Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

In Lingo learning which is our online textbook we did lots of cultural exploration exercises. They were all extremely helpful. Majority of the time we discussed one topic and looked into how that topic was viewed or acted upon in different Spanish speaking countries. Some of the topics were body positivity, environmental challenges and policies, immigration, artists, literature, and technology.

Learning how these topics were viewed in other countries was extremely important in understanding how diverse the Spanish culture is. In addition to the online textbook activities. We also looked at online shopping with Spanish stores, advertisements, short stories, and fairytales. I learned a lot in the class about Spanish Culture. Overall it opened my eye to a lot of things. Before I started taking Spanish I thought Spanish culture was the same all through out the Spanish speaking countries.

Engaging in Communities

It is really important to engage in your community because it allows you to help other people, see different perspectives, and meet new people from all around the world. It is important to engage in the global community because it allows you to get a diverse multicultural perspective, see new cultures and social norms.

Interpersonal Communication

Talk Abroad is where we speak with another Spanish speaker in a different country for 15 minutes. We do it twice a year. This year I talked with another Spanish speaker about art, immigration, the environment, and our favorite places. It is extremely helpful because you get to talk to people with different accents and talk about their life in their country.

In addition to talk abroad, we also had our Oral exam which is where we talked with our professor. We had to study all the tenses we learned through out the unit. Our Professor asked us questions for the future, the past, present and all the other different types of tenses. This was extremely challenging. I studied lot for it and it helped me be able to communicate with people about different times of life. It was very rewarding. If I could change anything it would be to speak Spanish more with others outside of class.

Presentational Speaking

We do a lot of presentational speaking in class. We are always reading Spanish text out loud or we were reading everyone the sentences we created.

We read Spanish stories in class and whenever we were learning new grammar tenses we always made sentences with it and spoke them to the class. This was challenging but it really helped with learning how to pronounce Spanish words better and more efficiently. It got easier the more and more I pushed myself to step outside my comfort box. If I could change something it would be to speak Spanish more when answering questions or asking them instead of speaking english.

Presentational Writing

We did a lot of writing projects. All of our tests were writing tests. We had a topic we had to write about and when we came to class we sat down and wrote around 200 words for each one without help.

This was my favorite way of learning. It really helped me understand Spanish better. It helped me tell stories a lot better and describe things. In order for me to take the test I had to study the grammar and vocabulary and then plan how I would want to write my sentences over the topic. It was very difficult but studying helped so much. I don’t think I would change anything next time because I really liked my study method.

Interpretive Listening

We did multiple listening assignments in Lingo Learning. We would have assignments over pronunciation and understanding a speech from a Spanish speaker.

The pronunciation would really help me understand what letters Spanish speakers were trying to say and how I should pronounce the letters. I loved this portion of the assignments. Also we would listen to a minute or two of Spanish Speakers talking and we would have to analyze it and answer questions over it. This was very difficult at first and took me many tires of listening to the audio but over time it got easier. I just kept trying. This portion of the assignment was extremely important for my learning skills. I improved a lot from these assignments.

Interpretive Reading

We read a lot of different texts on lingo learning. One of the things we studied was texting style.

We analyzed Spanish speakers texting each other and the types of slang they use. I really enjoyed this because it simulated real life situations. I learned a lot and it was very helpful. In Lingo Learning we also did assignments over the text. This allowed us to understand the text and take it even further. It was difficult at first but got easier with studying.