Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

Spanish 102 offered plenty of opportunities to learn about the cultures of Spanish speaking countries. There were readings, videos, and even interactions with native speakers.

The culture videos helped greatly to understand more about Spanish-speaking cultures. Not only were they a useful example of how to speak like a native, but they also showed how the vocabulary can be implemented into real-world scenarios. While I learned a lot from the culture videos, none of it especially conflicted with my own worldview. The culture was simply interesting to learn! Most notably, “En el mercado” how it might be to shop. Haggling for prices seems more common and often expected. I enjoyed seeing how this breaks down the barrier between the customers and the sellers. Only a few stores in the USA welcome haggling, but I think it is a mutually beneficial way to interact with local businesses.

Engaging in Communities

I think it is incredibly important to interact with those around us. Learning more languages makes it easier to speak to more people. With that in mind, I have a passion for learning new languages. While at work, I have been able to speak with several customers in their native language. Just as people connect over common interests and hobbies, I found I was able to connect better with customers when I spoke in their native language and listened as they spoke theirs.

Interpersonal Communication

In Spanish 102, there were several ways for me to interact with others using Spanish. TalkAbroad gave me the chance to speak with native, Spanish speakers. VoiceThread allowed for me to talk with other classmates. The discussion boards offered fun activities to practice my writing skills.

All of those means of learning have helped me become less nervous communicating with others in Spanish. Last semester I struggled quite a bit to understand what people were saying, but this semester I have found it only takes a bit of time to warm up and listen with more clarity. I greatly enjoyed writing discussion board posts because I could carefully think through what I wanted to write and feel more confident in how accurate my grammar was. All of these interactions have lead to me being able to hold conversations with total strangers! In the future, I would like to find a way to interact with my classmates more so that I can practice in a low-pressure environment more often.

Presentational Speaking

I had to give a spoken presentation of my time with my partner in TalkAbroad. Of course, this was given in Spanish and posted for the class to listen to.

I had to take the audio recording a couple of times before I stopped stumbling on the few words. I enjoyed taking my time and deciding exactly what I wanted to say before I said it. The preparation before recording the audio helped give me confidence in my words. My pronunciation has improved since last semester. I speak faster, too. While I still do not sounds perfect, I have grown much more comfortable speaking the language.

Presentational Writing

Spanish 102 required me to make a pamphlet of a vacation destination. The brochure was simple but explained all the interesting aspects of a resort.

The brochure was fun to make and tested how well I can convey a lot of details in a simple manner. I enjoyed researching the resort and making sure my information was accurate. There was not a lot of information to be found, so I used photos to help me describe the resort. It was very rewarding to use so much of the vocabulary I had just recently learned. In my next presentational writing assignment, I hope to add more engaging information.

Interpretive Listening

In this semester, I pushed myself to improve my listening skills. There were opportunities to improve my listening through audio clips in homework. On top of that, I found as much music as I could.

One of my favorite things I have listened to was at the beginning of the semester when we had to find a Spanish song. Agora is a band I have grown to love over the course of this semester. The first time I listened to “Victima” I had trouble understanding the lyrics. Now, I am able to sing along. Before this class, I did not realize rock would still be just as plentiful in non-English speaking languages. I am happy to have found a song I deeply enjoy.

Interpretive Reading

There were several things to read this semester that allowed me to practice my reading skills. Each chapter had plenty of articles to read.

One of the most notable readings this semester was the tourist brochure. It was interesting reading how a tourist location would be presented in Spanish. There was plenty of vocabulary in it that I did not know, but I could interpret it in context. This brochure gave me an example of how to write like a Spanish native.