SPAN 101 | elenaharris

Exploring Culture

As someone who comes from a multicultural family, I am continually reevaluating my cultural perspectives as they relate to other people because I tend to have a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural humility necessary to exist in today’s world, due to the fact that it is embedded in my existence. I often keep up with current news, specifically in Puerto Rico, and I feel as though this allows me to continue to stay updated on varying cultural perspectives.

Everyone has a bias, whether or not it is subconscious, and it is important to stay on top of how that bias impacts everything that you say and do in your daily life. Staying updated on what is going on in surrounding countries, and specifically, Puerto Rico is a great way that I can understand the cultures of others, and therefore have a comprehensive understanding of how the world is bigger than just the news occurring in the U.S.

Engaging in Communities

I personally believe that in the U.S. we have upheld a very individualistic ideology surrounding the way we think and live, and this unfortunate way of thinking is not the way that many countries operate. Many other countries operate with an incredibly strong sense of community, and while there absolutely are pros and cons, some more weighted than others, in all countries, I think that this is an area that the U.S. could benefit from changing immensely. Around campus, I am active in the Latinx community and get to experience a culture that is almost entirely different from the existing culture of ODU as a whole. It is such a wonderful experience to be able to partake in what can feel like a different world at times, and enjoy myself in a space that gives me a break from what is considered conventional or “the norm”.

Interpersonal Communication

As far as interpersonal communication, this semester I spoke to my classmates utilizing methods such as the discussion boards, speaking to my professor through flipgrid, and other means of communication.

During my time taking this course, I did not participate in a large amount of graded spontaneous conversation, besides the final interview I had with my professor however, this was the last form of communication I produced, and I do believe that it did showcase how I had grown within my ability to spontaneously speak from where I had begun at the beginning of the semester. Although I had an understanding of the language, it was not often that I had the opportunity to use it in an unplanned circumstance, so it was very pleasant to see how I had grown back into my ability to speak without a prompt. It was a joyful experience sharing my stories and opinions with my fellow classmates, and it really allowed me to understand them as individual people, even though we were a group of online students. I think that I began to excel within my direct and spontaneous speech as the semester went on, simply because I began to utilize this aspect of the language.

Presentational Speaking

The presentational speaking assignments I participated in this semester were exciting to produce, knowing that I was getting the opportunity to practice my speaking. Although this is probably one of my biggest weaknesses within the language, it is one of my favorites to actually do.

Throughout the semester I spoke in a presentational manner with the alphabet assignment, and the flip grid conversations, although for myself, the flipgrid conversations were very casually prepared. I felt as though throughout the entire semester I did have a solid foundation as it pertained to presentational speaking, as I have a solid lexicon within the Spanish language, and it is not necessarily an issue to present with words that are familiar to me. I did personally enjoy the flip grid aspect of presentational speaking the most, as I had never utilized the platform before, and enjoyed the way I was able to interact with my classmates face to face as if we were in a traditional setting.

* ( In any file I attempted to upload with my face, whether video recording or screenshot of said recording, I got an error message from this website quoting it was unable to upload “due to security reasons”) *

Presentational Writing

In terms of presentational writing, I participated in discussion board assignments, exam questions, and lingro research assignments. Writing is something that I typically struggle with in this language, as my grammar has always been a downfall of mine however, as the semester progressed I found myself becoming more comfortable and fluent.

I do not necessarily know if the grammar aspect of presentational writing became easier in itself, but I do think that as the semester progressed I just naturally became accustomed to using the language, and therefore felt comfortable even making mistakes as I was writing, knowing they were probably not incredibly incorrect. The lingro platform allowed me room to grow in terms of my knowledge in writing as far as investigating and researching, which was a helpful refresher. I actually learned about many different tools that I did not have any previous knowledge regarding through lingro learning’s teachings on internet research. By the last exam response that I had to complete I was getting through the writing very easily and was able to articulate what I was wanting to say into a comprehensible phrase.

Interpretive Listening

Most of the interpretive listening I did this semester came in the form of quizzes and exams, as this is where I had to listen and respond with what I thought to be the correct answer.

I think that one of my greatest strengths within the language is actually interpretive listening. I am certainly able to understand and comprehend what is being spoken to me far better than I am at speaking to another. I did not have many problems with listening exercises as I progressed throughout the semester and they were, for the most part, very straightforward. In regards to the listening exercises, I will say that I do enjoy listening to the different accents and voices of the individuals, as it allows me to experience other cultures besides my own.

Interpretive Reading

I would go on to say that the majority of what was done this semester was in large part, the aspect of interpretive reading. Regardless of if the activity involved another form of learning, at some point, it also utilized the aspect of interpretive reading.

Just as listening is an easier aspect of the language, in my opinion, reading is a part of the course that I both enjoyed and excelled at. I had a great deal of fun reading the different passages assigned to us this semester, and even at times would read them out loud to myself or others. Because I can typically pronounce most Spanish words, I enjoyed testing myself by searching to read things that may not have been assigned to us, and then also attempting to understand them. Most of the reading I did also came in the form of quizzes and exams, as I would have to understand the passages and questions in order to even answer correctly. Reading has always been a passion of mine in English, and I am glad to say that the passion has been transferred over to another language.