Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Modes of Communication

Engaging in Communities

• It is important to engage in both your immediate community and the global community because both have an everlasting impact on your life and most importantly, the lives of others. By engaging in your immediate community, you can build relationships, develop a sense of belonging, and make a positive impact on the people and environment around you. This can help to create a stronger, more supportive community where people feel connected and valued. Engaging in the global community is also important, because we are all part of a larger, interconnected world. What happens in one part of the world can have an impact on people and communities in other parts of the world. By engaging in the global community, you can develop a greater understanding of different cultures, perspectives, and issues, while working to create positive changes on a larger scale. While I have not had too much experience in engaging with the global community, I would like this to change. SPAN 101 opened my eyes to the beauty and uniqueness of interpreting and developing a deeper understanding of the different cultures around me. This was one of my favorite assignments that we did during this course that analyzed and interpreted other global cultures. 

ARTIFACT

This is a picture of the Eiffel Tower I took this past summer. Experiencing the culture of this remarkable city was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I cannot wait to visit a Spanish-speaking country.

Interpersonal Communication

There were several interpersonal Spanish learning activities I completed this semester. I truly enjoyed engaging in these activities, because they called for an interactive and hands-on learning approach. My favorite assignments to complete were the discussion boards, because I not only was able to enhance my learning about the Spanish Language and culture, but I was also able to communicate in Spanish with my classmates. 

• In my opinion, these interpersonal communication activities are essential and some of the best ways to further develop your Spanish language skills, because it requires you to communicate the language and think more deeply about culture. As I mentioned above, the discussion boards were my favorite activities to participate in, because they provide a space for students to practice their Spanish writing and reading skills in a social context- which is the best way to learn a new language! While I did not use the TalkAbroad learning platform (connects students with native speakers for conversation practice) as much as I would have liked to, due to time constraints, I do believe that it is an amazing learning tool, and I plan to use it in the future. Looking back, I am blown away by my growth through these activities in this summer term. There were several aspects of Spanish speaking that I struggled with at the beginning of the semester, including pronunciation and rolling r’s. Even though I had taken Spanish in high school, my Spanish language vocabulary had also diminished. I also struggled with differentiating “Hay” and “Ser.” To overcome these obstacles, I practiced my pronunciation with the professor and with my good friend, Daniella, who is fluent in Spanish. I personally feel that I have always excelled at reading comprehension. I am successful at this, because I studied the vocabulary and used my context clues to understand words I did not know. One aspect of Spanish speaking that I had to learn throughout this summer term, is that success does not come from memorizing the language, but from studying it, practicing it in engaging environments, and using context clues. 

ARTIFACTS:

This is a discussion board we did at the beginning of the term on social media. I enjoyed this discussion board in particular, because I am a communications major, and I thoroughly enjoyed discussing this topic. 

Presentational Speaking

For this summer term, I did two major presentational speaking activities using flipgrid. The first presentation was a conversation about university with the professor, and the second was a video on someone that I admired. 

The conversation with the professor was the most challenging for me, because I struggled with comprehending what she was saying. Answering the professor’s questions was fairly easy for me, but I was nervous about answering the questions correctly, based on what she had asked. I overcame this by breaking down what she had said word by word, and writing it down. Then, I answered the questions to the best of my ability. The second presentation on someone we admired was easier for me. I chose to do the presentation on my best friend, so planning what I was going to say came easily for me. I was also able to plan out what I was going to say by writing it down and practicing it. One thing that I would do differently is plan ahead of time, and make sure I give myself enough time to plan ahead, so that I can give an organized and in-depth presentation. 

ARTIFACT:

https://flip.com/s/3yy8xAR1rQRY This is my video presentation on someone who I admire.

Presentational Writing

• Most of the presentational writing that I did this term took place in the discussion boards. I didn’t mind this because engaging in the discussion boards is one of my favorite activities due to the social engagement with other classmates. 

Over this term, the class was required to participate in a total of five discussion boards. These topics included social media, greetings/personal space in different cultures, Spanish holidays, university comparisons, and discussions about someone we admired. Also, there were several writing assignments given to us in Lingro Learning. These assignments were more in-depth and research based. I definitely have noticed growth from the first writing assignments to the last in terms of in depth descriptions, the length of my posts, and vocabulary enhancement. I also noticed that in later writing assignments, I was able to string Spanish sentences together more effectively and proficiently. While I consider writing and comprehension to be one of my strengths in this course, I did struggle with conjugating verbs in the beginning of the semester-which is essential. I overcame this by creating charts for the different conjugations of the verbs and studying them. I also struggled with the research we were required to do in the Lingro Learning assignments; however, I learned how to effectively conduct online research in Spanish which is a great skill to have. One way that I could do better next time is by addressing the feedback and engaging more in these written conversations.

