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Final Reflection Paper

In the course of the semester we have been taking a journey towards a better understanding and perspective of all the essential elements that are involved and necessary to teaching a foreign language. Nonetheless, what has appeared to me to be the most key element to teaching a foreign language is comprehensible input. However, although comprehensible input allows one’s students to learn a second language by encoding information as they hear it, not always is it taken in. That is why we have what is called intake, which according to Lee/Van Patten, “ Intake is the language that the learner actually attends to and then gets processed in working memory in some way… Intake can be considered a subset, or a filtered version, of the input” (31). Throughout the semester we were assigned a number of projects to develop as teaching tools for L2 students. And, as part of our teaching template we used comprehensible input as our leading characteristic to creating the different activities in the target language. However, we also often used the traditional approach, which consisted of using a limited (6-10 words) vocabulary list that helped to provide some guidance to comprehension. These two components were typically the foundation for presenting our activities in class. Now that the semester has come to an end and I contemplate what class topic has been the most interesting or thought proving to me, I would have to mention that the projects that were assigned to us on a weekly basis seemed to be the most engaging, at least, as a student learning to teach a foreign language. As we built on our knowledge of key words and concepts in teaching a target language, we had numerous teaching projects that we were assigned to create or develop, some that built on each other two or three weeks consecutively. Nonetheless, these are the projects that seemed the most fascinating to me: the picture games, the written text-based article, the video-clip depicting a particular culture, and the small group presentations using pictures and words from a storybook.

The picture game was our first endeavor to initiate us into the practice of creating and developing class projects. The project consisted of bringing a variety of photographs (three or four) to class. Once in class, we were divided into groups of three. The idea of the game was to have one person first describe the images in their respective picture, and then, the other group members would draw the picture according to what was being depicted by the person explaining its contents. These same steps would continue until everyone in the group had described their pictures. The following is what I wrote for my reflection paper the week we played the picture game, which was a real eye-opener for me:

My experience last Monday playing the picture game made me realize that I am not as proficient in Spanish as I sometimes believe myself to be. I recall I had trouble describing and explaining to my partner what wallpaper was in Spanish- he looked very puzzled. I felt the challenge in this situation. I wonder if maybe, the use of a dictionary would be a valid tool to have available in this particular activity? Would it be too time constricting? I just began to contemplate the idea of having the use of a dictionary, because at the time of playing this game I did not have one available and, I felt a little defeated in my determination to have my partner understand what wallpaper was in Spanish. However, regardless of this minor setback, I completely agree with Dr. Rings when she states in her article, “the game is a flexible tool for practicing the descriptive mode of language use…. it involves the students physically, mentally, linguistically, and even emotionally in the speech event” (287).

Also, a very interesting point that I recall discussing in class when practicing this game was the fact that we bring our cultural understanding when trying to decipher a description of something. For example, the imagery that a desert might bring to mind for one person of a certain culture may not be the same imagery that it evokes for someone else of a different culture. One person may be accustomed to know the desert as a place where you see nothing but sand and camels, while the other person may envision a dessert as a place with dried-out leafless trees, cactus plants, and emergency water posts. Essentially, this activity can be used to mix different skills such as listening, speaking, and writing. And, it’s fun, especially, when you compare the original to the drawing.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that we also played a different type of picture game in class that consisted of Dr. Rings calling out a particular word to us in German, and then, we would have to draw it. These were vocabulary words that we had previously reviewed the pronunciation, spelling, and imagery of in class. One key point to this activity was to avoid the temptation to translate the target language word into English. Also, we were introduced to a very interesting website called Cooliris that can be found on Google Images. If proved to be a very helpful tool for both the teacher and student- it made for an innovative method to teach and learn communicative input. It helped with binding the image and word for better comprehension. This activity is also a good way to give a practice test to the L2 students.

