Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

While in Spanish 101 we dived into multiple aspects of Spanish culture including Siesta time, work schedules, living on campuses and formal/ informal greetings. Compared to our culture in the United States or to be more specific at Old Dominion University It’s quite different. In Spanish speaking countries, there are no dorms on campus, the students either rent or places out in town or live at home. Meanwhile in the U.S. students have the choice to live in campus dorms or live out in town. another big difference between the U.S. and Spanish speaking countries is Siesta time, which is a after-lunch break to relax or get things done before returning to work. It usually lasts between one and two pm and then work resumes. The U.S. has slowly started to introduce this culture concept in a few places , but its not a regular thing nationwide.

Since the U.S is becoming more and more of a Spanish speaking country every year, being able to learn about these different culture aspects I will be able to communicate more properly Spanish speaking individuals. After I complete college I plan to become Physician Assistant and being able to comprehend and articulate the cultural aspect of informal and formal greetings will allow me to give highest level of care to more people including people from Spanish speaking countries or individuals that Spanish is their primary language. Even though these aspects will help me in the long run but trying to wrap my head around all the prefixes and suffixes is the most difficult thing of this class to me. it took me a multitude of hours this semester to be able to cipher when to use which type of greeting, pronoun and or if the word is masculine or feminine.

Engaging in Communities

engaging in community is important task because it allows you to feel one with your community, dive into the culture, and help the community grow stronger.

I unfortunately haven’t done any volunteer work in the past couple years, but when I was still in the military I used to do volunteer service. My favorite and most inspiring work with the community was when I helped coach the Jacksonville Youth football team. Being able to volunteer my time to help these kids play a sport they love and stay away negative aspects of life was a big impact on me. It allowed me to believe that I was making a difference in one the kids lives and two the community, because it was an outlet for the kids instead of them falling into the pit of drugs or any other negative outlet.

Interpersonal Communication

In Spanish 101 we had a couple of oral assignments including an interview with our professor, interview with a fellow classmate and then a project in which we described three places on campus that we like. besides the oral assignments we also had audio activities on lingro online in which we had to record ourselves completing portions of a conversation.

From to the beginning of this class to now I’ve slowly started to improve in being able to speak and understand the language that is Spanish. i started this class not knowing how speak a lick of Spanish other than how to ask where the library is”, but after the multiple hours of repeating my pre-made skits for my oral projects and flashcards, I’ve finally started to feel comfortable speaking to people in Spanish. the oral interview with my professor was an eye opener to me because allowed me to understand what I still struggle with when it comes to comprehending what someone says and then being able to respond appropriately. the audio practice in Lingro-online is also a big help in putting emphasis on the speaking portion of learning a new language, because it allows me to hear the correct pronunciations of words and phrases.

Presentational Speaking

In Spanish 101 we had to create a video of us explaining our favorite places on campus. We had to use non-verbal cues, along with describing why we like the places and where they are located on the campus.

Presentational speaking in this class was the worst part for me because I have a hard time talking in front of people about subjects that I don’t know a lot about. I had to write a script for this video and ended up spending days going over and over this script before recording myself. The video didn’t come out the way I wanted, but I did learn a lot from making this video. I learned that my weakness in this class is memorizing the all the conjugations of words and the differences between them. I was able to get my point across and met all the requirements but I still have to do work on conjugations before I can progress in learning Spanish.

Presentational Writing

In Spanish 101 we had a couple of writing projects including writing a essay describing ourselves, we had to write out our weekly schedule, and finally we will write a nomination letter before we end this course. these essay type writings allowed us to show how much we’ve learned and comprehended so far and helped show us that memorization and speaking isn’t everything when it comes to learning a language.

The description essay and schedule essay were extremely informative when it came to showing how much i learned in this Spanish class. when writing out my name, where I’m from, my personality traits, and how I feel for thee descriptive essay, I was able to write everything for the requirements but I realized that I was very unsure where and when to use accent marks on words. Along with the accent marks I was struggling with conjugations at the time but, after receiving my work back it showed me where I went wrong and what I needed to working on more in order to succeed in this class. the next essay project we completed was our weekly schedule, which required us to write out our the details of our schedule for the week. After receiving my grade and essay back i noticed I was improving with my accent marks and conjugations but I still haven’t mastered but, I was extremely impressed with my improvement.

Interpretive Listening

our online text book on lingro online had multiple sections where we had to listen to videos or sections and then to either choose the appropriate answer or fill in the blank. the main section was in unit four, which had us a listen to a video in which a student was outside different buildings on campus and described what went on at these bands.

The lingro online text book was a very informative, especially when it came to the audio portions. these audio portions were great when it comes to preparing for presentations, interviews with the professor because it allows me to be able to practice with listening and comprehension of the Spanish language. the main audio portion that helped me in this class was the video from unit 4. the video had a female student showing us around her campus and describing which buildings she likes and what goes on in them. This video allowed me to one work on my comprehensive skills and secondly learn how to use non verbal cues appropriately. I really liked how descriptive she was in the video and this eventually helped me when I had to create a video like this my self.

Interpretive Reading

In Spanish 101 we read about the differences between the U.S. and Spanish speaking countries including articles portraying the university life in Chile. I would research different topics in English and Spanish then compare the differences between the websites.

While in Spanish 101 I would have many topics to do research on including siesta time, university life and many a couple others. when researching these topics I would have to search for them in both English and Spanish and compare the both and also write a summery about them. The findings were very eye opening because in English I would usually just get lists or summaries regarding the topic but in Spanish I would get the whole picture regarding the topic. What I mean by whole picture I mean I would get articles, Summaries, pictures and just a more in depth experience for which ever topic I was searching. While reading the material in Spanish I was able to use what I have learned so far in the class to actually be able to read these articles and it was amazing actually being able to make sense of what was I reading. I realized quickly that I am actually learning Spanish and comprehending it enough to use it in real world settings.