Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Exploring Culture
Each unit in LingroLearning this semester had an assignment where I had to pick a region to research and answer questions about their culture. This helped me learn about and appreciate other cultures. I got to see how they do things differently compared to here in the United States. Below is my assignment Exploración 9-4 Búsqueda en internet. For this assignment I had to research what is important to the people of a specific country or region and what makes them happy. I chose Venezuela.
Engaging in Communities
Community engagement increases the visibility and understanding of issues and empowers communities to have their say over decisions that affect their lives, their towns, cities and neighborhoods. I participate in my community through clubs here at ODU. I am a member of MTSO (MonarchTeach Student Organization) which is a club for future educators. We have many events throughout the semester involving education and giving back to the community.
Interpersonal Communication
TalkAbroad was a great way to communicate with native Spanish speakers from other countries. I completed two conversations where I got to talk to two different women and learn about their countries and cultures. This helped me gain confidence in my ability to have conversations in Spanish. I was very nervous for my first one but was definitely more prepared for my second one. I have decided to attach the audio from my second conversation where we discuss what we like to eat and how to stay healthy.
Presentational Speaking
An example of a presentational speaking assignment I did this semester was the M7 Flipgrid. For this assignment I had to listen to the video of my professor speaking and fill in the missing parts of the conversation with my own video. This resulted in a completed conversation once I uploaded the finished product. This helped me to practice having a conversation without the pressure of it being a live conversation. I was able to start over and fix it if I messed up. This helped me to prepare for the actual live conversations I had with her later in the semester.
Presentational Writing
I have completed many presentational writing assignments this semester including writing prompts on LingroLearning and several discussion boards. These assignments have helped me be able to write and present information in Spanish and I enjoy reading my classmates thoughts on the discussion topics. Below is my initial discussion post from DB 10 ¿En qué estás trabajando? discussing gender stereotypes within jobs.
Interpretive Listening
I have participated in many interpretive listening activities this semester including LingroLearning assignments where I have to listen to an audio and describe what I hear. This helped me to be able to understand Spanish not just in writing but listening to it in real time. One example of an interpretive learning activity is the audio assignment I completed at the beginning of the semester. For this assignment I had to listen to the audio pronunciations of several words and practice and then film myself saying those words. This helped me practice my pronunciations and learn to say these words correctly.
Interpretive Reading
I completed many interpretive reading assignments this semester. Before each unit in LingroLearning I had to read the text to prepare for the assignments. This helped me with my ability to read and understand text in Spanish. It improved my Spanish vocabulary and grammar. Below is an example from Unidad 7: ¿Cómo mantener la buena salud? where I had to read the newsletter and answer questions about the activities each person participated in.