The written text-based article was also a very engaging activity for the entire class. Again, we were placed into groups of three or four -with the idea of mixing different language speakers in each group. The assignment consisted of choosing and bringing to class a written text in our respective foreign language. The objective was to pick out a text that our audience might have some background knowledge on the topic. Then, we had to pick out four or five words from the text that we would translate for our audience. Ideally, each member of the group would receive a copy of a different language text to translate. As a group we made the use of schemata to permit us to identify what the article was about. First, was the function to compensate, by using contextual cues in the text-based feature story that we were given to analyze. One of the members in my group brought a story about Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia. We knew that the article was about something political, because a picture of Bolivia’s president and the word socialism were both in the article. In addition, we also used the function to elaborate to help determine the point of this article. Our group was able to identify the word futebol and determined that the article was about something within the realm of politics and soccer in South America, that was possibly causing some sort of controversy. Furthermore, in relation to the interactive model of reading, with the help of the group member that provided the respective article, I was able to determine that the phonetics differed from the actual manner in which some words were spelled- this is what Lee/ Van Patten describe as letter cluster analysis. For example, the word futebol, one would expect the te to sound exactly the way it looks, but, it is pronounced as fuchibol. And, agride is pronounced as agrigi. Some questions that are essential for the L2 student to answer when attempting to translate and analyze any written text-based articles are questions like: What is the point of this text? Who wrote this text? Why did they write this text? Where was this text written? Etc. This activity in particular was very exiting for me when having to translate from Portuguese to Spanish and English. The cognates between Portuguese and Spanish were numerous, and, it was just interesting listening to myself actually be able to read and pronounce the Portuguese language with minimum errors. And, I think this is what makes learning a language engaging- when your efforts are not in vain and you can actually make some progress.

The video-clip presentations depicting a particular culture appeared to be a favorite for in class projects. The power-point activity had to relate some sort of cultural aspect in the video. The video consisted of a two minute feature from the You Tube website. In theory, it sounded like a really simple straight-forward endeavor, however, with the main focus being something cultural within the foreign language we are most proficient in, it was actually a bit of a challenge- mostly because there was so much to choose from and, also the two minute time limit. At the time of presenting our power-point we had to make sure that we also introduced and translated a list of vocabulary words found in the video clip to our audience. In doing so, we did not actually have to translate the vocabulary words with words in English. Instead, we also had the option to use pictures to translate the list of vocabulary words, which is what I did. I felt a bit partial to my power-point presentation, because I liked the fact that it was a homemade video depicting a traditional Puerto Rican family during the Christmas holidays. And, I think it made for a truly authentic view as to how a typical Puerto Rican family interacts with one another, the vocabulary and unique dialect when speaking, the traditional foods that are eaten, and some of the mannerisms that are sometimes typical within that culture. Ultimately, the objective of this project was to hear the foreign language, to see some vocabulary, and to learn something cultural. Moreover, this project allows for students to put their thinking caps on and to think about what cultural statements that the videos convey.

The last of the projects that I felt engaged us as a class was the group presentations using pictures and words from a storybook.  This activity first consisted of selecting a book with a story that was as culturally in reach of the language one was teaching. We then had to select a list of words that we wanted to teach to our students and then introduce those words with the pictures from the story. This activity was probably one of the most ideal projects for teaching comprehensible input. After reading the story to our students we then checked for comprehension by asking questions. Also, during the story, a lot of times some students would expect their audience to repeat certain vocabulary words, or they would even ask questions pertaining to the story. This is actually one of the projects we built on during the span of about three or four weeks. Each week we had to find ways to raise our projects to a higher level. One of the things that I did with my project was to put together a little matching exercise with the vocabulary words and images found in my storybook.

This class has been a true perspective of what all is involved in teaching a foreign language, mostly by being active participants in the teaching experience.  I think one of the most impacting things that I have learned in this course is that the most critical aspect of teaching is PREPARATION.  It is probably the key ingredient for a successful outcome- I think we all noticed this one essential fact in class. Also, I think we all learned the importance of teaching culture as part of a target language- primarily through our class projects. Dr. Rings has taught us that almost everything is a cultural text. She encourages us to teach with a cultural eye and not to “sugar coat” cultures. She wants us to learn to teach the personal, the triumphs and tragedies, and to not teach like the textbooks and make reality bland. She wants us to think about what we want our students to come to terms with? What we want them to grasp? This course has been one of the most educational and enjoyable classes that I have had the pleasure to be a part of. I truly liked the creativity involved in this class- there was never a dull moment. Thank you for a great semester, Dr. Rings.

