Exploring Culture

Through reading novels by Hispanic authors and watching videos about Hispanic culture, I gained a deeper understanding of cultural perspectives. Immersing myself in these stories allowed me to see the world through the eyes of characters with vastly different backgrounds and experiences from my own. Additionally, participating in cultural events, such as attending Hispanic festivals and trying new foods, allowed me to learn about cultural practices and traditions that I was previously unaware of.

Reflecting on these experiences, I realise how much my worldview has been shaped by my own culture and upbringing. By exposing myself to different perspectives and ways of life, I have been able to challenge my own assumptions and stereotypes. This has taught me to approach new situations with an open mind and to view cultural differences as opportunities for learning and growth rather than something to be feared or judged. Through these products and practices, I have gained a greater appreciation for the richness and diversity of the human experience. In our class we did discussion posts to discuss what we learned, below is an example of my discussion post about the differences in medical between our two countries. They are written partly in english and partly in Spanish.

Engaging in Communities

Engaging in both the immediate community and the global community is essential for personal growth and societal progress. In the immediate community, participating in local events and organizations allows individuals to connect with their neighbors, build relationships, and contribute to the betterment of their community. By engaging in community initiatives, individuals can also address local issues and work towards positive change.

I havent gotten a chance to really dive into any of the communities except for talk abroad (more to come later) but I am hoping someday I will.

Interpersonal Communication

This semester I completed two Talk Abroad conversations. I had 15 minutes zoom calls with two different amazing women, one from Argentina, and one from Mexico. I spoke compeletly in Spanish the entire time, occasionally getting help but trying to manage on my own.

Talk Abroad is nerve wracking especially when you are struggling to learn a new language. At the beginning of every conversation I would be nervous and shaking and by the end I would be smiling and laughing. I prepared questions about certain topics to ask my partner and then my partner would do the same. At first I got caught up in having a perfect sentence but now I realize it is about trying to communicate what you do know and learning along the way. I have grown to realize the more I try to say and get corrected, the more I learn. The most difficult part was overcoming the embarresment of saying something wrong and working that out. However, once I finally understood something it was a great feeling and I wanted to keep learning! Next time I did this I would be more outgoing and really try to use every word even if I did not know if it was correct.

Presentational Speaking

The only presentational speaking, I did in this class was when we had to record ourselves, saying some vocab words and post it this was super hard for me and I was really embarrassed the whole time because I tried my best to pronounce everything the best I could but often times they were times I messed up or it just wouldn’t roll off the tongue right no matter what. Words of her before I had no problem saying correctly, but I still felt wrong. I think a lot of it was that I felt like an impostor and didn’t want to come off as disrespectful. next time I would know that people want you to learn their language and they get excited when you’re trying so as long as you’re doing it in a respectful way, there’s no reason to feel embarrassed. in the video I included below it’s from the very beginning of the semester, and I was showing my friends, the video of me, practicing my vocab words, and you can see in the video how embarrassed I was, and how I wanted to quit.

Interpretive Listening

In the Lingro Learning we did mostly listening to learn vocab words. Sound would play and we would then answer a number of things ranging from completing a sentence, or rewritting the word in it correct tense.

In the video below I am showing an example of our homework assignment where we would click and an entire sentence would be said. We then we need to answer questions based off those. The hardest part is that the sentences seem so fast. It is fun to try and decode these sentences but can be challenges. Consistency is key and I would just keep trying until I understood.