Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
In this class, we have covered an endless amount within course content and it has taught me a lot not only about the Spanish language, but about the culture. In our discussion boards we have had to learn about schooling in Spain, the ways holidays are celebrated, and many more things. I have developed a certain respect more than I had before for the language and the culture. I’ve never studied abroad before and don’t necessarily plan on doing so, but I am intrigued by the way schools abroad have a different experience in ways and may operate differently. There are a wide variety of schools just like here in the U.S and many different types such as, escuelas universitarias, and escuela superior de ingeniería y arquitectura. Initially, I was unaware of many things I learned within this course especially regarding education.
There are many practices that have helped me gain an understanding of the Spanish language in this class such as, Lingrolearning. Lingrolearning has helped me tremendously in pronunciation, verbs in Spanish, and the difference between male and female terms.
My name is Kiya Mccombs. I am a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. I plan to use my degree to become an Attorney and Marriage/Family Therapist. I enjoyed taking this course because I am going to be able to help many people who may speak Spanish by learning how to communicate with them and understand them properly.
Engaging in Communities
It is important to be able to communicate with people from all different backgrounds with different languages especially as an Attorney and a Therapist. I have been around countless people who speak Spanish and I’ve always wanted to be able to communicate and understand what their saying to better accommodate and help them. I am not only able to expose myself to a new culture, but I am able to make traveling easier, enhance my resume, and help a future friend out. https://youtu.be/fY4irLTT8_M
Interpersonal Communication
Communication with peers has tremendously helped promote my growth in regards to understanding the language, different experiences, and different ways of living. Our discussion boards in have has strengthened our Spanish learning. We have discussed fiestas and how celebrate them within different cultures. We have did lingrolearning activities that have helped us better with terms, and learn more by writing brief description on the research we’ve came upon on the section. https://youtu.be/XbQK8hSKmFU\
Throughout the semester, I’ve felt as if I was growing more and more from each assignment. When I initially joined this class, I was uninformed about many things especially as I said above, the language and culture. Throughout each assignment I would find myself trying to get better at my speaking because it has always been difficult for me to pronounce the terms. I excelled in differentiating the masculine and feminine terms in my vocabulary due to lingrolearning. I learned from listening to the videos given in class and from listening to my primarily English speaking classmates to grasp how they may have pronounced something. I wouldn’t do much differently because what I did worked for me. The FlipGrid assignments allowed me to be able to grow my speaking skills overtime.
Presentational Speaking
My speaking in English has always been astounding. However, Spanish has showed me that I have much to work on especially when it comes down to making sure what I’m saying is correct because although I may say the term, I learned that if I pronounce it wrong then the term is not the same. There are many things I’ve learned regarding saying Spanish terms because many words can look like they say one thing, but it’s all about the way it comes off of the tongue. https://youtu.be/hN9ysw3BPwc
As I watch my videos from throughout the semester and I think about my oral interview with my professor I notice my growth. I am not the same speaker I used to be. I excel in areas like describing myself or someone I know. I am also able to identify each person with Spanish speaking terms. If I were to do anything differently it would be slowly sounding out my words to produce better results.
Presentational Writing
Writing has always been a favorite of me, but writing in Spanish has been a difficult task for me. Mainly because the way words are said may have to be written differently. We have completed many different compositions on different platforms such as, our discussion boards, or writing activities on LingroLearning. Here is something I’ve had to write to present about an artist in Spain I admire:
“Shakira es uno de los modelos a seguir más populares en España. Ella es conocida por ser amable, llena de energía, cantante y bailarina. Esa es la razón por la que ella es popular.”
In the activity above I was expected to select a country or region I would like to explore. Using the location and language services strategies, along with other strategies I’ve learned, and find the following information about that country or region. I feel like I did that correctly along with the other activities, but sometimes it takes me a while to complete. I overcame that by learning how to describe women more and comparing the English and Spanish terms to produce better results. I also excel at doing some terms better than others.
Interpretive Listening
The listening activities that I’ve listened to from my Professor and other classmates has been very helpful this semester. On FlipGrid, we’ve discussed many things such as, our relationships with family, our favorite things to do and eat, and brief introductions about ourselves in Spanish.
There are many different things I’ve had to listen to and try to interpret to see where I was within my understanding of the Spanish language. Things that were difficult were understanding how many people may pronounce things differently or speak faster than others. I overcame this difficulty by slowing audios down and really listening to the context within the video to be able to identify the subject and gist of what they’re speaking. https://youtu.be/AMXj8hvu__E
Interpretive Reading
Throughout the semester we read in Spanish for endless activities especially on Lingrolearning and for discussion boards. One of my favorite activities is the conversations between friends and the schedules.
In class I’ve been able to expand my knowledge, terms, and speaking skills in Spanish. I was able to do this through the activities that involved interpretive listening, presentational writing, presentational speaking, interpersonal communication, and engaging with peers. The challenging part was deciding how to pronounce terms, using terms in a sentence, and using the correct verbs in Spanish. I’ve grown in each assignment by taking heed to what terms I’ve learned and making sure to make note of whatever my Professor corrected me on. What I found interesting from reading schedules I how similar the Spanish language is to English.