Reflection for Week 8

I believe chapter 10 has been one of my favorite chapters to read in the Lee/Van Patten textbook, Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen. I think the ideas that are proposed for teaching classroom listening are very innovative for both the teacher and student. As I was being engaged throughout this chapter I was trying to think of which in-class activities did we do that were specifically in relation to listening? Also, I asked myself if we were collaborative or noncollaborative as a group, and, did these activities involve some sort of cultural lesson? Furthermore, the task of following oral instructions seemed like a fun activity for both the teacher and students to explore.

Actually, I recalled two listening activities that we performed in class. The first was a story about a character named Rudi. Dr. Rings would read the story out loud to us and act out some of the expressions taking place. Therefore, this type of activity was noncollaborative with an aural+visual component to it, because we only listened to the story (no questions or interruptions) and, we were able to discern some of the vocabulary through her acting out some of the words. Later, we had pictures from which to identify characters and plot. One other important factor that I just remembered, Dr. Rings prepared a small list of vocabulary words to us before reading the story as a prelistening activity. This facilitated our interpretation of the story about Rudi. The second listening activity that we participated in class was the story about the students at the bus station in Germany. This activity I believe was collaborative aural+visual, because we listened to Dr. Rings tell the story about the estudient and estudiente at the bus station in Germany, while demonstrating enlarged pictures of the story taking place. And, in addition, we were later each given a random picture of the story to hold, then afterwards, we each had to align ourselves, with our respective picture, accordingly with the storyline- this made the activity collaborative. Both these activities had a cultural aspect to them because they were both about German characters or people with the setting that takes place in Germany.

One of the topics that I found interesting in this chapter was the one on following oral instructions. This was a task type activity in which the students listen to a specific set of instructions and then perform the task. Following a recipe was one of my most-liked ideas proposed by the chapter. Maybe, the teacher would divide the class into groups and each group would listen to a very simple recipe, like making a four or five ingredient pie. Then, each group would write out the recipe on the chalkboard accordingly to the ingredients that were mentioned and the chronological steps. It would be interesting to see how many groups would remember the recipe to perfection.

I think chapter 10 has many great ideas for teachers to teach listening. And, it helps to put into perspective the differences between classroom and nonclassroom noncollaborative listening. Dr. Rings has incorporated in our class the different concepts that are introduced in this chapter. I never thought I would learn a little German, but surprisingly, I have. And, it’s been fun! Dr. Rings has also taught us the importance of including some sort of cultural element and being creative in our foreign language teaching endeavors.

Reflection for Week 6

The topic of this week’s reflection is text-based language teaching. I found chapter 11, “Comprehending Written Language” in the Lee/Van Patten textbook, Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen, to be very thought-provoking. It reminded me of an activity we performed in class that made use of the schemata and interactive models of reading which are introduced in chapter 11.

This activity was text-based and it consisted of an article that was written about Barack Obama. The article contained three different articles in three different languages: French, Spanish, and German. Dr. Rings divided us into groups of four and five students, and assigned each group a paricular article to translate. As a group we made the use of schemata to permit us to identify what the article was about. First, was the function to compensate, by using contextual cues in the text-based feature story we were assigned. For example, we knew the article had some sort of historically based feature because President Obama was mentioned and President George Washington. Also, we were inclined to think that the article had to be in reference to a book or books someone had written, because there was a list of titles in quotation marks. According to Lee/Van Patten, “…certain knowledge sources can compensate for linguistic knowledge” (221).  In addition, we used the function to elaborate to help determine the meaning of the article. For example, we determined that the feature story had to be about children’s books because our group was able to translate the word children and books. Also, we were under the impression that these books were maybe about American historical figures.

For the following week’s assignment we were asked to bring an article similar to the one we had worked on in class. Again, we were divided into groups and expected to translate each other’s articles. The article that I was given in my group was in Portuguese in regards to Bolivia’s President, Evo Morales. The article did not state that Evo Morales was Bolivia’s President, but because I had prior knowledge of his identity I was able to determine that the article was about an important figure in South America. Nonetheless, in relation to the interactive model of reading I was able to determine that the phonetics differed from the actual manner in which some words were spelled. This is what is referred to as letter cluster analysis. For example, the word futebol, one would expect the te to sound exactly the way it looks, but, it is pronounced as fuchibol. And, agride is pronounced as agrigi. Also, syntactic knowledge, which is concerned with word order was also helpful in determining the subject and the action taking place, or to at least know there is some sort of action taking place. For example, the headline in our article read, “ Evo Morales agride rival em jogo de futebol.” Therefore, the subject is Evo Morales and the agent of the action is the rival.

