Exploring Culture

I have gained a better on the understanding of cultural perspectives due to various products and practices in Hispanic culture. Some of the products that helped me understand cultural perspectives were dance, music, traditional dishes, and traditional dresses and outfits. Some of the practices were traditions in relation to holiday celebrations, hierarchy in families, formal talking with elders or someone above you, and greeting others with a hug or kiss on the cheek. These products and practices allows for the individual to connect with one another and with ancestors by celebrating the culture.

These products and practices reinforce respecting elders and those above you, household are family-oriented, and celebrating and connecting with one another, the culture, and ancestors. It helped with gaining more understanding with the Hispanic culture and perspectives. I think one of the challenges were the difference of what I am used to and stepping outside of my comfort zone. It helped me in stepping out of my comfort zone of what I am not used and what is normal in other cultures. For example, there are some things different in Hispanic culture than the culture in America such as kisses on the cheek, I am used to giving a hug.

Engaging in Communities

There is a certain type of value and importance of engaging in the immediate and global community. With learning the language, I will be able to engage more effectively in the community. It is important and valuable to engage in the Hispanic community as it allows us to better understand issues and increases visibility.

Interpersonal Communication

In Spanish 101, discussion board and flip grids were used to communicate with others in Spanish. With using the flip grids, I was able to answer, ask questions, and communicate with others in Spanish. The discussion boards allowed for me to explore the culture while learning the language. They were both beneficial in gaining a better understanding of the language and culture.

I struggled and doubted myself when starting my journey of learning Spanish; however, I feel that I have become better with understanding the language. Discussion boards were the least difficult for me. I excelled at research. I love doing research, many of the assignments tended to be research based and finding facts for celebrations, culture, traditions, and universities. One thing I would do differently is work on giving myself more time. With the flip grids, I had a hard time pronouncing words and felt like I had to rush. I began to slow down and take my time with the flip grids. I also took time to study and repeat words I had a hard time with. When taking part in doing flip grids, I think I excelled at constructing sentences, I did this by utilizing the resources given in the class. I think I will try and incorporate more of what I learn in class and utilize them around my home to get at speaking Spanish.

Presentational Speaking

Some presentational activities I participated in were flip grids and an audio assignment. The audio assignment focused on the pronunciation of consonants and vowels. The flip grids focused on our pronunciation of words and constructing developed sentences.

The audio assignment I had some challenges were pronouncing some of the consonants and vowels. I was able to overcome the challenges and watching a video on the Spanish alphabet helped with learning the letters and the sounds. I was able say most of the alphabet; however, the double letters threw me off. Next time, I will focus on the letters that are harder to pronounce. Flip grids were difficult as some words were hard to pronounce. In the future, I will focus on words that are newer and may be difficult to pronounce. It was made a little easier as I was able to construct the sentences in response to questions.

Presentational Writing

Discussion boards and Lingrolearning writing activities were some of the most prominent writing communications I completed in relation to learning Spanish. Most of the discussion boards and Lingrolearning activities focused on research and fact finding of various topics in relation to Spanish and the culture.

I enjoyed researching the culture, language, countries, and traditions. Some of the topics for the writing activities it was hard to find information. While for others, there were many articles and facts about them. Choosing the topics made it easier as you could choose the topic that had more information. I think choosing other things that had more facts rather than what I found to be interesting made it easier in finding facts. I excelled at researching and fact checking the information because I wanted to ensure the information flowed and was accurate. I think stepping outside of my comfort zone and what I am used to could be useful in doing better on the activities.

Interpretive Listening

Interpretive listening activities I completed this semester in relation to learning Spanish were LingroLearning activities. Some of the activities in LingroLearning had me listen to what was being talked about and decide who it was about.

What was challenging was paying close attention to what exactly what being said. I overcame the difficulty by slowing down, going to a quiet place, and focusing on what was being said. It can be hard understanding another language but you have to put effort in. The most interesting part of the audio was learning about the woman’s daily life while in college. My takeaway was an overall learning experience of slowing down and trying to break down what was being said. I feel I am better able to understand the language while utilizing what I learned when participating in the activity.

Interpretive Reading

I participated in a few interpretive communication skills during my semester of learning Spanish. I did many assignments in LingroLearning and discussion boards. One of the assignments I did interpretive reading was about the University of Granada.

I was able to find many useful articles in English and Spanish. I feel like one of the major challenges was trying to understand what was said in the article. I overcame the difficulty by looking for words I already knew and using those as signs. For words I was not familiar with I tried to use outside resources to aid in my understanding of the article. I found a lot of useful information regarding the University of Granada especially its rich history and massive student base. I learned a lot especially it is one of the most prominent schools for exchange students. I also learned that is ok not know everything and to take help when needed. I have definitely utilized some of the tools I used in understanding the article.

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