Reflection:

During this semester, Spanish class was challenging for me. I had a rough start and I grasped concepts very slowly. My growth in comparison to before this semester, is that my understanding of the language got easier. I am now able to listen to conversations and for the most part, understand what is being said (with a few errors.) My weakness is conjugating in real-time. If I have time to think, I can eventually find the correct words to say, however, I need to continue to practice if I want to become fluent. Even though I still need correcting, I am okay with that because that just means I have more to learn. One assignment I really enjoyed was the proyectos. One in particular that I was very interested in was an assignment where we had to cut out clothes and make a style profile for a client. I also thoroughly enjoyed speaking throughout the semester to my professor and classmates. I have taken classes before where speaking is not prioritized and it makes the learning process harder. I was able to comprehend a lot due to hearing more Spanish every week.

Exploring Culture

Using LingroLearning aided in my understanding of different cultures. The assignments dived into different countries and gave an interesting insight into subjects I would not have known about otherwise. Also, completing Talkabroads gave me a lot of confidence and cultural exploration. Being able to speak with someone from a different country allowed me to learn about real people and their lives while also being able to have full 15-minute-long conversations. Even during the times they were leading the conversation, I was confident in my ability to try and not be afraid of making mistakes. I also learned a lot from my Professor, being that she is from Chile. She gave our class many valuable stories and made the class feel very personal which helped in learning about her culture as well.

Engaging in Communities

It is important to engage with your immediate and global community because that is how you learn. There are so many things in the world that we don’t and may never know, but, we should all possess curiosity in trying to scratch the surface so we can pass on that knowledge to each other.

Interpersonal Communication

During the semester, I took the opportunity to listen to more Spanish podcasts. I hoped that I would be able to pick up on common phrases and train my ear to understand different accents, tempos, and voice fluctuations. This helped me understand my assignments more because I was able to familiarize myself with different vocabulary. With each assignment, my vocabulary and ability to differentiate meanings has grown. Next time, I would find more Spanish practice websites to practice on rather than relying on just the LingroLearning website.

Presentational Writing, Interpretive Listening, Interpretive Reading

During the semester we were able to create our own micro stories and we had plenty of practice with our composition skills. We had multiple assignments where we were challenged to read and comprehend grammar on paper. We watched videos and even a song with subtitles which also aided in being able to listen and see what the speakers were saying.