Text-based language teaching can appear to be a bit of a challenge, especially when one’s vocabulary is very limited. However, with the application of certain schemata and interactive models that I have mentioned, it can make it possible for the L2 student to have some notion of what they are reading. In addition, if one provides the student with a minor list of vocabulary words, essential for translating, such as Dr. Rings had us do with our articles, then, it tends to somewhat facilitate the translating experience for the student. This was actually one of the activities I enjoyed the most. I guess because it was a challenge and, also fun, to translate in Portuguese.

Reflection Essay for Week 13

The language textbook that I have for this week’s reflection is called, Dos Mundos, A Communicative Approach. This book is divided into two major sections: The first part of the text refers to the “Student’s World” and the second, to the “Hispanic World”- hence the name “Dos Mundos”, which means two worlds. The first section appears to introduce the student to the Spanish language and the second section provides a more thorough introduction of the Hispanic culture. After scanning and skimming through the text I find that it simulates some of the activities that we have learned in class.

The first section of part 1 has an oral activity for each chapter. For example, these activities start with comprehensible input from the instructor. The student has to decode the meaning, then, in certain activities encode with structural output. The second section of part 1 introduces grammatical practice activities that use fill in the blanks, associations, etc. to teach the language. In all sections throughout the language textbook paradigms are also used (limitedly) as helpful tools.

The vocabulary list that is provided in each chapter seems to exceed more than ten words per list. However, the grammar and vocabulary in each respective chapter parallels the topic that is being introduced. The topics vary from colors to childhood and adolescence.

The second part of the language textbook introduces more dialogue between characters and some parts consist of lengthy exposition, afterward, a set of questions are asked in relation to the text. This type of activity is similar to the Obama article that we read in class. Also, although this second part of the textbook emphasizes a lot more on culture, I think all the chapters explore some element of Hispanic culture.

Nonetheless, I feel that this language textbook has a lot to offer the L2 student learning Spanish. Many activities that are introduced in this textbook have been applied in Dr. Rings’ class. It is a textbook that is very structured- every chapter is divided into topics. The only drawback in its teaching technique is that it does not appear to encourage the use of technology for learning Spanish. And, this, we have learned in Dr. Rings’ class can be very helpful for teaching and learning a foreign language.

Reflection for Week 12

The topics for this week’s reflection are rather engaging as they introduce technology and active learning techniques for L2 students. I had a chance to skim and scan most of the information provided to us and I found the various websites to be very helpful for the L2 student and the individual teaching, as well. And, as I reviewed all this information I reflected on some of the projects we have performed in class, some of which have used technology and most of which have been very interactive.

One of the questions that was posed in our worksheet for this week was: How is technology able to change in a positive ways how we teach, how students learn, how students have access to additional materials and language-learning tools? In response to these questions I recalled how Dr. Rings used the internet, and to be more specific, the web-site, cooliris (google images) to teach us comprehensible input in German. She would pronounce the word in German, and then, she would show us a variety of images that pertained to that word. This was a very simple activity that was very effective in teaching vocabulary. Also, it was an activity that was very engaging for the students. In addition, there was another activity that we did in class that required us, the students, to present a You Tube video to our classmates. The objective was to first introduce a list of vocabulary words that pertained to the pending video. This was a great technique to introduce vocabulary, culture, and incomprehensible input, all in one project. Technology has definitely been an essential element of our learning experience in Dr. Rings’ class. We have used from the very basic, just a traditional book, to the internet, in learning how to teach a second language effectively.

Another set of questions that were posed on this worksheet, for this week, were in reference to active learning and teaching. The question that I decided to address on this topic was: What does “actively engaged” mean? First, I think “actively engaged” means that the student is interacting in some form in the learning experience. For example, one of the first projects we did in class was the picture activity that required us to bring a few pictures to class. Dr. Rings placed us in groups of three and one person would describe his or her respective picture to the other group members, then, the student would draw it as it was described. This is an excellent example of being “actively engaged.” Another excellent example of being “actively engaged” is the activity that Robert introduced to the entire class. He created an activity that simulated a restaurant in which the student was the consumer and he was the waiter. He provided the menus in Portuguese and the standard money (like in the game Monopoly) for the country of Brazil. We would order according to how much money we were provided and then he would give us a cut out picture of the respective item we had ordered. This actively engaged everyone involved and it was a culturally learning experience, as well.

