In the beginning of the semester I was nervous for Spanish and was only taking the class because It was required. I really did not like talking in Spanish either as I felt it was a challenge for me, especially in front of the class. I understood how to say the basic topics we went over like greetings, and months, and colors. But towards the middle of the semester I began to slack off because I thought the class did not challenge me. I fell behind and did not study as much and it definitely caught up to me. I realized I needed to continue to work hard and be motivated to get a good grade in the class. By the end of the semester I studied hard and felt good about how I was leaving the semester off.

Instructions

Exploring Culture

There are definitely many cultural differences between Spanish speaking countries and English speaking countries. I have learned a lot about the cultural differences in college life specifically.

Then, in a short paragraph write your reflection. Some questions that may help you process your reflections are: These products and practices help broaden my worldview perspective. I did not have a stereotypical opinion towards Spanish speaking countries and how they communicate and live their lives. I respect what sacrifices Spanish speaking college students have to do just to live by the campus that they are attending.

Engaging in Communities

I think there is a lot of value in engaging with your community and global community. Communicating with a global community gave me a more expanded outlook that I would not have had if I did not engage with the global community. Engaging with my immediate community by communicating with my classmates and all then finally being able to hold a conversation was pleasing. I did not think I would be able to have a basic conversation in Spanish until the end of the semester.

Interpersonal Communication

We had three oral communication interviews throughout the semester. The first one was about our profile, our characteristics as people, and greetings. The second oral interview was about who we admire and our favorite places on campus and about them. The third oral interview was all of those topics combined.

A spontaneous communication activity I have been involved with this semester was the pop up verbal questions our teacher would give us and the discussion board replies on canvas or lingrolearning for some simple assignments we had. The pop up verbal questions were intimidating but when it got to me I always knew how to answer them. I excelled at discussion boards those are pretty simple. I learned a lot from those pop up quizzes to be prepared at all times.

Presentational Speaking

A speaking presentation I completed was a project we completed towards the end of the semester. It was about our favorite places on campus along with a description of each place.

During speaking presentation it is difficult to memorize the Spanish words off the top of your head. More than 3 sentences were hard to remember and be able to pronounce right. Saying the words without looking at them in writing made it difficult to pronounce correctly. I practiced the words a couple of times by just repeating them and it eventually just stuck with me.

Presentational Writing

I created a writing assignment as one of my projects this semester. It was based off of my schedule for the day from start to finish. Also including what certain activities I do on certain days.

In the beginning of the semester writing activities were more challenging for me because verbs like ser and estar would confuse me on what sentences it belongs in. But throughout the semester practicing the vocabulary and grammar it made more sense to me. The sentences flowed right to be and I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Interpretive Listening

We completed listening assignments all throughout the semester. Short sentences to repeat in English or write back down in Spanish.

Throughout the semester we had different ways of learning Spanish. One of them was listening to audio recordings online. The class would either answer back in Spanish, write what the audio recording said in Spanish, or write it in English. This was challenging because of the way some Spanish speakers talk, very fast. After hearing it two or three times I get the hang of it much more quickly.

Interpretive Reading

In Spanish we read articles and letters in the website we used for homework. It was generally regarding the topic we were on to get an example of what it should look like.

The assignments for reading in class were not generally challenging or difficult to me. It demonstrated to me how to write to someone in Spanish informally and formally. Plus, providing evidence of the differences between the two. It has helped me grow as a writer and reader in Spanish. I know how to read a basic conversation in Spanish.