Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Instructions
Exploring Culture
In our class, we used Blackboard’s discussion board to share our thoughts and ideas about new cultural values that we learned about by watching YouTube videos about them. We also used the Cultura assignments on VHL to learn new facets of the life and culture in Hispanic countries.
In this class, we went slightly more in depth than in past Spanish classes. We learned less about history, and more about economic ideals and popular cultural and religious events. These sorts of things are what help people to more acutely learn about the culture of another people. The things that I learned helped me to see the political side of these countries and the way they value their people. Also, as an American, it is almost surprising to see a country with a Christian holiday that is not widely practiced here, but that is what helps us to take a deeper look at foreign societies and analyze what makes different, and what unites us. It is also enlightening because it helps—especially in the case of the Christian holidays such as Cabalgata de Los Reyes Magos—to make inferences and connect the dots as looking back, I remember that America is a widely Protestant state while Spain is a widely Catholic one. In this way, it has pushed my view of the way Christianity is practiced and celebrated around the world.
“La fiesta más interesante es la Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos porque el desfile y las actividades son muy divertidas. La Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos es un desfile muy grande con muchos bailarines y músicos. Mi fiesta favorito en mi familia está Navidad porque me encanta la nieva y el frío, tambien los regalos son muy divertidos. Tenemos una cena grande la noche anterior, y nos levantamos a las diez de la mañana para recibir los regalos. Despues, nos relajamos todo el dia.”
Engaging in Communities
I have always maintained that perspective is an incredibly important thing to have. It can help you in everyday life and with life altering problems. One of the best ways to gain perspective is to interact with people from around the world, whether they are in a different town or continent, it helps. Engaging with people of other cultures, however, is even more beneficial because in doing do, you may educate yourself about other cultures and their value.
In our class, we used Blackboard’s discussion board feature to interact with our classmates, some of whom were in different states. This was a great way to talk with people from different parts of the country, or even just a few miles away. We also participated in conversations with people from other countries using Talkabroad for several of our Entervista assignments. In doing so, we were able to talk and ask them questions about their lives and even some of the traditions they practice and they ways they do so. For instance, I talked to Daniela about festivals that we both practiced and asked her about the ways Hondurans celebrate their Independence Day. Honestly, her talking about that food made me want to have some for July 4th instead of burgers.
https://soundcloud.com/ethan-carter-212846540/ethan-carter-1-festivals
Interpersonal Communication
This semester we used programs such as Talkabroad, Blackboard’s discussion board, Entrevistas with our teacher, and Flipgrid to engage with our classmates and other people. We did not, however, do student to student Entrevistas as we have in the past as a slight break in tradition. These activities were very beneficial for me as they helped me learn by speaking and communicating with other people and work on what I could do better.
With each of the activities I have gotten better and better at Spanish. My Spanish speaking ability has gotten better as I have practiced with my Talkabroad partners and my teacher while my writing has gotten better with every discussion board post. I have learned new words and ways of using them with each conversation, and it is exciting to be able to be more and more conversational in Spanish. The most difficult, as always, was the nerves of speaking to another person and not having the time to stop for a while and collect my thoughts while going my internal list of vocabulary. Instead I had to work fast and rely on my knowledge, which is always a scary feat. However, doing them repeatedly has greatly helped me with my stress as I can tell that I am doing better. Ultimately, I have always been better at understanding than actually speaking, and learning more vocabulary is a constant struggle, but it is a necessary one. In the future, I know how better to prepare for these activities and how much time they take. I would like to rely more on myself in the future for Blackboard posts instead of taking my time with carefully worded sentences. Just relying on my own knowledge and instincts with the language.
“I think the Spanish healthcare system is one that works for its people, not for the private hospitals or giant healthcare corporations. It is also continually evolving and getting better as Spain’s health outcomes continue to improve. I would consider medical tourism to Spain, but only if the procedure I needed was not critical. I have heard many times that healthcare costs are so much lower in Spain than in America that I could fly to Spain, stay a few nights in a hotel, get my procedure, stay a few more nights, and fly home all for less than the procedure alone in America. The biggest differences is the level of public healthcare. In America, we only have limited public healthcare and it is not amazing. It does not offer wonderful treatment and leaves lots to be desired, and sexual safety and abortion are not always offered in America. Spain, however, prides itself on its progressive stance on women’s healthcare such as giving birth, free contraception, and abortion within the first three months.
Yo voy a la consulto del doctor una vez de año, o más si es una emergencia. Ahora nada. Yo no tengo síntomas porque estoy en perfecto estado de salud. No tomo medicina nada, yo no necesito nada.”
Presentational Speaking
We had various speaking activities in this semester such as Talkabroad, our latest Blackboard discussion post, Entrevistas with the professor, and our oral quiz assignments. These all required us to test the limits of Spanish knowledge and improve on them.
