SPAN 101

Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

When doing VHL homework, I would complete “Competencia Cultural” assignments where I would watch videos on Spanish culture followed by assignment questions. The questions would regard what I learned from the videos as well as what was going on in the videos. I learned about different cultures and it was very interesting to learn about different traditions, greetings, foods, etc.

I really enjoyed watching these videos because it was so interesting to learn about how different families interact with one another and what kind of traditional things they do together. Many things I learned involved families, sports teams, foods, college campus’s, etc. These videos helped me understand because there was always narration of what was going on and I always found that most helpful, especially when answering assignment questions. It was very interesting to learn about the different greetings in hispanic culture. I remember writing in my reflection how shocked I was to see how people greet one another in Hispanic culture. In the United States, people generally only shake hands but in Hispanic cultures, hugging and kissing on the cheek is very normal. I’ve never had any stereotypes towards how other countries navigate through life however, I was shocked by how different countries are. It seems that Hispanic culture is more traditional and I really do love that.

Engaging in Communities

It is important to engage in my immediate community because every helping hand matters. It is easy to think that I am only one person but one single person can make a difference and I always remind myself of that. It is also important to engage in the global community because the world will be a better place. If I engage and others engage, there will be a huge impact on the world.

This is a family tree I created in class. This to me represents a big part of my immediate community. These are people I very much so value. I come from a very diverse family so together, we make our own change in learning and growing as a family.

Interpersonal Communication

When doing my VHL homework, I often did listening activities where I would engage in what the audio is saying in Spanish and translate on my own what is being said in either Spanish or sometimes english as well. In addition to my VHL homework, I did discussion boards where I would discuss my class schedule in Spanish. I also did activities where I would write letters in Spanish about my family background and letters about school.

I did many different interpersonal activities during my time in Spanish 101. I really enjoyed these because it helped me with my personal growth when understanding the Spanish spoken language. It also helped me with my Spanish interviews that I had with a student as well as my professor. I will get more in depth about my presentation speaking in the next portion because I want to focus on my VHL homework and discussion boards for now! I believe that homework assignments can become a controversial topic amongst students however, I loved my VHL assignments. Throughout these assignments I liked the fact that there were opportunities to keep retrying if I made any mistakes. Often times I would spell something incorrectly or write the verb incorrectly so being granted unlimited attempt really helped me better understand certain things where it was an area of improvement for me.

Sometimes it would become frustrating when constantly getting something wrong but it made me feel more capable in the end when I knew I could do it, i just needed a bit more practice. Something that I would definitely do different in the future the doing online Spanish homework would be to stop putting so much pressure on myself. When doing my homework, I always wanted to be right the first time but I soon learned that its not a race, it is all about practice for myself to learn. I had to remind myself throughout the semester that homework wasn’t meant to fail me, it was meant to enhance my learning experience and I wholeheartedly believe that it did.

This is an example of a listening activity I did when completing my VHL homework I would play the audio and then answer questions in reference to what they were saying in Spanish. These types of activities were somewhat hard for me at times because I misheard what was being said and I would answer incorrectly however, I eventually got the hang of it when learning and broadening my vocabulary.

Presentational Speaking

During my time in Spanish 101, I did interviews with a student as well as my professor. I would be given a specific topic with a broad range of helpful questions that helped provoke my thoughts when communicating with my partner during interviews.

Prior to my interview with another student, I took notes about what classes I took and what time I had them. I chose to use this section of notes as this was the hardest part for me to memorize and understand during my interview and additionally, it pertained to the interview instructions. The most challenging part for me was understanding time. I could read it well but verbalizing it was very hard. I kept reviewing time prior to my interview and I found it very helpful.

During presentational speaking I always got very nervous. Learning a new language is extremely hard but I have definitely been able to acknowledge my progression when speaking. I have become more comfortable speaking Spanish and i have fortunately become more comfortable with making mistakes. At the beginning of the semester I often ran into frustrations when making a mistake in spelling or misspeaking. Now, I am very comfortable with this because it helps me learn and grow. One thing that had really helped me throughout speaking spanish and interviews is taking notes about potential topics of conversation so that when it came time to talk, I had ideas in the back of my mind incase I got stuck. I am a visual in all aspects so studying notes over and over is truly what helps me in all of my studies, especially in Spanish class.

Presentational Writing

In class, I completed two compositions including a draft and a final for each one. The first composition was about my education, the classes I took, times, and my dislikes and likes about online school. The second composition was about my family and how they are as people.

The two compositions I did were relatively hard for me because there was certain vocabulary I wanted to use to describe things and people that I was uncertain of so I had to use the vocabulary in the textbook to help guide me. I noticed a big change throughout my second composition because I learned an extensive amount of vocabulary since my first one so I found that I didn’t have to use the textbook as often. I overcame the difficulties of my unawarness with certain vocabulary by studying the textbook more often. Reading the vocabulary and finding useful ways to better understand it by tying it into something else was very helpful for me.

This was the second composition that I wrote about my family. I felt very comfortable writing it after a lot of practice with descriptions vocabulary words.

Interpretive Listening

In Spanish 101, I completed several Competencia Cultural assignments. I would watch clips about hispanic culture and what traditional things they do. The entire video would be in Spanish except for a few english translations so it was crucial to really pay attention to what they were saying so that I could relay it myself.

Throughout these videos, I learned a lot about sports, foods, college life, families, traditions, ways of life, and greetings. These videos were very interesting because in Hispanic culture, their ways of life are so different from my personal life. I enjoyed making connections and I especially enjoyed learning new things. One of the hardest parts for me throughout these assignments was understanding everything being said in spanish verbatim. When answering the questions on blackboard, I often had to revisit the video so that I could rewind back to what was being said. I very rarely ever understood what was being said after one watch. It was very challenging to understand certain things because if they were being said too fast for my learning pace, I couldn’t figure out how to answer certain questions. Eventually I began translating certain words to get a gist of what was being discussed and this helped me immensely. Each activity got easier with time altering broadening my vocabulary throughout new chapters in the textbook. I was very proud of how much I was understanding throughout each chapter. I still make mistakes with vocabulary but with practice, it has gotten easier to address those mistakes.

Interpretive Reading

In class, I did several “Lecturas” where I would read two pages in the textbook and answer questions on blackboard about what I read. The entire reading would be in spanish so I sometimes had to translate certain words I wasn’t sure about to help guide me.

Throughout the Lecturas, I struggled most with understanding some of the vocabulary words. It was challenging when answering the questions because I occasionally ran into certain words that would be on the page and in the question on blackboard that I didn’t understand. I overcame these difficulties by translating what I didn’t know with what I did know and piecing it all together so that I could answer the questions. The Lecturas became easier for me overtime with practice. One of the most helpful resources for me throughout every assignments in Spanish 101 was studying the textbook, studying vocabulary, watching the VHL tutorials, and taking a lot of notes. Notes especially became helpful when studying for exams because I had a clear review in my mind of everything I needed to know.