Spanish 311 or Communication Competence: Speaking and Listening was the complementary class to Spanish 312, a Spanish reading and writing class. This class consisted of many discussions concerning different topics, both philosophical and other worldly issues. Throughout this course, students were to complete homework through VHL. This homework included grammar and vocabulary sections that complemented the written piece or video in the book that students would be discussing in class. After the discussion in class, a tertulia would be assigned on VHL requiring students to answer specific questions regarding the video or writing. These answers were expected to be impromptu and not to be read from a piece of paper.
Tertulias
During the semester there were five lessons, each containing a tertulia. Each had an interesting topic, concerning philosophy and other topics regarding life, such as love. Each allowed a look into both Spanish and American culture, along with new ideas and concepts. Throughout this page, I am going to reflect upon each lesson’s story or video, the difficulties I had and what I learned regarding culture.
¿Realidad o fantasía?
One of my favorite videos throughout the course was Viaje a Marte, a short film where a grandfather takes his grandson to the desert, pretending it is Mars. The film later shows the boy as an adult, operating a tow truck, only to get lost and find that he had teleported to Mars. Another perspective is that perhaps the astronauts landed in the desert.
After watching this video, we were asked several comprehension questions to make sure we understood the contents of the video. We answered these questions in a recording on VHL.
Reflection
While VHL did not save the recording, I remember this first video I made was difficult. I was nervous and had not properly practiced Spanish for some time. I did have to review what I was going to say, as I knew once I started recording, my Spanish would be forgotten. However, as these recordings progressed throughout the semester, I saw my speaking abilities in Spanish begin to improve. The purpose of this tertulia was to discuss reality and fantasy.
Culturally speaking, had I watched this as a Spanish-speaking child, I would have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed Sesame Street. It showed me that the imagination can take you anywhere regardless of where you come from or how you grew up.
Una cuestión de personalidad: Diez Minutos
Reflection
Diez Minutos was very difficult to understand. I was confused as to why Enrique needed this woman’s number and what had happened. The video was made clearer during our discussion in class. While answering these questions in the recording, I know that I was unable to answer at least one question because I was still unsure. This video showed me that throughout the world, men are usually the same. Speaking Spanish, English, Mandarin, French, they will always try to get the girl back.
Reflection
During Lesson 2, we read about happiness and what is necessary to achieve it. There were many opinions throughout this reading. Some say happiness can be determined by an equation, others by what your gender needs. While I agreed with some points the passage had, there were others I disagreed with. Happiness is not something that is constant, nor can it be bought or forced. Happiness can be something so simple as hearing a voice you have not heard in some time. Regardless of culture, happiness is something that comes from within regardless of your money or social status, although I am not so naïve as to think that a roof over your head and full belly doesn’t help.
Namnala
Reflection
Namnala was a beautiful short film, about an older gentleman running a technology repair shop. While trying to turn customers away, a young man came into his shop needing his video camera to be fixed. While repairing it, the store owner watched the video and discovered the camera had been stolen. He threatened the young man when he returned, only to watch the rest of the video, discovering he had stolen it to capture memories with his wife who had passed. It was in that moment, the older gentleman decided to keep his repair shop open.
This film showed the underlying kindness this world has. It was a moment of two cultures coming together, one embracing the other. While we did discuss TV “trash”, this certainly was not it.
La telebasura
Reflection
This was one of my favorite discussions in class. I believe that debating this with classmates greatly helped to improve my level of comfort with speaking and debating in Spanish. It was a topic that did not require as much academic Spanish as it did day to day Spanish. These questions and the discussion itself were definitely eye opening regarding what others think is telebasura and their opinion on how it affects society. Having classmates with so many different backgrounds and interests (Biologist, Engineer, Mom/native Spanish speaker, Filipino heritage) allowed the conversation to be very diverse and interesting. There were agreements that reality TV is telebasura. There were also minor disagreements concerning children and access to telebasura. For example, in my opinion, I would never let children watch shows like Spongebob or any adult cartoon show. Another classmate’s perspective as a mom was that her kids were old enough to discern the silliness of the show and how to behave in reality.
Las garras de poder
This short film was very strange to me. I understood, for the most part, what was occurring, however, it was just not very enjoyable to me. Heriberto was a strange character and apparently a killer, as Leonidas suspected. I am still confused as to why he killed who he killed.
Reflection
During this film, I saw the darker side of the culture in Latin America, where if law enforcement asks if someone can stay with you, you say yes. I found it strange that they believed that Heriberto was a retired police captain. I understood Leonidas’ suspicions immediately. Heriberto was shifty and strange. This short film showed the claws of power, in more ways than one. At the end, it is clear that after Heriberto confesses to Leonidas, Leonidas feels trapped.
La tortilla
This story was a reference to how we are so caught up in our own lives, that we no longer notice what happens around us, or care to. I found this reading to be very interesting, although it did take me a moment to find the underlying issue it was referring to. The woman in the story continues to make a Spanish tortilla, even as WWIII is being mentioned on the TV. While other cultures are not so quick to disregard news such as this, the cultures of the Western world become more and more flippant every day. This reading was a reminder to look deeper into our own lives and see where our focuses and values lie.
Los misterios del amor
Porsiemprejamón was our last cortometraje. It was a tale as old as time, so to speak. A woman marries her childhood best friend after realizing that who she’s marrying is not right for her, and she would not be happy. This was my first Spanish love story, but had components that reminded me of love stories I have heard before. This lesson wanted us to discuss the different concepts of love and friendship, which is more important, etc.
We also discussed the concepts of true love and a “better half” and whether either are real. It was a compelling conversation, one that is easy and hard in both Spanish and English. Love can seem like such a simple thing, but it can also be very complex regardless of culture. We discussed the typical love and relationships seen in our culture/where we lived. At home, I know many people who marry relatively soon either after high school or during college. It was interesting to learn about the different courtships countries have and how there are different meanings for talking to someone or dating or a serious, exclusive relationship.
Course Reflection
This is not a reflection of the course per say, but of my growth within the class and with Spanish. Throughout the semester, I saw visible growth. I went from listening and trying my best to interpret the conversation to be able to participate and not worry as much about whether I was grammatically correct. Many times you learn more when you just try. Undoubtedly, someone will correct you if you’re wrong. While I have grown in confidence, many of the grammatical topics we covered have helped to further my understanding of the language, as well as, Spanish and Hispanic cultures. This course helped me to improve greatly in my other Spanish course. Being given a compliment on how much my Spanish speaking skills have improved this semester by another professor helped me to realize just how much this course has helped me improve my conversational and academic Spanish, especially being in-person.