Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

While studying Spanish there were a few products and practices that were very beneficial in helping to broader my understanding of different cultural perspectives. Practicing conversation with my coworkers and peers who are native Spanish speakers was a fantastic way to learn more about themselves and their Hispanic culture and customs. Also, programs such as Lingro Learning, Talk Abroad, Duolingo, and YouTube. These not only helped me to practice Spanish but gave me a better understanding of different cultural lifestyles.

The products and practices that I discovered over the course of this class enhanced my understanding of values and attitudes in Hispanic culture by allowing me to utilize multiple different learning methods. By learning topics one on one, with a conversation partner, or through a video, I was able to learn more about the wonderful Spanish-speaking culture through different learning methods. Youtube was a favorite resource for me as it allowed me to see a really authentic and raw side of Hispanic countries. Experiencing different cultures opened up my worldview and also revealed how diverse and colorful the world can be. In Spanish 102, we had a unit based around food, this allowed me to dive deep into different food cultures all over Hispanic countries. Learning about the most popular dishes in different countries changed the misconception I had about Hispanic food. There is dozens of dishes I had never heard of before, but now I cannot wait to travel the world and explore these dishes and culture. Being able to use programs and speaking with real Hispanic individuals is a wonderful way to learn more firsthand about Spanish-speaking culture.

Engaging in Communities

Engaging In local and global communities holds invaluable benefits for individuals and society as a whole. Engaging with others as a community not only allows you to understand other perspectives but also helps to create strong bonds and relationships with communities as a whole.

While I strive to spend more time involved in my community, local and global, the time that I have spent engaging with my community has been rewarding and highlights the importance of community involvement. I feel most involved in my community when I support local businesses, try new food or restaurants, or attend events that provide education to the public and celebrate cultural differences. Where I live, there are often events for different cultural and global celebrations, and volunteering for those events or just attending them is very rewarding. It is important to me that communities reach out to all and also celebrate the different customs and beliefs that individuals value.

Interpersonal Communication

Spanish 102 has provided me with numerous opportunities to engage in interpersonal conversations utilizing my continuing knowledge of the Spanish language. Talk Abroad allowed us to have one on one conversations with someone from a Spanish-speaking country. Also, our in-class discussion boards allowed my peers and I to create insightful conversations about our learning topics, while also learning more about each other and Spanish-speaking culture and practices.

Interpersonal conversation is a vital component in learning a new language, such as Spanish! At my workplace, many of my coworkers are native Spanish speakers, and often times we would have short and spontaneous conversations in Spanish. I enjoyed the conversations we would have, I loved learning more about my coworkers, while also practicing my conversing skills in Spanish. My in-class discussion board posts allowed me to have conversations with my peers and exchange our thoughts, opinions, and more information about ourselves. Interpersonal conversation is very difficult for me as I don’t always feel confident enough to speak in Spanish, especially with someone who is fluent. I try to overcome this difficulty by continuing to practice my skills and reminding myself that I am still learning.

Interpretive Listening

This semester, I listened to videos, music, TV, and TED talks in Spanish. I enjoy listening to music in Spanish because it is easy to memorize songs and I find that I can piece lyrics together from words in Spanish more easily. I have always loved TED talks and I find that watching them in Spanish is a great way to stay intrigued and it is very encouraging to understand what is being said. For many, listening is the best method of learning, and I find that hearing people speak in Spanish has been very helpful for me as well. With each listening activity I completed, I would later realize that I could understand more and more. I am attaching a Ted talk by Sofia Niño de Rivera, that I thoroughly enjoyed and that I could relate to as well.

Interpretive Reading

Interpretive reading is very difficult for me as someone learning beginner Spanish. While it is challenging, reading does help me grow my language skills and I enjoy pushing myself to see how much I can understand. In class, we used Lingro Learning, which was full of articles, letters, and conversations to read. Outside of class, I also enjoyed going to Spanish websites and reading the information on the website, such as recipes, or even current world events.

Reading in a non-native language can be an obstacle for many, including myself. In class, we had a lot of practice with activities that required reading and responding to what we learned on Lingro Learning. For some of my assignments I would also have to do some research, for example, I researched universities in Hispanic countries and the websites were fully in Spanish. This required patience to be able to skim through the websites to find the information that was important to me. Reading the information on the website helped to to take the time to translate what I have learned in class and read between the lines to piece together the whole article.