The evolution of technology has made it possible for everyone to have fast and easy access to information that would require hours of research to obtain. The information is varied and numerous, allowing for a lot to select from. The use of technology has been helpful in Dr. Rings’ class to be able to present topics in a foreign language as efficiently and effectively as possible. Also, it is a form of being “actively engaged.” However, in some of the later activities that I have mentioned in this essay are not been internet- based. I introduced them mostly to provide examples as to what it means to be “actively engaged” in a second language classroom setting. And, one last observation, all the activities that I have mentioned in this essay expose the student to a cultural element- a very specific requirement that Dr. Rings expected in our projects. According to Dr. Rings, almost everything is a cultural text.

Reflection for Week 11

Chapter 12: “Writing and Composing in a Second Language” in the Lee/Van Patten book, Making Communicative Teaching Happen. introduces the reader to what writing is, writing as communication, and the writing processes. In this reflection essay I will mention an activity that I recalled while reading this chapter, and I will answer some of the Pause to consider questions that are asked.

After reading the composition-oriented activities in Chapter 12, this brought to mind the day we were discussing ideas for writing in a literature L2 class. The activity that I had mentioned to the class was one that I had participated in a few years ago in my History of American Literature class. The professor placed all the students in groups of five and each group had a particular topic to analyze from the book, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. My group had the topic of clothing. Other groups had music, water, etc. This allowed us to perform a close reading, focusing on just one topic. Therefore, our rhetorical problem was to decide what all we were going to talk about in reference to clothing. Each person in the group was assigned a particular sub-topic to research. For example, on person examined the different styles of clothing and accessories during the era of The Awakening, in which she showed a very interesting power point that briefly illustrated and described in print her findings. My topic talked about the different materials of clothing worn in that same era, and how they reflected the economic status of people. I gave examples of the rich, middle-class, and poor in the novel and explained how what they wore reflected this notion. I think that this same activity could be applied to a second language literature class. Especially, because the students are only faced with the issue of having to focus on one rhetorical problem: the subtopic they want to examine within their topic. However, this possibly is an activity that can be applied only to a higher-level second language class. And, it is an activity that I feel that students will be engaged in, and, it is an activity that will allow students to learn to do a close reading of a particular subject in their readings.

One of the Pause to consider questions asked: Are prompt questions an effective device for eliciting a thoughtful composition? Do they contribute to the tendency among learners to underspecify the rhetorical Problem? What would you infer about a writer who asked, “How many words do you want?” In response to the first question, I would have to answer yes. I think it helps provide a little direction for students. Sometimes even in one’s native language it can feel overwhelming when trying to think of something to write about. And, I don’t think students would manage to underspecify the rhetorical problem, because it would not be a matter of how many number of words or making sure that all the words in a list are mentioned in the composition. I basically think that a prompted question would just provide the student with a starting point in which they can explore and expand on. Finally, in response to the last question, I would probably perceive that student as being more concerned about meeting the minimal requirements for that composition, with no concern for content. However, I could be completely incorrect, and, the student may be someone whom is very detailed-oriented and wants to know exactly what is expected of him or her- even to the minimal word count. This person may also focus on transcribing, revising and evaluating their composition to the best of their ability for an acceptable grade.

This chapter, I feel introduced some really goods ideas for teaching composition, and, I think it was also helpful to know what ideas to avoid for teaching composition. It was nice to reflect on the group project I was involved in several years ago and to possibly consider it as idea for teaching composition to L2 students. And, the Pause to  consider questions also gave me something to think about.

Reflection for Week 10

After reading chapter four, “Building Toward a Proficiency Goal,” in the VanPatten text, Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen, I reflected on some of the Pause to consider questions that are asked throughout the chapter in reference to setting lesson goals and subgoals as part of the teaching experience. In addition, I found The Language Teacher video and text to inspire different thoughts in me about integrating culture into the separate language skills- as a novice educator in the field.

