Exploring Culture
This class provided many tools to explore and understand multiple cultures. One of these tools was being able to discuss and research more complex concepts such as politics, environmental issues, art, and the reinterpretation of history in Spanish made me feel like a more mature learner of the language. For some assignments we were required to use the internet to research fully in Spanish. It was a little bit of a challenge, but being able to learn about what other environmental changes, for example, countries were experiencing and how they were going about preserving nature and species in their countries. This made me feel more connected to other cultures because I was able to gain a new perspective of how to use the internet for research.
Engaging in Communities
Engaging in one’s own community and the global community are some of the most important things in life and help each person to become more well-rounded. By engaging with others, sharing opinions and facts, learning about other cultures, etc. we gain more knowledge about the world and can cultivate more informed opinions and tastes. If we do not explore past what we know and are comfortable in, we will never know all the world has to offer.
Since coming to Old Dominion University and forming a broader scope of relationships with others, I feel as though I have grown a lot in my beliefs and experiences. For example, I have spoken to a few people in Spanish and have made many friends of differing backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. I hope to grow more in this in the future.
Interpersonal Communication
TalkAbroad is a program in which students can video chat with individuals from other countries. We used TalkAbroad and also connected with students from the National University of Rafaela in Argentina by video-chatting. The UNRaf students are studying English, just like we are studying Spanish. Both of these experiences were very valuable and provided real-world interactions. It is exciting to be able to have conversations with individuals you may not ever interact with if it was not for these classes and opportunities. It provides a new level of confidence once any nervousness is overcome when talking to someone in their native tongue, because you do not want to be judged, but it creates a personal connection, an appreciation for all language-learners, and a deeper connection with the world. It also challenges you to react and respond in the moment rather than just studying and taking a test.
Presentational Speaking
One of the first presentational speaking activities I completed this semester was submitting a video introducing myself to the class. It is more simple, but viewing it now, I feel like I have pushed myself to expand my vocabulary and grammar a lot since the beginning of this class. Before, I was somewhat comfortable with Spanish, but now, even if I lose my words or get nervous, I feel like I have a more comprehensive understanding of Spanish and its concepts and cultures.
Besides this, we had to submit a few FlipGrid videos about a certain discussion topic. These were not challenging, but I wish I had been more confident in my presentation. Learning a lot of concepts in a short period of time, such as this summer course, is challenging because there is not a lot of extra time to gain comfortability, but with practice comes more confidence. I want to continue to study the vocabulary and review grammar concepts to prepare for Spanish 202, which I am taking in the fall.
Presentational Writing
We did not do a lot of presentational writing this semester due to a lack of time, but we were required to write in our online workbook. I felt as though each of those was challenging in its own way because we were writing using skills that we had just learned, but I think it provided valuable practice for presentational writing in future endeavors, whether that be in school or not.
Interpretive Listening
Being able to listen to a variety of speakers was very helpful. By combining listening to instructions in the online workbook, watching videos and following along with Spanish captions, and conversing with native speakers, I gained more confidence with my listening skills. I prefer reading over listening, but I am trying to be close-to-equally proficient at both. Listening is especially hard when there is an accent that you have not heard a lot and you cannot double check what they said because there are no captions in real life, but practicing is important in developing more comfortability and confidence.
Interpretive Reading
Our workbook required us to do research in Spanish, as I mentioned earlier. It is a bit difficult not knowing every word in an article, but much like conversing with someone in Spanish, it is important to use context clues and use what you know to gain understanding. An article I read about technology and social change in schools in Venezuela was a bit challenging to understand, but I knew more than I expected. The article is linked below. Each unit/chapter increased in difficulty as the term went on, but by being equipped with the knowledge taught in each, it simultaneously became easier to read more complex things.