Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

I usually used the textbook to help me understand the cultural perspectives of native Spanish speaking countries. I also used internet search engines, which has more access to different topics than what the text uses. They both helped me better understand the perspectives of different countries.

The textbook allowed me to learn about LGBTQ+ communities in Hispanic cultures, and how much of an impact that sports have on their communities as well. The internet helped me learn about the different meals that come from Peru, and also helped to learn about different Hispanic countries around the world. Learning about Hispanic cultures taught me that those countries aren’t much different than the US about a lot of different things.

Engaging in Communities

I believe that engaging in your community is very important. It shows people that you care. Engaging with your community allows you to connect with the people around you in a way that creates relationships. The global community is obviously much bigger that your immediate community, but it is just as important to show the people around the world that you care about them, even though you are not a part of their respective communities.

Interpersonal Communication

TalkAbroad is a website that allows students to speak with people that are native speakers of the language that the class is in. TalkAbroad also allows students to learn quicker because they have to understand what your partner is asking, and how to answer their questions.

TalkAbroad hepled me pick up the language quicker than I would have if I had not done it. I did both of my sessions with the same person, and she was nice and allowed me the time to process some of the questions that she asked me, sometimes she even reworded them. The first session we did in the beginning of October I had a lot of difficulty understanding what she was asking and needed to take time thinking about my answers. By the second session I was having an easier time understanding most of the questions. TalkAbroad is an excellent learning tool.

Presentational Speaking

We did two presentational speaking activities during this semester. The first one was to talk about our families and what they like to do and some of their character traits. The second was about cooking a meal and what ingredients you need to make that meal.

These videos helped me learn how to speak the language. The difficult part of making the first video was trying to say the word correctly. The second video was much easier for me. I practiced the pronunciation a lot more for the second video. I think that practicing helped me more for the second video. I did well with the length of my videos was one of my strengths with these assignments. If I had to do it over again, I would definitely practice more before filming the videos.

Presentational Writing

We did two writing assignments this semester. One was a flyer to promote a sport or club at a university. The second one was also a flyer talking about health and wellness.

The first assignment about sports I had difficulty writing what I wanted to say. That grew easier for the second assignment about wellness. I prepared more for the second assignment. I wrote the assignment over and over again to try to remember most of what I wanted to say. If I did it again, I would do more research start working on the assignments earlier.

Interpretive Listening

Interpretive Reading

In this class we did quite a few reading assignments. Most were to see if we could comprehend what we were reading by asking questions about what we were reading. They helped with helping to read in Spanish.

These assignments were very difficult in the beginning, and by the end of the semester, they became much easier. The hardest part at first was trying to read in a language that you were not familiar with. The most interesting part was larning how to read in a different language. The assignments got easier with the more practice that I got.