Reflection

With learning any language there are difficulties but, the benefits of learning one is far greater than the adversities. Some benefits of learning another language are that they set you apart career wise. Being able to communicate in multiple languages allows for any individual to stand out against their counter parts. This is due to the fact that They can communicate to vaster customers in the workplace. Furthermore, it helps improve individuals’ cognition and allows for more understanding of other cultures and customs

Some adversities I had with trying to learn Spanish was a difference in grammar and my ability to think in another language. Grammar is made out of syntax and morphology. It’s quite important to have good grammar due to the fact that is helps with the clarity of communication. Along with Grammar when learning language being able to think in the language allows for more fluent conversations.

Some things that helped improve my grammar were reading children’s books, reading newsletters, and even watching Spanish TV shows with subtitles to try and understand the sentence structures. The constant repetition allowed me to better formulate my sentence and helped me visually see how to implement the material we learned. Ways I worked to improve my ability to think in another language was practicing speaking with others. Writing the material allows me the ability to practice this but gives me more time whereas communicating with others allowed me to challenge myself and get instant feedback.

Trying to communicate was difficult but I was also very good when it came to my pronunciation, my ability to break down the words allowed me to communicate more clearly and allowed the listener to better understand me. Constantly going over the alphabet made it easy to break down words to get the correct pronunciations. Along with that simply searching the word at times and hearing the word allowed me to emulate the sounds.

Artifacts

Exploring Culture

Taking Spanish helped further develop my knowledge of different cultures. Not only do social norms vary depending on the family, school, and where an individual has grown up, but they also influence behaviors. For instance, Spaniards and Latin Americans greet individuals by giving one or two kisses on the cheek, a handshake, or a hug. The concept of personal space is different than other cultures therefore greeting like that a normalcy. Here the concept of personal space is giving anyone the courtesy of two feet at least but it does not allow them to be as personable with individuals. Learning about the differences in greeting individuals has made m question the concept of personal space that’s been established here. It also made me feel as though within the Spanish culture it seems to be standard to be more endearing to others.

Learning the difference in cultures has granted me more respect and open-mindedness. It allowed me to try new things that I may not have done. It’s also given me more curious about the cultural differences in a variety of different places. Reflecting on the social norms in the Spanish culture has allowed me to understand both the informal and formal when speaking to others.

Engaging in Communities

The importance of engaging in your immediate community and the global community is that it helps with defining social norms. Social norms are simply shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. This ranges from waiting to speak while communicating to others, acknowledging others in closed spaces, and or simply saying “bless you” when someone sneezes. All these interactions help with an individual’s ability to communicate with others and establish relationships. Along with that by engaging within them it can help you keep yourself up to date with everything going on within these communities. For example, I engage with a lot of my friends and new people on campus. In doing so I am able to find out new information and different activates going on.

Interpersonal Communication

This semester was filled with conversational pieces, discussion boards, and written practices. Each concept seemed to build on the next, so the constant repetition helped put things together. With each module, we completed there was a conversation assignment. They were intended to help us listen to the material and reflect on how to respond. After completing the conversation, we then had to proceed to ask our made-up questions on the material we were learning. 

When it came to conversational assignments on flip grids, they tended to be a bit easier to interpret. Since it is pre-recording it allowed me to replay a part of the conversation I didn’t quite catch and gave me more time to develop my response. The in-person conversation we had with our instructor required me to speak slowly and take my time listening to what was being said and thinking about my response. One conversation I can reflect on that had me stumped was in our four modules where we began to communicate things we did around our university, where we lived, the necessary tools we needed, and the classes we attended.  While learning all these vocabulary elements we learned about the verb Haber in contrast with Ser and Estar.  I struggled with this because I was already having difficulty learning Ser and Estar. These slips up truly affected the fluency of my communication. Therefore, I had to study how to both Ser and Estar to begin to understand where to insert Haber.

