Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

The cultural exploration sections of each chapter have definitely broadened my perspective on different cultures with Central and Latin America. Reading and watching videos from people of these cultures made me more aware of the difference between the different Hispanic cultures. It definitely helped me understand that there is no such thing as a single Hispanic culture and that to truly understand one’s culture you must spend time and attention to fully understand their morals and values.

I believe that engaging and interacting with people from different cultures, including Hispanic cultures, is very important. I believe that having a global perspective is very important and that understanding other cultures is important for a society to thrive.

I really enjoyed the TalkAbroad conversations. They were very helpful in improving my confidence in speaking with other people in Spanish. Additionally, the oral part of the final exam was really helpful and quite fun to do. I don’t get many opportunities to talk to other people in Spanish so it was definitely a good opportunity to learn and improve my skills.

I was quite nervous before both of the TalkAbroad conversations. This was mainly because I hadn’t met any of my partners yet and I was not sure what to expect. However, both conversations went very well and my partners were both very nice to me. I felt very comfortable once the conversation started and we introduced ourselves. I think the second conversation of the TalkAbroad went better than the first one. I believe that this was mainly because I now knew what to expect. I prepared myself for both conversations and I knew what I wanted to say and discuss with my partner. This also helped me with feeling more confident going into the conversation. I wouldn’t change anything if I had to do it again. I was well prepared and after the first conversation I knew exactly what to expect. Underneath are the two recordings of my TalkAbroad conversations.

During the Spanish classes I was able to speak Spanish with my classmates and practice and improve my Spanish speaking skills. However, as mentioned before, I was rarely able to speak Spanish with someone outside of the class. I have however gotten better at understanding Spanish and I noticed that I was able to understand some little things when people were speaking around me outside of class. Underneath are two links to the videos that I made in SPAN 102F

I believe that I have gotten better at writing in Spanish. I believe that my vocabulary has certainly improved. The main thing that I need to work on is my grammar. I need to get a better understanding of the present tense and the past tense and understand how to properly apply the grammar. Underneath are three writing assignments that I completed in SPAN 102F

I believe that my interpretive listening ability has improved. I was able to understand much more in the class compared to last semester. As mentioned before, I was also able to understand some of the Spanish that was spoken around me outside of class, which I wasn’t able to do before.

Just like listening, I believe that my reading comprehension has improved over the last semester. I was able to understand some Spanish outside of class and I was able to understand when my professor was speaking Spanish in class. The TalkAbroad conversations also proved that I am able to understand Spanish much better now that I was able to before.

All in all, taking SPAN 102F has certainly improved my Spanish capabilities. Personally, I believe that I have made the biggest improvement in my speaking capabilities. I feel like my confidence right now is a lot stronger than what it was before taking this class. I also believe that my pronunciation has gotten a lot better and that I have become better at speaking fluently