The Talkabroads and the Entrevistas with our professor both provided the same challenges. For both of them, I could not one hundred percent prepare for what was going to happen and what was going to be said, and I had to respond quickly and without using and English, whereas most of the time I take my time and talk to myself a lot in English, going over the words and sentences I am going to use and their English translations. Ultimately, I excelled at kepping up with my speaking partners and would most likely attempt to try to relax myself beforehand as being anxious and stressed will only hurt my future speaking endeavors.
Our oral quizzes and our most recent Blackboard post also both posed the same challenges. With these, I knew what I was going to say before I ever said it which gave me more confidence in my words. However, preparing for these as much as I did always leaves me brain tired for a while afterwards. I excelled at being precise and taking my time with these, but am excited to grow mores killed at Spanish and do better at these.
Presentational Writing
In this semester we had a graded composition and several written Blackboard discussion posts. These all involved us writing pieces that would be read by either classmates or the teacher, and in the case of the discussion boards, both.
The discussion board pieces are always wonderful chances to learn more vocabulary and Hispanic culture. They are very relaxed, but can be difficult to understand what is being said in the videos in order to write about them. However, the composition piece is always very difficult because we are not allowed to use any notes and have very limited time. This is always difficult to me, but it has gotten easier each time since I know more of what to expect. I have gotten better at relaxing and thinking clearly and not getting anxious while I write these pieces, resulting in better cleaner written pieces. I excelled at the discussion board pieces because I was able to take my time. Next time, I could work harder and learning the vocabulary and grammar rules for the composition piece.
“I agree with the video that technology has many uses, I also agree that video games can be addicting and that computers cost a lot of money, but I am an avid gamer and I still find the time to have a social life, get mostly good grades, and work part-time. So yes, technology can have adverse side effects, but not in many. In fact, for most people it is simply an advantage. For instance, here we all are learning from our homes. Technology has given us the ability to keep ourselves safe while a pandemic is still taking lives, while also kepping up with our college educations. Quite frankly, I think we would be far worse off if we did not have the technology of today. Phones and computers allow us to keep in contact with loved ones we can not see right now, and they also allow us to stay up to date with the latest news on the pandemic in our area.
Yo uso mi teléfono celular, computadora portatil, y mis auriculares diariamente. Cuando era pequeña, yo usaba mi iPod, mi computadora vieja, y mi radio.”
Interpretive Listening
The first three discussion board assignments we were responses to videos in which we had to listen to the Spanish being spoken, and the fourth we had to listen to a video, but not respond to it. We also had several listening assignments on VHL and our tests and quizzes.
Very often I learned new words during these assignments, whether through context clues or looking them up afterwards. These new words invariably proved to be a challenge to overcome seeing as how I did always understand what was being said at first. Each time I simply listened over and over again until I figured the word out using context clues. The most interesting times were when I could just about make out what was being said and knew how to correctly respond as those were both skill affirming and enjoyably challenging. These listening experiences have taught me that I need to do better with the vocabulary and read the questions and answers more carefully. Often I get tripped up on technicalities within the writing and miss some crucial detail. Each time I have gotten better and have trained my ears towards Spanish more and more.
https://soundcloud.com/ethan-carter-212846540/ethan-carter-1-festivals
Gramática 12.3 Activity 3, VHL
Interpretive Reading
We had many reading activities in this class, such as Cultura assignments, grammar assignments, and even Blackboard discussion posts. We had to read discussion posts in order to be able to respond to them, and this occasionally took effort to do so.
I often learned new words, which proved challenging to overcome, but also served as a way to grow and improve. Occasionally also with the grammar assignments, certain grammatical rules were at times unclear, though that is the fault of the rushed nature of this course. I ultimately overcame these difficulties by spending time diligently translating and looking up some of these new words online and in VHL. The most interesting and compelling reading activities we had were the Blackboard discussion assignments that required us to read and respond to another student. My takeaways from the readings were always more vocabulary and different examples for the various grammar rules, and each assignment has seen me grow more by getting better and better at them.
“Mi casa idea es en un barrio de las afueras. Tiene un alcoba grande con un baño adjunto. El alcoba tiene un estante con libros porque me gusta leer. También tiene una cómoda para mi ropa. Hay un armario cerca del alcoba y tiene todos mis vestidos. Luego, hay un segundo armario para todos mis zapatos y bolsos. Necesito dos armarios porque compro demasiado. Además, tiene una habitación para la lavadora y la secadora. También tiene una cocina grande porque a mi familia le gusta cocinar y mi papá es un chef. La cocina tiene con estufa, el horno de microondas, el refrigerador y el lavaplatos. La sala tiene pinturas en las paredes, lámparas, y un sofa.Tiene una oficina donde puedo trabajar en casa. También tiene un jardín, piscina y patio. Finalmente, hay un grande garaje para al menos tres coches.”
Jamie Lentini, Discussion Board 12: Mi Casa Ideal