Exploring Culture

A lot of the lessons on Lingrohub helped me gain an understanding of many different Spanish-speaking cultures, as well as the lessons given by the professor in class when she would explain the difference between what was in the book and what the common slang was.

These lessons helped highligh not just the differences between America and the Spanish-speaking world, but also the differences that these Hispanic countries had with each other. They really challenged the worldview that all Spanish-speaking cultures are homogenous. It helped me gain an understanding of the differences between peoples based on geography, history, and culture. Especially in language, as it became clearer over each lesson that Spanish is not the same language in every Hispanic nation, there are several different dialects and subtle differences that make each their own local dialect.

Engaging in Communities

TalkAbraod Mi Familia: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I5B0wx5mBq7qvZiOzQFLVWjIBwvRCcG1/view?usp=share_link

Communities, both local and global, are vital for the survavibility of both the individual and the community at large. As humans are social by nature, we often come to rely upon our family and the community we call home.

Interpersonal Communication

In this recording, I had a conversation with someone from TalkAbroad. We discussed family, friends, occupation, and hobbies. All subjects that come up frequently in the Spanish readings and writings. Talking about these made me better at Spanish.

TalkAbroad Mi Familia: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z5DqGPZxgiXsxoX6bay2U2EfPOqMjjFs/view?usp=share_link

Through these interpersonal exchanges in each TalkAbroad we’ve done, and also during in-class discussions, I’ve learned more about picking up the gist of what someone is saying based on non-verbal cues. It has kind of taught me that there is so much more to communication than just language, because it is rare for the words being spoken to be the only indicator of what people are saying. Not to say that I don’t understand what is being said, only that I would not be able to understand what was being said using only words. When you miss a couple words, you rely on non-verbal cues to pick up the rest. This is ultimately what enables communication between peoples with different languages.

Presentational Speaking

For my Spanish Class, I gave a video presentation on how I prepared my dinner entirely in Spanish. In this video was use of props to emphasize the words.

Cooking Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ym3Nfm851uDLVtCyyOiVXk3GJ0d2FPYG/view?usp=share_link

I found that I was actually better with my Spanish when I was improvising. I just looked around my kitchen at what engriedients would make a good breakfast, and spat out that word whether it actually made sense or not. Picking the first ingredient that I recognized the name of, and going with that, made me feel much more confident about what I was saying than if I were trying to follow a previously memorized script. Though if I had to do it again, I would make sure I knew the Spanish word for “ingredients.”

Presentational Writing

Flyers are designed to get a point across quickly and with eye-catching words. Learning how to convey information in such a way with Spanish was a skill taught by this unit, in which we designed flyers for a sport that promoted good health.

Bicycle Club Flyer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ceDqFQ45xFrv-hdCkEsqrSe8gMFnLHyr/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=103476729324389006475&rtpof=true&sd=true

For the above flyer, I kept it simple with just keeping it contained to a Bicycle club. One that meets on Saturdays at 9:30AM. Then I thought of catchy words in Spanish that could be used to excite someone. It helped me understand that words have moods behind them. “Vamos a-” is a very active phrase that excites, for example. Words are not fully interchangeable because they each have a mood behind their literal meaning. To use an English example, I would compare “quit” and “resign.” One is more sudden and has a sharper tone, the other feels more professional and thought out.

Interpretive Listening

I had a conversation entirely in Spanish with a Spanish-speaking person named Andrea. We discussed good health and routines.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IP6L6GY4tn87tOmWIM4cdeAYEsBqoIaj/view?usp=share_link

With this conversation, it was a little difficult as the person I spoke with did not know English, and therefor I couldn’t ask when I didn’t know the word for something. I learned more about my conversation partner’s diet and health. We spent a lot of the conversation discussing our jobs, activties, and healthy habits. Especially in the later half of the conversation, exercise and food were major topics. I found it easier to discuss when it came to discussing these topics due to the more structured nature to it and the way that the conversation could flow better with a given topic.

Interpretive Reading

Early in the class, I gave a presentation on my family. I detailed the immediate family tree and talked a little bit about each of them.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iNgKB8rv_1Px16mbyZi0gPqSTsOXEz6-/view?usp=share_link

This presentation was difficult because it was the first one, and I needed to relearn a lot of the Spanish that I had forgotten from the previous year. But the more I spoke, the more it came back to me. I found it interesting to try and describe my family with words that I wouldn’t ordinarily use. It helped to look at everything from a new angle.