Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Reflection:

• In the beginning before starting this course I was a little skeptical and nervous because I have been taking French classes since high school but after starting and getting use to the language and learning more and more throughout the modules I feel more confident in my ability to speak and write in Spanish. I started this course by not really knowing anything but the basics (hello, bye, my name is.. ex) but now I have learned so much more such as how to have a conversation with another person, the different sports and activities, family and relatives, and background on the culture in Spain and how the Universities and sports are different than here in the U.S. There is still so much to learn and I am excited to continue studying Spanish and reaching higher levels.

Artifacts

Exploring Culture

While learning about the difference in each cultural I have learned that there are many similarities and differences. Both here in the U.S. and in Spain there are Universities but the way they are run are different, the classes they offer, extra activities, and the way building look. Here we have Greek life and sports and that seems to be a main thing people participate in when they get to college and from what I saw over in Spain focuses seem to be sports and music in some way, whether it is singing or playing an instrument. Sports is also a very different thing between each culture especially with soccer. Soccer over in Spain is taken to a whole other extreme and is celebrated like how people here in the States celebrate American football.

It is important to engage in communities around us and in different countries because everyone can benefit from learning something new and it is also important to learn more about different cultures than the one you have grown up in.

Interpersonal Communication

This semester I have completed in many discussion boards, VHL Central homework activities and many oral activities with partners and on VHL. They have all helped enhance my spanish and has made me more comfortable in my Spanish abilities.

From the beginning my discussion board activities took me awhile to be able to figure out and understand but as time went on and I started to learn more they became easier and started really benefitting me with my knowledge. The first partner project that I did was very nerve raking for me because I did not know who my partner was and I never had a conversation in Spanish but once it started I felt comfortable and really saw how was gaining spanish skills. It was difficult at first to understand what was being said and to read it since I have been use to taking French classes but the more I read things and listened I was able to understand it better.

Presentational Speaking

During this semester I participated in group assignments where a partner and I had to have conversations in Spanish and talk about who we are and what we study and do in school and also about our families.

The first group assignment we did was a little difficult because it was the first one and we were both nervous because we did not know each other but I think that we did a very good job and talked about ourselves and what we like to do on our free time. Then the second one we did was a lot easier since we now knew each other and did a good job at explaining what we were studying in school and some about our family.

Interpretive Listening

The listening activities that I did this semester were all on VHL central. They were either short videos or audios to listen to and answer questions on them.

The VHL videos and audios we listened to varied from school related things, sports and activities, family, and adjectives. It was difficult at first because sometimes it would go a little too fast for my level of Spanish, but I became use to it and started to do better at being able to answer things quickly.

Interpretive Reading

The reading we did in this class were in our modules and on VHL and for some discussion boards.

The reading was hard at first because I was not use to it yet but I got better at it over time. I enjoyed this part the most because even though it was challenging it felt good when I could finally be able to read things in Spanish and was able to understand it.