Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

For me cultural understanding started when I first visited Mexico as a child. At the time all I knew is what television or movies told me about Mexico. Then I visited and I saw what it was really like. I have been to Mexico many times since then and always have a deep appreciation.

This helped me understand Spanish cultures a lot more than I did before because I got to see first hand how they live and what they celebrate. I definitely have a deeper understanding of the culture and I admire the values that they have of family and friendship. To me it feels a lot different than how families and relationships in general are here. I also really enjoy eating Mexican foods. One thing I thought was very interesting was learning about their celebrations.

Engaging in Communities

The value of engaging in your community is important for self confidence. It will also give you great pleasure knowing that you made somebody’s day.

I felt this way when I was a kid in the boy scouts. We would do many events where we helped the community. unfortunately I do not have any artifacts of when I was in the Boy Scouts.

Interpersonal Communication

TalkAbroad is when you talk to someone from a different country and try to have a conversation with them in their language. The conversation length can vary from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. You mostly talk about each other’s hobbies.

Discussion Boards are when you submit a response to a discussion. People are able to see your response and reply to it and give their opinions on it.

TalkAbroad for me was very difficult because I am really bad at having a conversation in spanish. The reason for this is because I get so nervous that I tend to draw a blank. Unless I am in control of the conversation most likely I will do horrible. What I hope to do better on is to calm my nerves so that I can do better on assignments like these.

The Discussion Boards were fun because I could see the views and experiences that my classmates had. I could also respond with the similarities that I felt I had with what they were saying. I also liked the ones where we watched videos and had to answer questions related to them.

Presentational Speaking

Mi Casa Ideal was the presentation project we did. For this project we had to present what our ideal home would look like.

The most challenging thing about this presentation was trying to figure out what my ideal home would look like. I have never actually thought about it before. It was very interesting to look things up to see what I would want in a house. Besides that the project overall I feel I did a good job on. Since I was alone and I had all the time I needed I didn’t stress much when making it.

Presentational Writing

I did Black Board discussion Boards where I gave my thoughts on certain subjects. I also responded to other peoples thoughts as well.

One of the discussion boards I did was Mis celebraciones favoritas. For this one I had to watch a video called “12 meses 12 fiestas en Espana”. After watching the video I had to write about which fiesta I found the most appealing and explain why. Then I was to write about what my favorite tradition is in my family, why I like it, and how I celebrate it.

Interpretive Listening

TalkAbroad #3. For this assignment I had to listen and interpret what the other person was saying to me and try to respond. I had to talk about My hobbies and technology.

The only Spanish I’ve heard this semester was from class. I’d say I’ve learned the most from the Interview assignments because it challenges me to try to remember better. I did bad on the TalkAbroad assignments but one I did good on was the one I was able to practice with a partner on. This was the one where I had to interview a classmate as a patient. For this next thing I’m going to view a random video and try to figure out what is being said.

Wenatchee School District. “Washington Elementary Welcome – Spanish Audio.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 18 Aug, 2020. Web. 5 Dec, 2020.

This is the principal of the Washington Elementary School welcoming the students back to class. The general idea of this video is to talk about how they are now online rather than in person. He goes on to explain how classes will be structured and what type of work the students will be doing.