where it asked me to listen for key words to describe something. Some of them were asking me where the speaker is talking about, or it was asking me what the speaker is doing.

Sometimes it was very challenging. In learning Spanish sometimes it is very hard to listen to key words and try and figure out what they mean. If I could pick out key words then I could possibly figure it out but often times it took a while. I am thankful for the experience though, it is very hard to learn a language but it is important to hear it in normal speed.

Interpretive Reading

I read la siesta, which is an article about how Spain gives nap breaks during work. It was very intriguing, and i wish it was implemented in America.

Then, write a short reflection paragraph that includes the activities you described above. What was unclear or challenging for you? How did you overcome this difficulty? What did you find most interesting or compelling? What was your takeaway from the reading? How have you grown with each assignment?

Throughout this experience I was very interested in learning about new cultures and learning how other countries operate. I liked learning about colleges in Mexico and hearing how almost nobody lives on campus and how its almost completely free. I overcame the difficulty of learning everything by going onto the spanish dictionary and putting together the pieces from words and finding the sentence.