ARTIFACT:

This is part of a presentational writing assignment we were given, in which we had to write about someone we admired. I chose to write about my best friend, Lydia.

Interpretive Listening

• There were several interpretive listening activities I participated in this term, and a lot of them were on Lingro Learning. There were also several quizzes that contained questions on interpretive listening.

To be honest, interpretive listening was one of my biggest struggles this semester. In order for me to be successful, I have to break down the words one by one, but I also understand that this is something that I need to work on in order to have strong and efficient conversations in Spanish. There were many Lingro Learning assignments that required interpretive listening, but I was able to use my context clues through the use of pictures and other information provided. The biggest struggle when it came to interpretive listening was during the conversations with my professor as well as the first major flipgrid conversation. During this conversation, we had to listen to the professor ask us questions, and then answer them to the best of our ability, without using notes. I really tend to struggle when the speaker is communicating in a more fast-paced manner. This is because I have to take in what I am hearing, while also translating the words to English in my head, in order to understand. I overcame these struggles by breaking down what was being said and writing it down, but I do understand that I eventually need to practice without writing it down. I do believe that my interpretive listening has gotten better with practice. What I find most compelling and interesting is the fast-paced speed of this language. I feel like words and syllables are spoken much more quickly in Spanish, but this is what makes the language so beautiful to listen to. I always enjoyed listening to two people speak to each other in this language, because in a way, it reminds me of music. 

ARTIFACT:

https://flip.com/s/my-videos This is the link to my conversation with Professor Donoghue. She asked me a set of questions that I had to listen to and analyze before answering the questions in Spanish.

Interpretive Reading

There were several interpretive reading assignments I was required to do in this course. These included reading emails and communication threads in LingroLearning, several articles, and also several websites such as the University of Granada website.

While interpretive reading was used in mostly all of the work given in this course, I thoroughly enjoyed reading, researching, and analyzing the real-time websites we were required to search. One of these websites was the University of Granada website, which we then compared to our own university, Old Dominion. While reading something in only Spanish can be very difficult, I also find it challenging in a positive way. It was fun to go on these websites and try to decipher what was being said, especially when photos were used. Comparing Spanish and English websites was also very interesting. It is pleasantly eye-opening glancing at websites and other readings that are in Spanish. In a way, it sort of reminds me of the beauty in culture and the differences in cultures. My goal for the future is to be able to read and understand an entire book in Spanish. I find interpretive reading to be a strength of mine, which may be why I enjoy it so much. I consider myself to be a decent writer and reader, so it challenges me and takes me a step further in my communication skills. One thing that was challenging for me was reading articles and websites that did not offer any context clues, like photos or audio recordings. Context clues are what helps me the most when it comes to interpreting readings, but I understand that in order for me to truly translate what I am reading, I will have to know and understand most of the words given. While this was a strength of mine from the beginning of this course, I still believe that I have grown in my interpretive reading skills. I can now read actual sentences, instead of just using words and context clues.

ARTIFACTS:

This is my comparison of universities for Discussion Board 4.

https://www.ugr.es/en This is the link to the University of Granada website.

Exploring Culture:

There were several products and practices used this semester that deepened my understanding of cultural perspectives. These assignments in particular were my favorite because I thoroughly enjoyed the eye-opening experience of studying and learning about Spanish speaking cultures. 

A few of these assignments really stuck with me and deepened my understanding of Hispanic culture. One of these assignments was the discussion board we participated in where we were required to choose a Spanish Holiday and study it. I chose the fiesta de Virgen del Pilar Zaragoza. It was very interesting comparing these holidays to the United States holidays. We also compared the websites of the University of Granada and Old Dominion University. It was interesting to see the differences between these two universities.​ These products and practices challenged my worldview because it is a reminder that the world is so much bigger than yourself. There is so much out there to learn and appreciate about one another. Even though we are different, in many ways we are very similar to one another. Honestly, I did not imagine there to be major universities all over the world like there are in the United States. I don’t know why I believed this, but it was eye-opening learning about such a powerful and fascinating institution outside of the U.S. 

ARTIFACT:

This is one of my favorite discussion boards where we chose a Spanish holiday and researched it. I chose Virgen del Pilar Zaragoza. 

This is a picture of my good friend, Daniella. I asked her beforehand if I could use this picture of her as an artifact, and she said it was okay. Daniella is Ecuadorian and Colombian, and she is fluent in Spanish. She is an amazing friend, and she helped me with my pronunciation and speaking skills.