Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Exploring Culture
Throughout this course we watched multiple videos on the VHL Central site for homework called cultural competences. These videos helped me gained a better understanding of the Spanish language and Hispanic culture because they should people and places in different countries such as Spain. They showed what is typical in that country such as the places they like to visit and what kinds of food they eat. After watching the videos we would answer questions about the video to test our knowledge on what we learned from watching it. These helped me gain an understanding of cultural perspectives by showing me what life is like for people in these other countries. It showed me what is normal for them and their lifestyle and I was able to compare that to what I am used to in my country and what is considered normal here.
I think the Cultural Competences helped me better understand Hispanic culture as well as the values and attitudes in that culture because I was able to get a better understanding of their lifestyles and learned about important cultural aspects to them. It showed that in some aspects our cultures are not that different and in other aspects they are which then becomes a learning experience for both sides. I think that learning about different values and attitudes in the Hispanic culture helped me develop a better world view and made me more aware of the food and places in Hispanic countries that are enjoyed by Hispanic people.
Engaging in Communities
Unfortunately this semester I was extremely busy with my classes since this was the most I had ever taken at once. I was not able to engage with my community as much as I would have liked to. Also COVID-19 has not made things easy as we all know and it has made it more difficult to get engaged with our communities. However, I think that during these times when a lot of people feel isolated makes it even more important for us engage in our communities so that we have a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging as well as contributing positively to other people’s lives. When you get involved with your community you not only help yourself but you also help others in the process which is important because some people need more help than others. Along with getting engaged in our local communities, getting engaged in our global community is just as important because when we learn about people from different cultures, countries and communities we develop a better understanding of each other and learning about our differences makes us more knowledgeable of other cultures and it helps us develop a deeper understanding of our world.
Interpersonal Communication
Throughout this semester we did two TalkAbroad activities where we had a fifteen minute conversation with a person from a Spanish-speaking country and we were given prompts to base the conversation on. For my first conversation I spoke to a young woman from Colombia and for my second conversation I spoke to a woman from Costa Rica. The prompt for the first interaction was to discuss places and clothing and for the second interaction the prompt was to talk about our daily routines and food. I really enjoyed both conversations because they were patient with me and I liked a lot about the culture in their countries.
With the first TalkAbroad I was very nervous the first time I did it and it took me a long time to figure out what to say, but with the second conversation I found that I wasn’t as nervous and it didn’t take me as long to figure out what to say. The first conversation went well, however the second went better because I had already had the practice with the first conversation. There was some technical difficulties with the second conversation however I didn’t feel that it interfered with the conversation. I felt that the first one didn’t go as well as the second one because I was very nervous since I did not know what to say but the second conversation I felt more comfortable. I think that I overcame my nervousness with the second one because I knew what to expect and the first one was very new to me since I had never done talk abroad before. I think that next time I would prepare better for the conversations and ask my partner more questions as well so the conversation won’t be one-sided. Overall, the TalkAbroads helped me be more comfortable talking to native Spanish speakers and it helped me have better conversations in Spanish and I feel that with more practice my conversation skills will get even more better over time.
Presentational Speaking
We did not do much, if any, presentational speaking in SPAN 102F. The only activity I would classify as presentational speaking is during class when we were finished with our breakout rooms we would be called on to answer one of the questions we discussed with our peers in the breakout rooms. There would also be other instances when Professor Gordus would come to our breakout rooms and ask us the questions we were working on and we would tell him the answer we came up with.
I know that having speak in front of the class can be nerve wracking for some as it can be nerve wracking for me sometimes however I think it is an important practice because if we do not share our answers with the class then people would not participate in class as much as they should. I found that sometimes it was a little awkward trying to break the ice in the breakout rooms, but as we start working that goes away and the conversation flows more comfortably. Most of the time I was called out to give my answer to the questions we were working on I was able to answer it unless me and my partner didn’t have enough time to finish the questions. I think that I exceled with presenting my answers to the professor and my peers and it helped me overcome my tendency to not speak up in class as much as I know I can. Next time I will try to participate more in class and take the initiative to do so instead of waiting to be called on by the professor.
Presentational Writing
There were two presentational writing activities we did throughout the semester in SPAN 102F. Both of these activities were our compositions that we did. First we did a rough draft of each and then had the professor look over them and then we used that constructive criticism to edit it and turn it into our final draft.
SPAN102F-Composicion-1SPAN102F-Composicion-2
We also did two composition activities in SPAN 101F which you can view under the SPAN 101 tab and so these two composition activities felt familiar and I didn’t find them to me particularly difficult. I think that the ones we did in SPAN 101F helped me prepare for the compositions we did in SPAN 102F because even though they all had different prompts they were all very similar activities that I enjoyed writing. I did not have much difficulty writing these assignments the only thing I found difficult was making a few of them long enough but other than that the prompts gave me all the information I needed to successfully complete them. Next time I would go over the prompts and come up with an outline before starting my draft so I would have something to go off of instead of just writing freely.
Interpretive Listening
We did not do many interpretive listening activities during this class, however our VHL homework and schedules Zoom sessions had a lot of interpretive listening in them. In our VHL homework we would listen to a dialogue or listen to a person speak in Spanish and we would have o answer questions based on the audio we had to listen to. In our Zoom sessions we would listen to Professor Gordus instruct the class in Spanish and we would have to interpret what he was saying as we listened. Another example of an interpretive listening activity we did was the TalkAbroad activities.
The picture above is an example of an interpretive listening activity we did in our VHL central homework. Sometimes I struggled with the listening part of the homework because it was difficult to understand what they were saying sometimes because the words were unclear and not enunciated to where I could understand it. During class however I did not have trouble understanding what was being said. The TalkAbroad activities I also consider to be interpretive listening activities as well as interpersonal communication because we had to understand and comprehend what the other person was saying in order to have a conversation with them. Sometimes I did not know some of the words that my partners were saying and other times I would forget the word for something in Spanish and it would hinder the conversation but other than that both of the TalkAbroad activities went well. With the VHL homework activities I overcame the difficulties I had with the listening activities by listening to it over and over again and writing down what they were saying so I could piece it together if I didn’t understand a word they were saying. I think that all of the listening activities we did were important because listening is a huge part of learning a new language and it is imperative to get comfortable listening to Spanish since that is the language we are learning. Spanish has many different accents and different slang in each country so listening to different audios and different people speak makes you more comfortable with those differences as well.
Interpretive Reading
During class, we would work on activities in the textbook that required us to read something in Spanish and then interpret it. Most of the time it would be answering questions in Spanish or reading a text or looking at an image and then answering the questions based off the text or the image. Since the class was virtual through Zoom we would mainly do this during breakout rooms with a partner and then we would discuss and share our answers in the main session with Professor Gordus. Below is a section of the textbook that we recently worked in and discussed in class.
I think that these class readings and discussions with other peers helped me to be more comfortable speaking Spanish in front of other people and it also allowed me to help other people with their Spanish skills. It also helped me with thinking and speaking in Spanish while I am reading something instead of trying to read something in Spanish then translate into English and then go back to trying to answer the questions that went with the reading or image in Spanish. Going back and forth between Spanish and English in my head is very tiring and time consuming which is why it is a habit that I am trying to break. The reading activities we did throughout the semester have helped me cope with this habit and I have noticed that I am not translating in my head as much as I used to. These activities have also been helpful because they have helped me with being comfortable reading and thinking in Spanish because before I was not comfortable doing especially not in front of other people.