Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Exploring Culture
Ligro-Learning was a major help in my journey to better understand cultural differences. The various activities throughout the semester allowed me to explore different Spanish-speaking countries and their cultures. Along with this, the practice of keeping an open mind throughout the semester allowed me to gain a new perspective into the lives of Spanish-speaking people.
First, Lingro-Learning provided multiple opportunities throughout the units to dive deep into the cultures of countries like Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Specifically, in the Exploración cultural portions, I related what I had learned in the unit to various countries. One lesson that comes to mind was the differences in colleges from the United States to Spanish-speaking countries. Learning about the different universities challenged what I viewed as a “proper education” and caused me to work through the stereotype that attending a standard, United States’ 4-year university was the only way to obtain an acceptable learning experience. Now, I realize needs are different in different parts of the world, and universities all around the globe are offering stellar education opportunities catered towards their population.
Secondly, keeping an open mind throughout the semester was a major help in my journey to expand my cultural knowledge. I did my best to come into each lesson with no expectations and no judgement. This allowed me to open up to the cultures I was exploring and challenge stereotypes like the one I discussed in the above paragraph. I gained a new appreciation for the hardships facing people in Hispanic countries, but I also realized the beautiful culture they practice. Specifically, the lesson about the festivals and celebrations in Spanish-speaking countries helped me to see just how beautiful and deep these cultures are.
Module-4-Exploración-cultural-Engaging in Communities
I was able to engage in Spanish-speaking communities via research I conducted over the Internet. All of the Exploración cultural assignments on Lingo-Learning allowed me to dive deeper into various cultures around the world. These portions of the class had me research everyday life in other countries. I learned about colleges, formal and informal means of addressing people, and the average workdays in South and Central American nations.
The Module 3 Investigar portion helped me the most. In that assignment, I was asked to research a typical workday in a Spanish-speaking country. I researched what time a normal workday began and ended, if a siesta was still common in that region, and if tendencies for these things have changed in the recent years. Overall, I was able to learn much about the culture of Puerto Rico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, through my research.
Module-3-Exploración-CulturalInterpersonal Communication
Throughout Spanish 101, I engaged in various interpersonal communication situations. Every unit, I was required to complete a Conversaciones (conversation) with a fellow student through Zoom which showcased the information I learned in that section. I also engaged in class discussions via Blackboard in which I learned and discussed topics surrounding the various cultures in Spanish-speaking nations.
The Conversaciones assignments were both challenging and rewarding. The most difficult part was listening and interpreting what the other student was saying. I overcame this struggle by preparing myself beforehand with the required questions and taking my time to comprehend what the other student was saying before responding. I feel I excelled in creating appropriate responses to the questions we were asked to answer throughout the conversation because I took my time to study the material. Throughout these Conversaciones assignments, I learned and practiced communicating with my piers completely in Spanish. I gained confidence and could hear and see my improvement throughout the semester.
Our class discussion boards posed a unique opportunity to engage with our piers throughout the online, asynchronous class. I particularly enjoyed Discussion Board 3 where I learned about various festivals and celebrations in other countries. The discussion boards were all relatively straightforward, although I did often struggle to connect what I was learning in these assignments to what I was taught on Lingro-Learning. I overcame this by spending more time on the Exploración cultural portion of Lingro-Learning. I feel I excelled at researching the topic at hand and conveying my feelings about the subject because I was patient and took the time to study the sources provided to us. Because of these discussion boards, I learned other student’s views on cultural aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures and expanded my view of other nations.
Spanish-101-Discussion-Board-3Presentational Speaking
At the end of each unit of this class, I completed a Proyecto (project). These projects were designed to test my knowledge of the information provided in the lessons and to see if I could apply that knowledge to real life scenarios. One of these projects included a presentational speaking portion.
In Unit 4, I learned ways to describe our college campus. For our Proyecto 4, I was required to present our college and share our favorite places on campus. I found difficulty narrowing down my thoughts and presenting them in ways I could explain with my fairly limited knowledge of Spanish. Luckily, when I focused on the simple words and phrases we learned in the lessons, I was able to share my ideas in a manner that made sense to me. After I simplified the project, I excelled in explaining the buildings I enjoyed spending time at. If I had to do anything differently, I would probably give a more accurate tour of ODU’s campus and include more details.
Presentational Writing
There were multiple times to present my Spanish writing ability throughout the semester. Specifically, the Proyectos at the end of each unit required me to display our writing ability by applying the lessons to real-life circumstances.
In the last project, Proyecto 5, I was asked to write a recommendation letter, fully in Spanish, to a board, displaying why my favorite person should be awarded the “Best Person Award.” I enjoyed this assignment because it gave us the chance to be creative. With that said, it was difficult for me to explain what my favorite person, my father, did for work because that knowledge had been presented to us earlier in the semester. By studying my notes and previous Lingro-Learning lessons, I was able to draw from other units to complete this assignment. I feel I excelled in expressing my thoughts on why my father should receive the award. I used encouraging adjectives to further my point. If I were to do this assignment again, I would like to broaden my knowledge of sentence structures so that I could make a more creatively-inspired letter.
Proyecto-5-1Interpretive Listening
Throughout the units, I was required to watch various videos and listen to audio clips. After I listened to these materials, I was asked to share my thoughts on discussion boards. One assignment that stands out in particular is Discussion Board 2.
In Discussion Board 2, I learned about greetings in Spanish-speaking nations and how they vary from greetings here in the US. I gained this information through a YouTube video clip provided. I found it challenging at the beginning to understand what was being said, so I listened again in 0.5x speed. This allowed me to comprehend what was being portrayed. I found this assignment particularly compelling because it gave me a glimpse into the cultures the world. I learned to be patient with myself and to slow down when I needed more time on something. That is something I carried with me throughout the rest of the course.
LinguaTV.com. (2011). Learn Spanish (Greeting and Introduction). YouTube. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
Discussion-Board-2-Spanish-101Interpretive Reading
Interpretive reading was a skill that was necessary throughout this course. The Exploración cultural portions of the Lingro-Learning units used this skill particularly frequently as I was asked to conduct online research in Spanish on different topics.
In Unit 1, I was prompted to research the use of social media sites in other countries. I had to research this question in Spanish, which provided me an opportunity to use my interpretive reading skills. I struggled at first with understanding what had been written, especially since the semester was just beginning. I looked for context clues and the words I had learned in the first unit to overcome this challenge. I learned valuable information about reading skills and also about the uses of social media in Spanish-speaking nations through this assignment. I also gained experience in searching things on the Internet using a different language.
Staff, F. (2016, September 8). Facebook, La Red Social Preferida en Puerto Rico. Forbes México. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com.mx/facebook-la-red-social-preferida-puerto-rico/.
Unit-1-Exploración-Cultural