Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

Food is an aspect of life that everyone has in common. Hispanic food is extremely unique and very different from the food we eat every day. Through taking Spanish 102, the class was able to learn the vocabulary of food in Spanish, and also learn about the cultural differences we have with food.

The different types of food that we eat are very important because it allows everyone to appreciate different types of cultures. The differences in our cultures enables us to share and have a wider variety of foods to choose from.

Engaging in Communities

I feel that American English speakers take “talking” for granted. In most other countries, it is common to learn English as a second language. With that being said, being bilingual is very important, and can be a useful tool in speaking to others. These courses in Spanish 101 and 102 have allowed me to speak to people that I would have never been able to speak to. For example, my wife’s side of the family predominantly speaks Spanish. Since taking these courses, I can now have a meaningful conversation with them, as I was unable to in the past.

Interpersonal Communication

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the application “TalkAbroad”. TalkAbroad is a website that allows you to speak to native Spanish speakers from other countries. In my case, had two, 15 minute conversations with a nice young lady names Adriana. We talked about multiple topics like the our families and the different foods we liked.

I liked using TalkAbroad, as I was able to connect with someone from a completely different part of the world. It helped me understand different cultures and allowed me to apply my learnings to a complete stranger, who now I know a lot about. Although our conversation was a little choppy because I am still learning, I was able to speak to Adriana in Spanish and understand the words she was saying.

Presentational Speaking

Early in the semester, I had the opportunity to speak about my family in a project. I gave a presentation, and spoke about each of my family members. I talked about my wife, mom, dad, and my two sister’s families. This project was important to me because I love and miss my family who lives in Georgia.

Chapter 6 in Spanish 102 allowed me to understand the relationships that people have with their families, and that not all families are the same as my own. I come from a southern family, with a mom and dad who are still together, and two sisters that I talk to on a regular basis. However, through this project, I was able to come to the realization that not everyone has that kind of connection with their family. Although this was a Spanish project, it was more meaningful to wake up and realize that everyone’s background is quite different.

Presentational Writing

There were a couple of projects that we were asked to write about certain subjects and then present them. One project that I enjoyed was from Chapter 9. In Chapter 9, we wrote about a sickness and ways to prevent them. I wrote about seasonal allergies (mainly because of the amount of pollen outside in the spring) and that you should take medication or stay inside so that you don’t suffer from the allergies.

In this specific project, I learned how to use command verbs to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. We had to be very diverse in vocabulary and grammar. This project wasn’t the easiest, however it helped me understand the importance of command verbs.

Interpretive Listening

Throughout using Contresena, there is a lot of listening. This interpretive listening enables you to pick out key words which helps you navigate a conversation if you aren’t entirely sure what is being said. For example, when doing a module in Contresena, it could ask you to know whether or not the speaker is using “you informal” or “you formal”, and what you have to do is listen to the verbs and surrounding words to figure out if they are talking about “tú” or “usted”.

These activities allow you to listen and scan for words. Since I am new to Spanish, it is not expected of me to know everything right now, but that I should be able to pick up certain aspects of the language when someone is speaking. These exercises helped me figure out what someone was saying, even if I was somewhat lost in the conversation.

Interpretive Reading

This semester, Profesora Padilla has given us multiple handouts with readings on them. These readings are from people either telling their story, or explaining something in Spanish. We would normally read them together in class and Profesora Padilla would help us if we got stuck on certain words that were hard to pronounce. These activities allowed us to read about different topics on our level of proficiency from Spanish speakers.

At times, it was difficult to sound out words, or understand what they mean, but in the end, the readings allowed us to grasp the concept of written Spanish. The readings allowed us to pick certain words out to understand the context and help walk us through the written text.