Exploring Culture
Throughout the length of this course I have used a variety of different products and practices that have helped gain a better understanding of cultural perspectives. Lingro Learning is one product that gave me a great understanding of different cultures. Between videos, practices, and guided research, Lingro Learning helped a lot. Another practice that helped would be our Canvas Discussion Boards. Our Professor provided detailed discussion boards weekly that provided the class with a video or website to review, or research to take part in, to better understand the differences in cultural perspective. While taking this course I began to watch simple Spanish speaking podcasts which in turn provide a broad understanding of the different cultures as well.
These practices helped me understand the values and attitudes in the Hispanic culture by opening my eyes to different aspects of what I am used to for the first time in my life. Lingro Learning provided me with the ability to understand introductory level Spanish as a whole, along with this there are specific segments within Lingro Learning that teach you how to research different cultures in Spanish to yield different results than if you researched it in English. Our Canvas Discussion Boards challenged my worldview by showing me videos of the different events and holidays that transpire in different cultures around the world and gave me the ability to compare them to the events and holidays that take place in the United States. It truly showed me that while we are unique in our own ways we are quite often the same. A misconception that I had before watching my Spanish speaking podcast was that being able to understand what was be talked about would be near impossible without an extravagant Spanish speaking background. However, this was not the case. Spanish 101F gave me the ability to understand basic conversations and gave me the tools to research things I may not understand to broaden my horizon on different cultural perspectives.
Engaging in Communities
Engaging in communities is an important aspect of life to take part in because it can and will directly effect the area and world you live in. Engaging in your immediate community can be as simple as joining a neighborhood watch, sitting in on a school board, picking up trash around your county, assisting in elections and much more. These are things that need to be done but there is not always individuals willing to take the time to do them. If they are not done the lovely area you live in could fall apart into something else. Not only does engaging in your immediate community preserve the community itself, it can also help develop relationships within the community and create more friends and connections. Engaging in the global community can essentially consist of the same activities you participate in while assisting your community but on a larger scale. This can lower crime rates across the United States, reduce global pollution, and etc.
Interpersonal Communication
Throughout the semester of taking Span101F we did not use TalkAbroad in our studies but we did participate in other interpersonal oral/audio activities. The most common activity were the discussion boards due within each module, another example of this would be video FlipGrid assignments due periodically throughout the semester.
Throughout the semester of taking Span101F we did not use TalkAbroad in our studies but we did participate in other interpersonal oral/audio activities. The most common activity were the discussion boards due within each module. Our Professor would present us with a question or research activity to participate in and then provide our opinions and feed back on the given topic. Once this was completed we would read other students’ posts and respond with similarities we may have, differences, and anything else we may want to add. This activity was not a struggle for me due to most of the assignments being in English. However, it was incredibly interesting to learn about different background and cultures all while getting to know my fellow students. Another activity we would participate in are the FlipGrid assignments. This is where our professor would essentially give us an oral fill in the blank assignment, she would have speak for about two minutes and get us to respond with a video filling in the other side of the conversation while playing her audio in the background. Making it a complete back and forth conversation between student and professor once it was complete. At the end students would add two or more questions for other students and in turn we would respond to each others posts with video just like we did with our professor’s. This assignment proved to be quite difficult at the start of the semester due to my inexperience speaking in Spanish but gradually got easier as I became more familiarized with the language and pronunciation of certain words. This was difficult to overcome due to the immense amount of studying needing but I feel as if I succeeded in the end. The most important thing I learned from this course is that repetitive studying is key, I was not very good at reviewing assignments and notes throughout the week at first but as I began to realize I would fail the course if I did not take this seriously I began dedicating more and more time to it and in the end got great grades on all of my audio/video assignments.
Presentational Speaking
The only presentational speaking activity that I completed this semester were the FlipGrid assignments due with each module. This is where our professor would essentially give us an oral fill in the blank assignment, she would have speak for about two minutes and get us to respond with a video filling in the other side of the conversation while playing her audio in the background. Making it a complete back and forth conversation between student and professor once it was complete. At the end students would add two or more questions for other students and in turn we would respond to each others posts with video just like we did with our professor’s.
