• I have effectively learned how to think in the language that I am learning instead of my primary language of English. I am able to make comparisons with items and people and effectively describe objects.

I am able to listen and effectively describe people and their emotions because that is a very important part of every day life. I can ask someone if they are okay and if they need help which can be very beneficial to people and myself where I can use my Spanish.

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I personally grew up around the Latin and Hispanic community because of my heritage and still am amazed at all the things I learn about each different culture I am given the opportunity of being around.

Engaging in Communities

I think it is extremely important to get out there in the community and connect with everyone. Whether it’s just going to a Mexican restaurant and ordering your meal in Spanish to someone who is more proficient in that language or helping to give directions to someone who speaks mainly Spanish.

Interpersonal Communication

TalkAbroad is a fantastic tool to use when trying to learn any new language because your partners know that you are not proficient in their language and never make you feel bad, but encourage you to do your best and keep working hard.

I loved doing the TalkAbroad conversation because even though my partner and I are from two different countries we both found something that we love; food and Harry Potter. We connected and had a blast talking to each other.

Presentational Speaking

Every time in class when we had to answer questions I never felt nervous if I got a question wrong because I knew that my professor would help to correct me and that all of the other students were on the same level as me. It was fun being able to hear all of the different accents coming out in each student when they began speaking Spanish.

I am the kind of person that I like to just go for it even if I’m wrong so I can get corrected but at least I know I did everything on my own. I was very good at understanding the Spanish and forming sentences but struggled in translating certain things in my head because it sounds almost nothing like the English version.

Presentational Writing

We were told to write to compositions completely in Spanish and it was kind of difficult but so much to do because you had to actually know what you wanted to say, how to form the sentences and what you were talking about.

Every time I got the chance to write another composition I would become much more proficient on how to form the sentences and think more in the language I was writing rather than in English.

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Interpretive Listening

We learned how to listen to each other as we talked and help to correct one another if we knew what the correct words or forms were. We learned to listen to Spanish speakers and determine if something was logical or not.

I had the most fun when we did assignments on listening and choosing the correct answer because I would only listen through to it once and try my absolute best to get it right. It really helped to keep me focused on the words being spoken and to help me understand how to use them in my future conversations as well.

Interpretive Reading

Almost all of the culture readings in our book were in Spanish so we had to figure out what was being told to us. It helped us to understand the culture and the language.

I really enjoyed learning how to read in Spanish and to be able to not only pronounce what I was reading but to understand it as I went along. It was a bit difficult at first but the more I tried the more proficient I became.