The first Pause to consider question that caught my attention was regarding third-person singular verb forms. This section first gives the example, “See this lady? She is a doctor. We are going to talk about her daily routine. She gets up early,” and so on, then, it asks: What would happen if you did’nt start with the third person? In what ways would introducing the vocabulary be more difficult? Well, if the sentences did not start with the third person, then the verb endings would be altered for first and second person. For example, “I get up early” and “you get up early.” Also, the “to be” verb form in the first and second person would be altered, as well. For example, “I am a doctor” and “you are a doctor.” And, I think when introducing the vocabulary in the present, past, and future tenses it might become more of a challenge, because having to conjugate the verb in the correct tense form may vary from word to word.

The next Pause to consider question that have decided to address is in reference to homework assignments that students have received before coming to class. The question asks: Which do you think would be a better assignment: one that reviewed the vocabulary via comprehension or one that required the learners to produce the vocabulary? What is your rationale? I think that a homework assignment that had a little bit of both concepts integrated into its exercises would be optimal. This way the student is able to experience both exercises, it would be a good balance of simple versus hard. In addition, I think that if the assignment only consists of producing the vocabulary, some students may decide to forfeit prematurely from doing or completing the assignment, since they may possibly be overly challenged and therefore become frustrated, resulting in a student that is completely unprepared the next class day.

The Language Teacher module was very interesting to me. There was one section that discussed integrating culture into the separate language skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The novice teacher in the video commented on how much of a challenge it is for him to incorporate culture into all the language skills. I wonder if his previous professors ever stressed the importance of culture when teaching a foreign language? Is he being faced with this challenge for the first time in his career? I think if he would have had Dr. Rings as an instructor prior to or during his teaching career, he might have a different outlook on integrating culture into the curriculum. Dr. Rings has stressed the importance of using culture as a means of teaching a second language. She has said,  “culture is embedded in vocabulary” and that “almost everything is a cultural text.” One example is the billboard with the advertisement of kids that are being bullied. Dr. Rings states that we need to teach with a “critical eye- we don’t want to sugarcoat cultures.” Also, she states, “we need to teach the personal, the tragedies” and “ we do not want to teach like the textbooks and make reality bland.” I feel that I will always make a conscious endeavor to teach culture, since I have been educated of the importance of integrating it into every aspect of the separate language skills and I have had the extensive practice.

Chapter four in the VanPatten text and The Language Teacher module are both very good reading materials in the teaching a foreign language topic. Chapter four definitely helped put into perspective how we start with one main goal when teaching and then we divide this main goal into subgoals. It makes for a very structured method of teaching. Also, it is helpful to have the different teaching examples and the day-to-day set up for teaching each subgoal. And, The Language Teacher allows for a very engaging experience with the various speakers on video. This particular module was very interesting to me because it was mostly directed for the novice teacher.

Reflection essay #4

Chapter three in Making Communicative Language Happen, by Lee and Van Patten, introduces the reader to a different approach in classroom discourse. In this Reflection Piece I will explore some of the questions that are posed in this chapter’s Pause to consider sections. As discussed in this chapter, the topics I will focus on will be in regards to habit-formation theory, communicative competence, and purposes of communication.

In chapter three Savignon’s study proved that those students that practiced communicating in a foreign language with native speakers scored significantly higher than those who just had a lab or culture course on the subject. The Pause to consider segment relates the story of someone that has taken four years of French in high school and no longer can speak a word in that language. Also, it mentions how someone who in the past was “really good in Spanish and got A’s,” however, today cannot understand a thing when someone speaks to them in Spanish. This segment asks: What would you ask these people about their language classrooms? In what ways do these comments argue against habit-formation theory in language learning? To answer the first question, I would possibly ask that person what type of activities, if any, did the teacher have everyone participate in? Did the teacher use pictures to learn words or concepts? Did they play any games such as picture puzzles or take turns drawing pictures in groups of two? How much communicative input took place in class? Was decoding this input easy or challenging? Did they ever have the opportunity to interact with any native speakers? Also, I would be very curious to know how much of the cultural aspects of that foreign language did the teacher expose them to? In response to the second question, I would imagine that it would be difficult to maintain a foreign language current if one is not able to practice it on a daily basis, whether one learned it by first acquiring the grammar or by active communication.

