Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
Exploring Culture
Looking back from the first time taking a college level beginning Spanish course, excited me but also left me pondering on what obstacles I might come across while doing so; “Is this going to be as easy as high school level Spanish? Or will it be difficult to point where I’ll struggle and fail the course?” I hope to someday become a Spanish interpreter to help those that only speak Spanish communicate with those that don’t. Granted, before coming to Old Dominion University as an incoming freshman, I had a decent amount of Spanish under my belt but not to the point where I was fluent in language just yet. I knew that I had a lot to learn in order to understand the Spanish language and culture, it excited me to the point I was eager to learn new vocabulary, phrases, and to boost my confidence when it comes to speaking said language to others. However, there were times where I struggled with Spanish assignments. It’s honestly true of what they say about doing anything in general; whether trying something new or gaining an experience, it’s not going to be easy and that’s what makes it a challenge. And even with those times where I felt giving up and quitting altogether, I continued to push through and kept trying. For me, that helped with understanding cultural perspectives was completing assignments in Lingrohub/LingroLearning and just taking the course in general. Yes, the website/textbook was there to help keep tabs on our Spanish skills but there would also be times where it talks about people from different Spanish speaking countries, explaining how things are in their country. For example, In Mexico, Families are typically large and Mexicans are very conscious of their responsibilities to immediate family members and extended family such as cousins and even close friends. Hosting parties at their homes plays a large part of Mexican life and making visitors feel comfortable is a large part of the values and customs of the country.
https://hub.lingrolearning.com/#/61a4b04d2e19aed8f6287d0c/insights
Interpersonal Communication
With TalkAbroad, It was like a zoom meeting but meeting and connecting with a variety of people from different Spanish speaking countries. At first I’ve never heard of TalkAbroad until continuing my path in Spanish. I was able to understand how it works and meet very nice people, granted you’ll have to schedule an appointment ahead of time to do so but other than that it’s pretty straight forward with every step. With my time using TalkAbroad, I was nervous about my first meeting. Granted, within the first few minutes, I did fine but as the meeting progressed and questions were being asked, I kept trembling over my words and felt lost and disappointed in myself. With that being said, I was determined to do better with my next meeting and that I did. It’s true what they say about practice makes perfect, I took my time and practiced my Spanish anytime I could get and even wrote a practice script of what I would say before so. And the more I studied and practiced, the more I felt ready and sure of myself. With that being said, what helps me excel in Spanish is being prepared ahead of time instead of at the last minute. The first time, I was a rambling mess and the second time I was a lot more prepared and did better.
Presentational Speaking
Over the course of time with taking Spanish is that practice, patience, dedication, and confidence are all essential especially when it comes to speaking. For me, I always had the fear that if I were to be in a situation that required me to speak Spanish, that I would mess up and say the wrong things. With that being said, I had to keep in mind that it’s okay if you make a mistake as long as you keep trying and that you’re not going to know or get everything right on the first try, if you do then that’s good. What challenged me was keeping in mind that there’s a difference between writing and speaking, yes with both you’re showing what you learned and how well you perform in said unit or topic. For me, writing and speaking has its moments depending on what’s being asked, written wise; I’m able to really look back and check for any errors to prevent future miscommunications while as for speaking, it happens right in the moment, it’s all on you to keep up. But the good thing of it all is that communication is key otherwise, how else are others going to know how or figure out the best way to help. For this speaking piece, I did a project on explaining how to make homemade tacos while interpreting the past tense. It was a bit of a struggle here and there but manageable. The editing and creating the power point itself was nothing compared to the actual speaking part of the assignment. But after keeping in mind what helps me excel; practice by reading out loud of my Spanish a few times before the final recording, the same thing applied towards the first project where I talked about my family.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kFnveCzvutBzEuv29V4vf6sgsAb2mxY_mNCYl3JfhrU/edit#slide=id.p
(Unfortunately, it’s not allowing me to upload the actual video of me speaking)
Presentational Writing
As time progressed with taking Spanish, is that practice, patience, dedication, and confidence are all essential either for writing or speaking. With that being said, I had to keep in mind that it’s okay if you make a mistake as long as you keep trying and that you’re not going to know or get everything right on the first try, if you do then that’s good. What challenged me was keeping in mind that there’s a difference between writing and speaking, yes with both you’re showing what you learned and how well you perform in said unit or topic. For me, writing and speaking has its moments depending on what’s being asked, written wise; I’m able to really look back and check for any errors to prevent future miscommunications. What helps me to excel in Spanish is if needed is to ask for help and feedback on my work, I find it helpful and beneficial if I didn’t how else would I know if something needed to be fixed or if I was making a mistake. For this written piece, I did a project on maintaining good health by doing exercise everyday. As previously stated, the editing and creating it wasn’t an issue, it was keeping in mind of all of the instructor’s expectations while being creative. I can honestly say without a doubt that writing down any new phrases/vocabulary has really kept me on top of my Spanish; memory wise.
(El Club de Ejercicio)
Interpretive Listening
With listening in another language, you’re pretty much guessing what that other person is either saying, feeling, or thinking. Throughout the course, there would be times where we had to listen to what the speaker would say based on their tone and mood you could get an idea of what they’re saying, same thing applied for class interviews with the instructor, what I always kept in mind was paying attention to the following; tone of voice, body language, and just listening in general especially if a question is being asked.
What was challenging was overcoming the fear of saying something wrong or just getting embarrassed. But after experiencing it a couple of times, I’m not as anxious as I was.
Interpretive Reading
As previously stated, while learning any language is a thrilling experience but also keep in mind that practice, patience, dedication, and confidence are all essential whether reading, writing, or speaking. The thought of reading in Spanish sounded extremely difficult versus reading in English same as if it were a song or anything things else that was in a different language. But after taking Spanish for as long as I have, I’ve grown to like reading in Spanish, it kind of reminds me a puzzle when reading something new like “Can I guess what this means?” I can honestly say what helps me improve on reading in Spanish, is practice by reading aloud the words to the best of my ability. Granted, over the course of time, I’ve struggled with reading in Spanish time to time but what really helps is hearing how the words are properly pronounced and practice saying them. You’re not going to know or get everything right on the first time but as long as you give it your all and keep trying, you’ll be just fine.