Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Address the reflection exercises in each of the following sections. For each section, you will need to embed portions of these assignments and activities as artifacts to substantiate your reflection. Then, at the end of each section, include a link to the document or embed it as a PDF. 

Tutorials are available:

• Embedding a PDF
• Embedding Media (Images, Audio)
• Embedding a Video

An Effective Reflection Is

• Written in English.
• A demonstration, explanation, comparison of skill and growth described through what you learned and the challenges you had in that learning while highlighting your best work.
• A discussion of how you overcame any weakness or obstacles. Explain what you mean.
• Supported by evidence as represented by your artifacts (course materials, photographs, video, conversations, projects, news reports, authentic materials, etc.).
• Specific, addressing particular strengths, weakness, skills, transformative experiences, etc., avoiding vague generalizations (ex: “I learned a lot.”).

An Effective Reflection is not

• Only sharing an artifact without context or discussion.
• Only a description or explanation of an artifact. Focus on your learning and growth as a result of having completed that experience.
• An attempt to justify your work to an instructor. Instead, think more broadly about future audiences that might benefit from seeing evidence of your work and the skills you are developing.

Artifacts

A good artifact is a portion or clip of an assignment. It needs to be carefully selected to provide evidence/proof that supports what you are saying in your reflection.

Your reflection will help you determine what that will be. It is a quest for quality. It will represent you academically and professionally, and have personal meaning. It can be written, audio, or video.

At the end, ask yourself if the artifacts best demonstrates your abilities and growth over time.

At the end of your reflection in each section, link or embed the assignment/artifact. If the assignment has multiple pages and seems to overwhelm the section, consider adding just the first page and offering to provide the rest upon request.

Instructions

Exploring Culture

In English, give a brief description of products and practices that helped you gain understanding of cultural perspectives. Remember not to make value judgments or comparisons of better/worse or right/wrong. Different is just different. You are talking about your growth of understanding.

The products and practices that helped me gain a better understanding of cultural perspectives. For example, in Spanish-speaking countries, people greet each other with a kiss or two on the cheek sometimes – it is something that is different from the culture in the United States, but not nescisarily bad, even if it’s something I myself might not feel comfortable doing.

Then, in a short paragraph write your reflection. Some questions that may help you process your reflections are: In what way did these products and practices help you better understand values and attitudes in the Hispanic culture as well as your own? How did these products and practices challenge your worldview? What challenges did these perspectives reveal to you? How did it cause you to work through a stereotype or misconception you had and cause you to view the world from a different perspective? Use specific examples.

To me, it seems that Hispanic culture empathizes family and being with them more often than the culture in the States. From people greeting each other with cheek kisses to the fact that leaving home to live elsewhere is not as stressed, the culture seems more family-based. It’s quite interesting for me to read and listen to about.

Engaging in Communities

In English, give a brief description of the value of, and importance of, engaging in your immediate community and the global community.

There is a great importance of engaging in my immediate community and the community. Communication is an important part of interacting with the world, and language barriers can hinder that, even between languages that are fairly similar, That’s why engaging in one’s community is important – to improve one’s ability to navigate the world and interact with many different people.

Reflect on your experience and participation in these communities. Include artifacts such as photos, audio/video clips, etc.

Communicating with other people in other languages is an important skill to navigate the world with. Asking questions about people is a great way to learn about them and make new friends.

Interpersonal Communication

In English, give a very brief 3-4-line description of TalkAbroad and other interpersonal oral/audio activities, discussion board and other interpersonal writing/reading activities you completed this semester inside or outside of class for or related to your Spanish learning. (See Modes of Communication link for definition and examples).

In the class, there were some assignments where I needed to communicate with my classmates and my teacher. There were a few different types, like the ones were I had to communicate verbally with a classmate, and the other ones were I talked through Zoom with my teacher.

Then, in a short paragraph or two, write a reflection that includes each type of the interpersonal (spontaneous, unplanned) communication activities: telecollaborative (TalkAbroad) conversations, discussion board posts, and any other interpersonal exchange.  Explain how you’ve grown with each assignment/activity. What was difficult and how did you overcome that difficulty? What did you excel at and why/how? What/how did you learn from it and would you do differently next time?

The communication activities were all different and informative. Communication through Zoom involved listening, comprehension, and speaking – understanding Spanish is something that has been a bit challenging for me, but I worked to overcome it as best I could through studying. I believe I do well in speaking, and I’m not too sure what I would do differently next time. Discussion Boards are also something that I do – they consist of me and the other students in my class talking about whatever the topic for the post is. I have grown by learning about the cultural differences. I believe I do well on them in terms of completing the assignments and completely answering the questions.

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).

I have done speaking in the class where I answered written questions oud loud via recording. In addition, I have done a few of these types of assignments. The one below is Oral 1 from VHL Central.

Then, in a paragraph, write a reflection that includes each presentation you completed in which you explain what challenged you and how you grew and overcame those challenges.  What did you excel at? What/how would you do differently next time?

The presentation all challenged me to different degrees due to it being it a foreign language, but I steadily worked to overcome it by continually doing the assignments and recording and rerecording when necessary. Something I think I did well on is saying all the words, and something I would do differently is maybe focusing more on saying the words the Spanish way.

Presentational Writing

In English, give a very brief 2-3-line description of the presentational communication of compositions, pamphlets, blogs, flyers, stories, articles, and any other written presentation activities you completed this semester inside or outside of class for or related to your Spanish learning. Include a copy of a written presentational activity you produced? (See Modes of Communication link for description and examples).

One of the presentational communication assignments I did is the Composición. In that assignment, I wrote a short article about activities at the school and what times they were at, using vocabulary from all four units of our class. I don’t personally have said assignment on me though.

Then, in a paragraph, write a reflection that includes each of the activities you described above in which you explain how you have grown with each assignment or activity. What became easier and what was difficult? How did you overcome the difficulties? What did you excel at and why? How could you do better next time?A

There haven’t been too many assignments focused on writing, but I believe that my ability to write in Spanish increased as my vocab and grammar skills improved. Something that became easier was my ability to recall and use verbs and nouns, while some that was difficult was the smaller parts of grammar like saying the time and remembering how to use words like “a”, “ser”, and “de”. It’s still difficult, but I believe I have become a bit better at it via studying. Something I excel at, I believe, is using verb and nouns in sentences in sentences – with those, I can usually remember them due them being cognates, connecting them to something else, or simple memory. I suppose I could do better next time by studying even more.

Interpretive Listening

In English, give a very brief 2-3-line description of interpretive listening activities you completed this semester for or related to your Spanish learning. (See Modes of Communication link for description and examples).

Then, write a short reflection paragraph that includes the different things you listened to/heard this semester inside and outside of class or in the Language Learning Center or its website. Find a recording and add to this section; be sure to cite it. What was unclear or challenging for you? How did you overcome this difficulty? What did you find most interesting or compelling? What was your takeaway from the listening experience? How have you grown with each activity?

Interpretive Reading

In English, give a very brief 2-3 line description of interpretive communication activities you read in and out of class this semester, such as articles, stories, websites like the Language Learning Center, etc. that you completed for or related to your Spanish learning. Include a copy of one of these activities; remember to cite it. (See Modes of Communication link for description and examples).

Then, write a short reflection paragraph that includes the activities you described above. What was unclear or challenging for you? How did you overcome this difficulty? What did you find most interesting or compelling? What was your takeaway from the reading? How have you grown with each assignment?

When you have finished adding content to this page, delete all the instructions except the link to the Modes of Communication.

When you have finished adding content to this page, delete all the instructions except the link to the Modes of Communication.