Changing of the Seasons
As things are slowly going back to normal, both in and out of the classroom, I have found it much easier to communicate with my fellow classmates. As stress is beginning to lessen, I can focus on my classwork fulltime without worrying about the current state of affairs. Having Professor Gordus was also a plus because he has an air of calmness about him that was helpful when in such a higher level language class.
Artifacts
Artifacts will be posted at the bottom of the page.
Included in the artifacts are:
- A download of a recording of a Talkabroad conversation
- A listening activity from the course website
- A copy of the second composition draft
Exploring Culture
This semester, we covered many cultural aspects in different countries. I remember one activity in which we spoke about cyber cafes in countries like Colombia and Ecuador. I also remember learning that wi-fi is primarily accessed there, but can also be found in open-air areas such as parks and plazas.
I was surprised to find out that so many people can access wi-fi outside and in multiple cafes throughout the country. I know that in my hometown, we either have to be in a building or at home in order to access wi-fi, and most of the time, those connections are password protected. I think that it would be cool to have public accessible wi-fi all the time, no matter where you are, so that it would be easier to work on projects more often.
Engaging in Communities
Because I live near a large Latin American community in my hometown of Arlington, Virginia, I find it very important to be able to speak Spanish. In every job I have held, there have been times where I am the only one who knows how to speak Spanish.
Being able to converse with, understand and help customers in Spanish has been a good way to interact with the Spanish-speaking community at large as well as continue to work on my Spanish skills.
Someday, I hope to travel to Spain and take in the sights and sounds of a country other than my own.
Interpersonal Communication
This semester, we had two Talkabroads as well as a multitude of listening activities. The Talkabroad activity that is linked below focuses on cities and the countryside/suburbs and what it is like to live in them.
I think with every Talkabroad I’ve gotten better at being able to answer a question without having to take a minute or two to think of an answer. There will always be times, though, where I might forget a word, but that happens in any language someone talks in. I partnered up again with Adriana and we talked about both of our hometowns as well as the nearby cities. Adriana talked about Managua and I talked about Washington D.C.
Presentational Writing
For the second composition of the class, a lot of it was talking about the future and using future tense. In my copy, I talked about my plans for when I graduate from the undergrad program here at ODU and how I plan on entering into a Masters program, hopefully at ODU as well.
I think the further I’ve come in Spanish classes, the more I’ve grown. However, I have found that in having more concepts to think about, it shows in my writing and speaking. Most of the time, I make small mistakes, but I make a lot of them. I want to keep improving so that number of mistakes goes down. Overall, I think I did pretty well and I hope that I will continue to do so.
Interpretive Listening
Every chapter we worked on had at least one listening and comprehension activity. Below in the Artifacts section, I have linked an audio file from Chapter 14.
Sometimes with the audio recordings, I get set off due to the changing of the voice speaking. I can get distracted with the smallest of changes in tone/voice and the sudden change made it difficult for my brain to catch up with the dialogue itself. Over time, it was easier to adjust to the changes, and I know that the changes themselves reflect how dialogue can go in person, especially when multiple people are all talking at once.
Artifacts