Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication
This semester in my class, I tested my written skills by making multiple forms of written communication, including an endorsement letter to an award committee for a person I admire, an announcement for a sports activity, and an infographic for a health issue.
Project 5 – Award Endorsement: This was a letter written to an Award Committee in support of someone you admire, with the use of saber and conocer (to know and to recognize, respectively). This unit was our introduction to skimming and gisting to identify themes and key information of the communication, as well as identifying the subject, origin, and their relationship based on the formalities used. My choice for nomination was the late Honorable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. One of the struggles I had with this project was the use of the past tense of the verb “Ir,” (fui, fue, etc.); I also was getting adjusted to the formal uses of usted/ustedes, which are not used in regular conversation. My way of helping to solidify them was watching Youtube videos explaining the different uses, and in the future I plan to memorize them by writing down the conjugations so that I can see them.
Project 6 – Family: For this presentation, the assignment was to write about the qualities and characteristics of your family, using possessive pronouns. In this unit, we continued to use the context to identify the relationships between people and identify the subject and object of the sentence. We also practiced the pronunciation of i and u, as well as how to identify and use dipthongs (__________) and hiatuses (_________). I learned new words for blended families, such as madrastra (step-mother). It deepened my comprehension of the personal qualities (calidades) and characteristics (caracteristicas), which made conversational Spanish much simpler, whether it was introductions or small talk. I tended to mix up the masculine and feminine endings on adjectives when speaking, but it helps me to see it written or typed so that I can read it as well as speak it. I have improved with the vocabulary that we practiced and will continue to practice this with future conversation partners. It was also difficult to get used to the use of the direct and indirect pronouns, but with all the practice opportunities given in the Contrasena platform, I was able to use it successfully in this project: el me hace algo-he makes me something. I plan to practice direct/indirect object use while speaking partners on the platform Tandem.
Project 7 – Sports & Activities: This unit we were tasked with creating an announcement for a sports activity using command forms; my announcement is for rowing (Rema). This unit expanded on the application and benefits of skimming and gisting, with an introduction to scanning. In order to make the announcement simple to read for a busy college student, I used brief information points, as well as bright colors to catch a reader’s attention. Although I do not participate in any school sports, this unit’s vocabulary was also applicable to many other aspects of life, including emotions and words of encouragement. (PHOTO VOCAB 7 LIST) These terms and the cultural lessons we applied them to also prepares me for sensitive topics such as the context of gender equality in Spanish-speaking countries.
A hurdle that I overcame during this unit was the identification of time and when to use por vs. son. When telling time, it is son “las/los……,” and for a duration of time it is “por las/los…” I also had some difficulty with identifying the irregular verb yo forms in present-tense, but through practice on Contrasena, I was able to complete the activity Aplicar with flying colors! (PHOTO OF APLICAR 7 GRADE). One of my strengths that was highlighted in this project was my retention of the irregular verb command forms. Also, you can see in this project my attention to detail; I included the opportunity for scholarships (becas), and highly skilled “world-class” trainers, as well as a 30-day equipment as a trial so that there are less financial limits for students that may not have the ability to pay upfront. I know in subsequent conversations, I will need to differentiate the sé command form from the reflexive/indirect object sé, and am better prepared for it due to our in-class conversations and homework covering it. In future projects like this, I would increase the size of each of the subtitles under “¿Cuales son los beneficios?” and decrease the length of their paragraphs. I would also change the layout to allow more room for the introduction and benefits in the beginning, and the contact/meeting times/location information below.
Project 9 – Health Infographic: This assignment was to create an infographic to inform and advise on mental or physical health using reflexive verbs and formal commands. My topic of choice was anxiety.
This unit’s goal was to learn to identify and communicate mental and physical wellbeing, expanding on our knowledge of reflexive verbs and formal commands. I built on the skills I learned in previous units to catch more of my mistakes while using reflexive verbs, and to produce this infographic. I also had been struggling with the preterite verb tense in Unit 8, and in order to adapt the assignments to my learning style (auditory, hands-on and written), I wrote down conjugations of each form of the verb (ar, ir, and er). The formal commands were somewhat challenging when distinguishing from the present tense, but as I moved through these activities, I became more comfortable with the word structures and tenses.
My strength has been vocabulary retention since high school. I noticed in class that I remembered words that I had either not heard recently or even since high school, but I could use context to identify them. This unit in particular, I did not need that skill as much since many of the words were cognates. However, there were some body parts that I had not known and after completing the unit I am much more familiar with them; I can see this being very important when traveling abroad, not only in regular conversation, but in case myself or someone else needs medical assistance.
As I reflect on what worked and what didn’t, I realize that I could improve my writing skills by doing drills on reflexive pronouns along with indirect and direct objects so that I can more easily identify and differentiate them.