Exploring Culture

During this semester we learned about the culture aspect of the language we are learning. A lot of the projects we did this semester had dealt with exploring the culture. Unit 21 we had a project where we talked about a hispanic tradition.

In this project I examined the importante of the tradition of Day of the Dead in Hispanic culture. I already new some stuff about Day of the Dead, but not as much as I know now after this project. In the United States we do not have a tradition like this one. I discovered how much Hispanic cultures and traditions respect their dead. This project reveled to me the importance respect of the dead is to Hispanic countries. This project helped a lot with understanding the culture behind the language we are learning.

Engaging in Communities

I it very important to engage in the community when you are learning a new language. It is very valuable to connect with the community. You get a better understanding of the language when connecting to the communities behind it.

During this semester I did not have many opportunities to engage with the community, but I did start watching different YouTubers to get a better understanding of the community. One YouTube I enjoyed watching this semester is Lalia Benchelef. She is a native Spanish speaker who documents her everyday life. Even if you are not able to connect with the community directly their is many other options like Youtube.

Interpersonal Communication

In my opinion I feel like interpersonal communications helped me a lot this semester. During this semester we had the opportunity to speak with two individuals from different Spanish speaking countries. Talk Abroad allowed us to have 15 minute long conversation with a partner about topics we were covering during the semester.

I had the pleasure to speak to two different women from El Salvador through Talk Abroad. It was a great opportunity to be able to talk and hear from native Spanish speakers. My Spanish speaking ability has grown so much with Talk Abroad. My listing and speaking ability has improved greatly from my first Talk Abroad to my last. I gotten better at understanding Spanish when it is spoken to me.

Presentational Speaking

This semester we had many opportunities for presentational speaking. Majority of our project this semester we had to memorize a speech and then record a video of us reciting our speech. Unit 21 we had the opportunity to record a video taking about our favorite influencer.

For my project from unit 21 I talked about one of my favorite influencer. One challenge from assignment was remembering what I was going to say during my presentation. We were not allowed to read anything during the recording. I overcame this challenge by practicing my speech before recording my video. With practicing my speech multiple time, I become more fluent in my speech. I would give more detail in my project if I were to do it again.

Presentational Writing

This semester we did a lot of writing. Usually for each exam we had a short writing section we needed to complete. For project 17 we had to write a 200 word essay about our identity and stereotypes.

I feel like writing is one of my strong suits in Spanish. For project 17 we had to compose a 200 word essay, that meet certain criteria. I grew a lot from the presentational writing assignments. I became more confortable knowing how to spell certain words in Spanish. One place I first struggled with was placing the correct accent marks. I feel like I could be more descriptive in my writing and do better with conjunction.

Proyecto-17

Interpretive Listening

During this semester our online text book Contraseña allowed us to listen to a bunch of different audios. Our last unit of the semester about food problems, we were able to watch a video about the topic.

For this interpretive listening activity we watched a section of a Ted Talk by the famous Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio. When it comes to understanding Spanish I tend to struggle with it. Most native Spanish speakers tend to talk faster than what I can comprehend. I feel like after doing these types of activities my comprehension of the language got better over time. Gastón Acuri Ted Talk was very interesting he talked about the importance of spreading Peruvian cuisine and culture around the world.

Interpretive Reading

This semester we had a lot of opportunities for interpretive reading. Are online text book Contraseña provided lots of short stories for us to read. For example in Unit 19 we read a story about a young man going off to college.

The story from unit 19 was called Viaje a la universidad and it was about a young man going off to college. This assignment was not all challenging to me. It gave me more practice with reading comprehension. It was an interesting topic because we are all college students and experienced growing up. This interpretive reading assignment just like the others this semester helped a lot when it came to my reading comprehension in Spanish.