Exploring Culture

The most notable portion of this semester of Spanish was the emphasis on culture. How are we expected to respect and acknowledge all the ways in which Spanish is useful, if we are unaware of historical contexts and the beautiful and blooming cultures? The stories about immigration and art were the most useful to me throughout this semester. I already had a basic knowledge and understanding of Dreamers and what they are, but through this class I was able to better empathize and understand what it is that these individuals go through.

The stories I read made me realize how much of Spanish culture I am already familiar with. Artists such as Salvador Dali and Frida Kahlo are important to Spanish culture and the art world across cultural boundaries. As someone who enjoys art, I was thrilled to hear about these individuals in the Spanish context. I also was better able to understand the perspectives of immigrants and became exposed to reasonable expectations for helping them and promoting tolerance. Putting myself in the shoes of Finita really impacted my understanding the most as I had to think about things from her perspective to the fullest. Imagining her fear, sadness, and excitement as she processed how being an immigrant had changed her life in many ways.

Engaging in Communities

TalkAbroad was a piece of this class that encouraged and motivated me and my classmates to engage with Spanish speakers outside the classroom. This is important because talking to others who do not share the same background broadens horizons and provides a different perspective. Not only will there be an increased exposure, but Spanish speaking skills will improve. People say the best way to learn is to go to a place where your desired language is the main one and you will learn far faster. Exposure equals experience!

We used TalkAbroad this semester, and I enjoyed speaking with my partners. They were each kind, calm, professional, and collected. Though I still struggle when talking in Spanish, I felt slightly improved between each partner.

Interpersonal Communication

TalkAbroad was an excellent platform to use when practicing our oral Spanish skills. Our class also had group discussions and class participation, which required us to think on our feet to come up with answers when called upon. These activities helped me improve my ability to speak Spanish aloud.

Spontaneous discussions are the most stressful for me to complete. I am entirely unable to think during this. It is due to a lack of speaking practice, as I do not have access to individuals to practice with me spontaneously. However, I will look into tutoring next semester to have a built-in partner whenever needed. I have grown most in not being afraid to pause or hesitate. I would rather sound a bit unconfident, but my words are correct, than attempt to speed through and mess up entirely.

Presentational Speaking

In English, give a brief 2-3-line description of any presentational speaking activities you completed this semester inside or outside of class for or related to your Spanish learning. Include a recording of one of these speaking activities. (See Modes of Communication link for description and examples). 

A task I enjoyed was our Unit 12 project, where we described a place we had visited. The point of this was to present our story to the class so that they could give their feedback.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMp_6PhzjNfosWPftWlmT2OCAke9w4MKnV7QJ7_

The presentation I completed was challenging because it was necessary to include detail without using overly descriptive vocabulary. Where I fumble in my Spanish-speaking conquests is sticking to the language I am familiar with. I often try translating what I think in English to what I want to say in Spanish. This does not work– not only because the grammar is different, but because I am more advanced in English than Spanish. Therefore, it will be difficult for me to translate my intentions. Here, I did the opposite, dumbing down my presentation too much and providing few specific details. In the future, I aim to find a good balance between the two extremes.

Presentational Writing

For our first project, I described what would look best on an individual I selected. We were meant to pick out a specific style and clothes to match that person. In doing so, we were to explain each article and work on proper grammar.

Utilizing the vocabulary in each piece/project I wrote became increasingly easy. The less I overthought, the easier the words came to me. The project above is an adequate example of where I started this semester. This also provides a good starting point to improve. My understanding of grammar also came from this project, as the corrections I received from my instructor were very helpful. In the future, I would worry less about how many vocabulary words I use and focus on describing the ones I use.

Interpretive Listening

The artifact below is from a TalkAbroad activity I completed. I was meant to watch the video and interpret what was being said. The video had no captions, and I could not rewind or move backward when I needed/wanted to. This made it essential for me to focus and pay attention to the video the first time around so that I did not have to repeat it.

I do not do well with listening in Spanish. This is incredibly difficult for anyone, but I find myself struggling to focus on the words– distracted by the way things are being said or by trying to translate the words into English. While I know this does me no good, I cannot help it. I mainly need help with fluent speakers, who often speak faster and with a thicker accent. As I mentioned, I intend to find a tutor and listen to more media in Spanish.

Interpretive Reading

We read several stories for this class, but Finita was the most notable. I thoroughly enjoyed this story as it was cute yet informative. I also found the original version’s drawings to aid my understanding, which I appreciated.

Trying to read a story about aspects that you are not familiar with in a different is extremely difficult. Not only do you not know certain words, you are unfamiliar with the context that would help piece together what these words might mean. To overcome this difficulty, I found the words I was unfamiliar with, circled them, and read around them. My professor also gave a lesson about immigration and Dreamers before we read, so I was able to pull from her words. I used a dictionary when I was still stuck, which helped significantly.