Looking Back to the Beginning
Returning to old classwork can be one of two things;
- Interesting and fun, especially if you have grown/learned a lot
- Cringe-worthy mistakes (We all make them)
Starting off my experience with the ODU Spanish program was both fun and challenging. My professor was Profesora Padilla, who was very understanding.
Throughout the semester, we covered the basics:
- Starting conversations
- Who Are You? Who am I?
- Telling time
- Verbs and their endings in the present tense
At this time, I had previously taken Spanish courses throughout middle and high school. However, I wasn’t sure how college level courses would challenge me.
And so, the semester started and so did the work. It started off pretty easy, but as time went on, it felt as though things were heating up a bit. I’m not saying it was extremely difficult, but there were a few hard times and mistakes here and there. Overall, I was able to improve greatly on my speaking skills while growing confident in my abilities.
Artifacts
Included in the artifacts from this section will be:
- Instructions for an interview between students
- An audio file of an interview conducted with a classmate
The artifacts will be posted at the very bottom of the page.
Exploring Culture
While the class wasn’t focusing too heavily on culture just yet, 101 did highlight countries in Central America and popular travel sites. In learning which travel sites were in what country was interesting. I remember watching a video about an Incan construct, but I can’t remember if it was through class or due to some other reason.
Engaging in Communities
I think music is extremely engaging, even to those outside of a specific community. Five years ago, I had the privilege to be a part of a friend’s quinceañera as a member of her court. We learned dances such as bachata and cumbia, even a waltz, all to perform at her celebration.
Being a part of something like my friend’s quinceañera, while it is a past example, is one of the events that led me to begin a better understanding of her culture.
Interpersonal Communication
While we weren’t exactly completing Talkabroad conversations in a beginner’s class, my professor still stressed that it was extremely important to build up communication skills immediately. We completed various student/student and student/professor interviews in order to strengthen our listening, comprehension, and speaking skills.
With each interview, I was becoming a little more comfortable with the idea of speaking in another language. However, I struggled a lot with maintaining my composure due to nervousness, especially if I wasn’t sure what I was saying was correct. Over time, I learned to be wary of mistakes, but to also let them happen or else I wouldn’t be learning.
Presentational Writing
In class, we wrote two compositions. While the first was relatively easy, the second was definitely a better showcase of my capabilities. We also had a few notebook checks in which homework questions were to be written on paper to be checked the following class for completion. Other written activities included writing down verb forms and filling out workbook pages.
At first, writing in Spanish was hard. I did not entirely remember, or sometimes know, where certain accents would go. This is how it is with every language. Over the course of the semester, it slowly became much easier to write in Spanish. To better my writing in Spanish, I wrote everything in a notebook to look back on and practice later. In doing this, I created a process for myself to actively write and eventually enable myself to fully retain everything I was learning.
Interpretive Listening
The majority of our listening activities were through the VHL Supersite. Most of them were for homework, while some others were included in quizzes and tests.
There were times in which it was hard to understand what was being said, whether it be from different accents or lapses in focus/hearing. In order to better my listening skills, I needed to listen to Spanish audio more frequently. So, I began to watch films and television shows with the Spanish audio instead of the English. Over time, this strengthened by listening skills and language comprehension.
Artifacts
Recording: