Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

During this 6 week course, I have grown in numerous ways. I have been challenged beyond my limits but each challenge helped me grow in learning the language. From my 8th grade year of middle school until my junior/ senior year, I had studied Spanish. I have always been to learn the vocabulary and grammar quickly. However, I have always struggled when it came to audio and pronunciation. When trying to have a conversation in Spanish, I spend more time trying to conjugate than to just ‘go with the flow’. This class has helped me step into a place where I don’t feel as bad. For example, each Talk-abroad we have completed allowed me to challenge my skills. I made many mistakes but in every mistake, I grew more.

These last few speaking assignments have been extremely helpful. In the most recent Talk-abroad, we had to discuss art with our partners. I chose the same partner as I did the first time so that I wouldn’t be as nervous and because she noticed when I needed help. I liked that she never told me the answers, she helped me to figuring it out. This helped me grow because unlike reading and writing, I cannot see what the exact words are which makes it difficult for me because the way the words sound, don’t always sound like how I learned them. In order to better myself with this, I watched my normal TV shows in Spanish, since I already knew what was being said in the episodes. For the final speaking exam with the professor, I struggled to understand and I hyper focused on vocabulary words which were set backs. However, the professor was helpful and she noticed the progress I have made in this short amount of time.

I feel more confident in my abilities and I think that if I continue to work as hard, I will finally be proficient enough to speak the language without struggling so much. Speaking and hearing Spanish have been my main weaknesses when learning the language. I can read and write more than I can speak or hear. In order to strengthen these weaknesses, I have been listening to (mostly) everything in Spanish. This allowed me to be able to use this as practice for speaking and hearing other people. I can also say that I have grown in the area of setting my American accent to the side to channel my Spanish accent so that my pronunciation sounds smoother.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1phhsFa44K7c22s_1iXIJyNAEsRKWq6bI?usp=drive_link

Exploring Culture

These practices have been instrumental in broadening my understanding of the Hispanic culture and my own worldview. They have shown me that different cultures possess a rich diversity of values and attitudes, none of which are better or worse than others. Engaging with Hispanic culture such as food, art, literature, and entertainment has exposed me to their unique ways of storytelling and artistic expression, challenging my preconceived notions and broadening my perspective on what constitutes meaningful creativity. Learning about cultural events, celebrations, and more has revealed the importance of community and traditions in shaping cultural identities, highlighting the significance of collective experiences and shared values. While exploring the culture, I was able to meet many new people who was more than happy to tell me about themselves, how they see their culture, and even things that they would change within the culture. Going to restaurants is one thing but being able to go to family-owned hispanic restaurants made the process more intriguing and it also made it a better learning experience. These experiences has helped change my perspective from us having similar traits but being so different to, we are one in the same with many minor differences. My initial misconception was that the Hispanic community wouldn’t accept us because of our skin color and our experiences. However, I was more than wrong, unlike many other nationalities and races, Hispanics welcomed us in with open arms and was more than happy to teach us their ways of living and their traditions.

Overall, these experiences have taught me the value of embracing cultural diversity and recognizing that understanding different perspectives requires an open mind and willingness to learn. By challenging my assumptions and misconceptions, I have grown to appreciate the beauty of various cultures and recognize that each one contributes unique insights to the tapestry of humanity. As I continue to engage with the culture more, I strive to approach it with more curiosity and respect, while acknowledging that true understanding comes from actively seeking to comprehend, appreciate, and celebrate the differences that make our world rich and vibrant.

Engaging in Communities

During this exploration of the culture, I spent more time taking in the experiences rather than recording everything in order to get a more authentic experience. Being that I was exploring a new community, I didn’t want to have my phone/ camera in their face like they were animals and I think I made the right decision within doing so. As I traveled, I learned about many different families and how each household is different but yet similar to those of the others. I met a waiter from one of the restaurants we ate at that invited us to their home and allowed us to participate in what family time was like in Hispanic culture. I thought it was interesting how many people lived together but yet had their own space. I am 1 of 14 kids and I feel as if I can relate because in a large household like that, there has to be an understanding that everyone must work together. I seen this a lot at the waiter’s house. Everyone helped in some way, from big and small. I thought this was very cool to watch. When we offered to help, the refused until I kept insisting on doing something. I was able to spend time with our new friend’s abuela and she taught me some old secrets of how she makes certain sauces and how she gets tortillas into a certain way which were absolutely amazing. One of my artifacts was us at the waiter’s restaurant before we was invited over after a conversation about my Spanish class. As I continue to learn and explore more Hispanic communities, I wish to learn more about their lifestyle and make comparisons to other cultures as well as other households that are in their community.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uPuQRXv_fCVPy0qbryBsvMHA8SBCbKLB/view?usp=drive_link

Interpersonal Communication

This 6 weeks, we had to participate in the TalkAbroad program. I thought it was an amazing opportunity to work on my Spanish with someone closer to my age who is currently living in a Hispanic country. TalkAbroad is an online program that allows for people to have conversations with native speakers of the language they are currently learning. In my TalkAbroad conversations, I chose the same partner and I think I made the right choice. The first time we had a conversation I was nervous and not as confident in my Spanish but as time went on Agustina helped me feel comfortable while teaching me things I didn’t know or helping me in the areas in which I struggled. I plan to continue with these conversations outside of class to help better and challenge myself. It is a challenging experience but it is worth it 100%. Over time, my TalkAbroad conversations has helped me improved in conversations outside of the classroom. It taught me how to overcome the difficulty of over analyzing and constantly trying to conjugate before giving my answer. I learned that, it may not be perfect but majority of the time, understanding is just using context clues. In class, we did many discussion boards, flipgrid videos, and more. I feel like the discussion boards are the most helpful because it allows me to connect with my classmates closer while working on our Spanish. Below was one of my responses to a discussion board. With this, I was able to give my response as well as my classmates responses. This helped me also because many of my classmates are on a similar level as me and it is comforting to know I am not the only one struggling. Within each assignment whether speaking or writing, I have been able to grow in my understanding, my responses, and improving in the overall language. My TalkAbroad conversation is located in the presentational speaking section.

DB 15: Versiones Diferentes Response

“Un evento histórico muy importante es el Descubrimiento de América por Cristóbal Colón en 1492. Debido a sus acciones, los españoles fueron vistos como los malos a pesar de que hicieron muchas cosas buenas y beneficiosas. Al comparar con los U.S., encontramos que los eventos históricos no siempre muestran cómo eran en realidad. Los Estados Unidos siempre se hicieron pasar por los protagonistas y fueron vistos como héroes cuando luchaban contra los pueblos indígenas, lo cual es repulsivo. La diferencia entre los dos momentos históricos en América del Norte y América del Sur radica en las perspectivas culturales y los intereses de quienes cuentan las historias.

Esto conduce a diferentes interpretaciones debido a cómo se construyeron las narrativas desde diferentes puntos de vista. La diferencia entre los dos momentos históricos en América del Norte y América del Sur radica en las perspectivas culturales y los intereses de quienes cuentan las historias. Esto conduce a diferentes interpretaciones debido a que las narrativas se construyeron desde diferentes puntos de percepción y presentación de los acontecimientos históricos varían según la perspectiva cultural, los intereses de los narradores y el contexto en el que se desarrollan las historias. Es crucial no ser parcial y recordar que cada perspectiva es diferente.”

Presentational Speaking

In this class, we didn’t have many presentations in which we said in front of the class or made videos in which we presented something. However, I consider my TalkAbroad to be a presentational speaking activity because not only did I have to research and prepare beforehand, I also had to present the evidence and reflection on it to my professor. In my TalkAbroad conversations, it can be heard that I struggle when speaking. I am doing better in the listening aspect but my main weakness is my speaking. Initially, the presentational speaking activities posed a challenge for me as I felt nervous about speaking in front of an audience or engaging in conversations with native Spanish speakers. However, through consistent practice and guidance from my instructor, I grew more confident in expressing myself in Spanish. I excelled at researching and presenting information about the Hispanic artist, and I received positive feedback for sharing my personal story with cultural significance. Participating in the virtual Spanish conversation group helped me overcome my fear of spontaneous speaking, and I found it particularly beneficial in improving my conversational fluency. Looking back, I would have focused more on incorporating interactive elements into my presentations to actively engage the audience. I would also practice more with diverse conversation partners to enhance my adaptability to different speaking styles. Despite the initial challenges, I am proud of the progress I made throughout these activities, and I now feel more capable and empowered to communicate effectively in Spanish-speaking settings.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CtjtpmY0VA0PEkODMb36qh3ce5g4OFPu/view?usp=drive_link

Presentational Writing

Throughout the semester, the presentational writing activities have been instrumental in enhancing my Spanish language skills. I have written many assignments for LingroHub. Each one has allowed me to demonstrate my skills. Below, I have a few assignments that I completed for the writing portion. In each assignment, growth can be seen. Growth in comprehension and skills. Initially, constructing well-organized compositions and articles was challenging as I struggled with finding the right vocabulary and grammar structures. However, with consistent practice, I became more adept at expressing my ideas coherently and in a culturally appropriate manner. I excelled at storytelling in my written stories, as it allowed me to incorporate my own experiences and emotions. To improve further, I would focus on expanding my vocabulary and using more varied sentence structures. Additionally, I would seek opportunities to write in different styles and genres to develop a more diverse and versatile writing proficiency. Overall, these activities have contributed significantly to my growth in Spanish writing, enabling me to convey my thoughts effectively and authentically.

“Esta semana María tiene mucho que hacer. El martes tiene una reunión en el trabajo. Se viste con una bonita falda y blusa para lucir profesional. El miércoles, usa una chaqueta y una bufanda afuera debido al clima mientras compra comestibles. El viernes por la noche, María finalmente tiene un descanso y se pone una falda y una linda camisa para ir a bailar con sus amigas.”

“El título de la pintura es ‘Las tres bailarinas’. La fecha erá 1925. La pintura mostra tres bailarinas bailando. Cada bailarina tiene su propia estilo y su propia movementos. La pintura tiene mucho colores. Tiene matiz de rojizo, azulado, amarillento, blanco y marrón oscuro. Aunque son colores oscuro, la pintura es muy brilliante. Lo es un pintura abstracto. Cuando mirando a aun pintura, me siento tranquil pero muy curiosa porque me gusta bailar y la pintura es muy interesante a ver.”

“En mi opinión, el uso adecuado de los signos de puntuación en mensajes de texto es importante para evitar problemas. Personalmente, siempre trato de utilizar los signos de puntuación en mis mensajes. Aunque cuando envío mensajes de texto, pongo un espacio antes del signo de puntuación porque eso es lo mío ‘cosa’. In embargo, reconozco que en temas delicados o importantes, prefiero hablar cara a cara o utilizar otro medio de comunicación más directo, como una llamada telefónica, para asegurarme de que la información se transmita de manera clara y sin posibles interpretaciones erróneas. En general, considero que una comunicación efectiva es clave para evitar malentendidos y mantener relaciones armoniosas.”

Interpretive Listening

Throughout the semester, I engaged in various interpretive listening activities both inside and outside of class. Listening to dialogues, television shows, youtube videos, and more has helped me improve my comprehension of conversational Spanish and exposed me to different regional accents. Podcasts offered valuable insights into Hispanic culture, current events, and social issues, providing me with a deeper understanding of their perspectives. Spanish songs were both enjoyable and challenging, as they exposed me to a range of vocabulary and grammar in a melodic context. One particular song that stood out to me was “Safera” by Bad Bunny, Jowell, and Randy. While challenging at first, I overcame difficulties by listening repeatedly, following along with the lyrics, and looking up unfamiliar words. The listening experience allowed me to appreciate the rhythm and emotion of the song while honing my listening skills. Since I learn better by doing hands on and listening (in some aspects), this made the song easier to learn. Each activity helped me grow in understanding spoken Spanish, and I became more confident in distinguishing different accents and grasping subtle nuances. Below, I have attached some of the youtube videos that has helped me improve my Spanish skills. Each one offers something that I could use while learning the language. The takeaway from this experience is that regular exposure to diverse listening materials is crucial for language learning, and I now actively seek out Spanish podcasts and songs to continue improving my interpretive listening abilities.

Interpretive Reading

In this short semester, the interpretive communication activities allowed me to immerse myself in various aspects of the Spanish language and culture. Initially, reading different articles and stories in Spanish was challenging as I encountered unfamiliar vocabulary and complex sentence structures. To overcome this difficulty, I utilized Spanish-English dictionaries and language resources to enhance comprehension. I also wrote out everything I was unsure of and used context clues to figure out what was being said. Exploring short stories by Hispanic authors was fascinating as it exposed me to diverse storytelling styles and cultural insights. I found myself drawn to the rich narratives and unique perspectives presented in these stories. Navigating the Language Learning Center website provided valuable resources that complemented my learning journey and supported my language development. With each assignment, my reading skills improved, and I became better at grasping the main ideas and subtleties in Spanish texts. I took away that these activities show the importance of consistent practice and exposure to authentic materials for language growth. I now feel more confident in my ability to engage with written Spanish content and have a deeper appreciation for the culture and literature of Spanish-speaking regions.

Readings-

El eclipse Augusto Monterroso (1969)

El eclipse

Tu Moda a Tu Manera

Sabores de Nuestra Tierra