Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Exploring Culture

Using elements like Talk Abroad and ImmerseMe lets me see inside other people’s culture in Spanish speaking countries. I was allowed to see how differently they spoke, and through Talk Abroad I was able to dive in and ask questions about their culture and stereotypes in their country.

Being in the United States it is easy to be selfish and egotistical, as you think about how our country is compared to others. Something I always forget is that different countries are still dealing or have dealt with situations like becoming independent, something Nicaragua has gone through where my conversation partner is from. Remembering that independence is a very important cultural thing for them and compared to the things we celebrate here just for our country as well as how we celebrate it is very different. I find it interesting and amazing that I could get to talk to someone from a different country.

Engaging in Communities

It is very important not only to engage in a community you identify as, but also explore other communities to gain valuable knowledge. There is a lot of things you can learn as well as enjoy when you engage in other communities. It is always beneficial to gain a new perspective as life goes on.

Living on campus while in college it is somewhat difficult to engage in new communities outside of my own, as time is limited and I have a hard time finding where new communities are. One community I do enjoy engaging with though is my university community. Almost everyday as a desk worker for housing I engage with a lot of students and staff. Being in other clubs and events also allows me the chance to engage with a variety of students.

Interpersonal Communication

This semester I completed various communication activities like TalkAbroad, videos for projects, ImmerseMe and conversations with my professor. Through these activities, I was able to strengthen my Spanish speaking and through the semester it has only grown.

Through these different types of communication, I was not only able to strengthen my speaking abilities but talk about important things I valued through my conversations. In the discussion boards throughout the semester I typed my views in Spanish and was able to respond to classmates on what they thought which was really interesting. In my conversations with my professor and TalkAbroad I spoke with native speakers and was also allowed to converse with them on different topics. Whether we talked about influencers, culture, or even how the weather is outside it was really beneficial to me as I learned Spanish. It was difficult like every semester is at first, but as time went on I got comfortable with who I was speaking and conversing with so that made it easier.

Presentational Speaking

This semester I completed videos for projects where I talked about my favorite influencer and about Día de Muertos. I also completed speaking activities on Contrasena that were also presentational.

In the presentational speaking videos I created throughout the semester, some were easier to talk about than others. In the video linked above it was easy for me to talk about something I enjoyed like my favorite Youtuber and what he does for a living. On the other hand in another project where we had to talk about food insecurity, it was harder for me to voice what I wanted to say. Although it was difficult to speak about food insecurity in that particular video, it was interesting to think about what I could talk about and put it into a project video.

Presentational Writing

Throughout the semester I wrote and read a lot of Spanish. Being able to write short essays about what I read in Contraseña was really interesting and it helped me better my writing abilities. I wrote about a student’s POV of going to college, discussed the meaning of a poem fully in Spanish, and wrote about stereotypes.

Maria-Toombs-Proyecto-19

It was and still is pretty difficult to write the correct tenses of a verb in Spanish. It is challenging to write complete sentences to say what you really mean. I find it interesting that I have grown with each project and the ones presented to me piqued my interest as well. The project I found most challenging was the one about stereotypes I faced because it felt like I couldn’t say all I wanted to say in the paragraph as my vocabulary was limited.

Interpretive Listening

Through Contraseña I was able to listen to a lot of different things. I got to listen to an influencer talk about his daily life, a person do a TedTalk about his opinions on the state of food, and also a lot of different listening elements as I completed activities.

This is the video of a Roma influencer Aarón Escudero. It was really interesting to see a day in his life as well as interpret what he was saying as I went about completing the lessons for my assignment. It was difficult to hear exactly what he was saying at some parts but the concept of him being an influencer really intrigued me. Additionally, the other listening activities were a little difficult too, but they all were interesting to listen to and watch.

Interpretive Reading

I read a lot of Spanish in my activities in Contraseña such as a student travelling to college, a telling of mate as well as how to prepare it and much more. It was really fun to read these text throughout the semester.

Viaje a la Universidad is a story about traveling to college and not only being a little confused but nervous about what you are seeing. I know I really related to this story because moving to college was also a transformative experience for me and I also noticed a lot of things Francisco noticed about his college and his surroundings. Although it was and is still difficult to understand every aspect of the reading I feel like I could understand most of what this reading was saying. One reading I did find difficult though was the story about mate, the vocabulary was a little hard to decipher, but I still enjoyed reading it.