Presentational Speaking

Most of our presentational information we completed was with our speaking. For example, one of the first assigned presentations we had to complete was our pronunciation of the Spanish Alphabet. The pronunciations of each letter are the basic fundamentals of learning how to break down words to see the correct pronunciation of them. This basic allows for begging Spanish students to clearly communicate to others.

With each presentation activity, we completed I enjoyed the chance to practice the material. One challenging factor I had was my confidence level when presenting the material. Since I am learning a new language from scratch, I am not quite sure of anything. I had a lot of issues with feeling as though I sounded weird or just looking at a word and trying to pronounce it. One of the most difficult presentations we completed was the writing portion of our exams.

The presentation portion of this semester was not all bad though. Although my confidence was quite low in the beginning of the semester, I found that as the semester progressed my confidence level escalated. With each oral conversation we began to have it required me to practice a lot. To prepare for each conversation I tried to respond without writing the material down until I could not anymore. After that I would write down the whole conversation. I would try my best to translate it visual in English as I needed to and then think of the best way to respond.

Presentational Writing

One of the most difficult presentations we completed was our writing portions of our exams. Our Spanish test our timed and require us to quickly recite the material we are learning. When it came to the written portions, I seemed to have to write it down in English then retype it in Spanish. For me visually seeing how I needed to respond gave me more clarity on how to begin to translate the material to Spanish. Thinking in another language require a lot of multitasking. This was so challenging for me because I am a very visual learner.

Besides the test we had to practice writing through discussion boards, book work assignments and the quizzes we were required to complete. The constant repetition was beneficial for my writing abilities. Being able to visualize how to respond after seeing the material was quite easy for me.

Interpretive Listening

The listening activities we worked through this semester were listening to others’ conversations, listening to how to pronounce our vocabulary words, and watching videos. All of these activities were on the topics we were learning so as the semester went on the amount of time spent listening increased. After each activity we were required to then answer questions and the information we heard.

A lot of the activities tested are comprehension abilities. This involved listening to the material at hand and converting what we heard from Spanish to English. Actives in the book work assignments typically involved decoding regular conversational material. Hearing the material did present its challenges since I was having to decode the conversation from Spanish to English. Since English is my first language and I speak quite fast. Hearing someone else speak and feeling lost in every word was difficult. A lot of times I had to replay the video or ask them to repeat what they had said. That for me was difficult. Therefore, I focused on immersing myself in hearing Spanish.  I engaged in. Not all of the studying I needed to do was spent at the desk, I chose to make it fun. Watching movies such as Vivo, Xico’s Journey, and Coco. A lot of the material in kid’s movies was on my learning level and provided me with entertainment while reinforcing the material. I found that watching movies I already knew in Spanish actually helped me learn the word faster. Each activity helped me begin to decode conversation easier.

[DisneyMusicVEVO]. (2017, December 17) Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal – Un Poco Loco (From “Coco”). {YouTube]. Retrived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg8116aeD7E.

Interpretive Reading

There have been many opportunities in this course to retain all the information we have learned. From using the Contrasena to do extra practice to the plethora of articles added at the end of each module for us to go over and practice our knowledge. Articles such as news were helpful in applying the Spanish material learned throughout the course. Reading the material also gave me a new outlook on what was going on in different places of the world.

The book work activities were challenging. Having to convert the material I am reading into English to understand it was difficult. With each new vocabulary activity, we had I would have to use the vocabulary words sheet to help guide me through the activities. At times I would try to turn the vocabulary sheet over and begin the activities to see how far I could get by myself. Doing the activities allowed me more time to study the vocabulary outside of just looking at the words.

When it came to practicing the reading material, I noticed with articles such as the one above I didn’t know all the words that were in them. Therefore, a lot of the time I was having trouble comprehending it. I would have to translate what I knew and then begin to look up the material I was unsure of so I could understand what I was reading. The readings within the news articles allowed me to gain a new perspective on what is going on in the world outside of just where I live. This particular new article talks about Barcelona’s Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and his stance on the idea of sexual abuse and how it pertains to the armed services there. He makes it quite clear that there will be a zero-tolerance policy for behaviors related to sexual abuse.