In total there were three FlipGrid assignments. The first being our M2 discussion which included module one and two information. We we were instructed to play our professor’s audio in the background and record ourselves responding to her questions. Since this was the second module the questions were relatively simple, where we were from, how old we are, what our name is, and other basic personal information. The second was our M4 discussion, this included information from module three and four. We followed the same process as before but this time we were asked more intricate questions. What classes we are taking, how many classes, whether they are difficult or not, our favorite classes, and information about family members. The final FlipGrid assignment included information from all five modules but this time we did not follow the audio our professor presented us but instead we were to present a brief summary of a person we admire and why. Out of these oral presentations I would say I excelled at the presentation and preparation for them, I received 100’s on each assignment and was able to remember exactly what to say due to my preparation. Since I did so well on these I cannot say that I would do anything differently, my method of completing these assignments works well.
Presentational Writing
The most common presentational communications in writing that we completed were our discussion board posts. These were mostly completed in English but towards the end of the semester there was one that were completed in Spanish and visible to the entire class as well as our professor. Along with this we also participated in LingroLearning assignments where we were required to fill in the blank for paragraphs in Spanish but also had to write some responses in Spanish on our own. These were only visible to our professor so it was not as presentational as our discussion board posts.
The discussion board post that I consider to be the best presentational Spanish communication assignment was a brief description of our favorite person. I chose my grandfather and gave a summary as to why he is my favorite person. I would say that this came easy to me due to my ability to review the Spanish modules presented to us that helped prepare me for this assignment. One difficulty I had was typing in Spanish, this is a first for me so I had to review notes on how to do so properly. To overcome this I reviewed the youtube video provided to us in the beginning of the semester often and practiced in LingroLearning. One thing I could do better with next time is practicing more Spanish typing on my own vs only doing so when assignments are due.
Interpretive Listening
Throughout the semester we had multiple different interpretive listening activities due. The most common would be in LingroLearning where we would listen to an individual speak in Spanish and then answer questions about what they said. The same process followed for our Module quizzes, we would hear a portion of a sentence and then state what was spoken. The most intricate assignments due that involved listening would be our FlipGrid assignments where we would have to listen to our professor speak in Spanish and then answer the questions she spoke back to her in Spanish.
For LingroLearning we would typically hear very basic sentences that pertain to the module and vocabulary at hand. The same would go for our Module quizzes except the quizzes were a little more in depth due to the fact that they were a more important assignment. Our FlipGrid assignments would include a 2-3 minute discussion about all information covered in two modules, therefore we would have to decipher what our professor would be asking us in Spanish and then create the proper response in Spanish. We would then record ourselves speaking our portion while her portion played in the background. The most challenging aspect of these assignments was the fact that I had no prior Spanish listening or speaking history. Therefore trying to decipher what exactly was beng said was quite difficult. I overcame this by keeping that modules vocabulary in front of me and as words were being spoken I would write them down and then translate them to English so I understood what was being said. Once this was done I would recite the sentences over and over again so I not only knew how to speak in the proper manner but also knew the meaning behind what I was saying. What I found interesting was how easy this can be if you put in the time and study in the ways that I did, if you try this and are unprepared the Spanish will come out entirely wrong and you will typically have learned nothing. I feel as if from the start of the semester to the end that I have grown exponentially in my ability to speak Spanish when prepared.
Interpretive Reading
The most common form of interpretive communication I encountered during this class would be our LingroLearning assignments. For each module we would have multiple pre-written paragraphs in Spanish where we would fill in the blank where words were missing. We would have to include proper spelling, accents, and forms of the word or no points would be rewarded.
The LingroLearning activities were challenging due to it being a one way assignment. Meaning that if you had questions you could not ask the website but you would have to reach out to the professor for help. Therefore most of this was a trial and error sort of completion. What I found worked best for me was trying without any notes or referral to prior slides, once this was done Iwould review the answers I got incorrect and proceed to reference notes and prior modules for assistance. This way I would see what exactly I need to work on instead of just getting the answers right on the first try. I found it interesting how difficult it can be to get the form of the word correct, there are many different options and factors at play that decide what form of the word needs to be used and if i did not study this I would usually struggle to complete the assignment. From the first assignment I had to complete to the final one due I feel as if I have made great progress in my Spanish reading abilities.