Next, communicative competence, according to Savignon it consists of four categories: grammatical competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence. In the Pause to consider section of this topic it asks if one thinks that one underlying competence is more important than another? Do they interact in some way, balancing each other out? And, which competences are more important than others to the beginning, intermediate, or advanced language learner? In answering the first question, I believe that it would depend on the use of that language. For example, I feel that if one is using the foreign language for business, then sociolinguistic competence might definitely prevail, because one would not want to offend anyone, even if one is not proficient in the respective language. However, in answering the second question, I do believe that all four competences have a special link with one another- somehow they balance each other out, because the foundation would be the structure and form of language-along with the knowledge of rules of cohesion and coherence across sentences and utterances, then, the rules of interaction and the making the most of a language that one has would be on top of that foundation. Finally, in answering the final question, the beginning language learner would find important the grammatical, discourse, and strategic competence, while the intermediate and advanced language learner would find all competencies important. Also, I feel if the language learner is a medical student then possibly the sociolinguistic and strategic competencies would dominate, due to the specific purpose of their interaction.

In this last segment of the Pause to consider section that I am addressing, it discusses the two purposes of communication: psycho-social and informational-cognitive. This segment asks that for the average person traveling abroad, which language purpose does one think is more important? For the business person abroad? For the learner spending a year in France, Germany, or Japan? For the traveling abroad person possibly the information-cognitive communication may be more important, because they need know their surroundings. The business person traveling abroad would definitely use the psycho-social communication in order to form friendships and good relations. Being proficient in a respective language is not as impressive as being genuine and social in some cultures. Finally, the for the learner spending a year abroad I would say that psycho-social communication would be most important, because again, bonding with people would be essential, especially if one wants to be immersed in a different culture. Acquiring the grammatical and discourse competence will eventually happen with lots of practice.

These are just a few of my thoughts in regards to Chapter three, Communicating in a Classsroom.

Reflection Essay #3

After reading Gary M. Wederspahn’s article, Cross-Cultural Communication Between Latin American and U.S. Managers, viewing the power-point on American and French Cultural Differences, then, finally watching the lecture from the Language Learner website on pragmatics, I reflected on a few ideas that relate to the Latin and U.S. cultures: such as the time-difference and non-verbal communication between the two, the preconception that North Americans are very self-centered, and the socio-cultural norms that tend to guide behavior. And, this is basically an attempt to note some variations between the two cultures that I have observed throughout the years. Mostly, because I have been immersed in both since day one.

I get rather tickled when I hear my North-American friends complain of the lack of urgency people appear to have when they visit Mexico. I can recall two distinct occasions: a business and personal (wedding) that relate to this subject. The first was when the dentist I work for was doing a lecture on dental implants in Mexico City. It was his first time visiting the country and he had no idea of what to expect. Upon returning from his trip he found the Mexican culture to be extremely hospitable, but he was truly blown away by their lack of punctuality. It was a three-day lecture and not one day did they start on time- he said everyone appeared to have a very casual, cool as a cucumber attitude. Next, was when my dentist friend went to a wedding in Monterrey, Mexico. It was also his and his wife’s first time visiting the country. He was actually a newlywed at the time of this trip and I recall his wedding as being perfectly programmed, up to the last minute. When he returned from his trip, he too, was really amazed how everything ran behind schedule: the church ceremony started over an hour late, as people slowly trickled in, and the wedding cake was not cut until about two in the morning! Unfortunately, he missed the cake since he was not a night owl.

There are two aspects of non-verbal communication that have always caught my attention between the Latin and U.S. cultures. This first characteristic is the act of kissing someone on the cheek versus a hug. In the Latin culture it is very typical, and usually the norm, that when one greets or departs from a friend, an acquaintance, and, especially a family member that one do it with a kiss on the cheek. And, in the North American culture people typically hug to greet or depart from one another- as kissing is customarily not the practice (especially with mere acquaintances). The second characteristic is the dress style. In the Latin culture people tend to dress-up to go to the movies, the mall, or even the grocery store. In the North-American culture people usually dress very casual when going out, unless going to a formal party or event. What does this dress norm say about each culture? Is it a matter of making a good impression at all times for the Latin culture? Does the North American culture embrace the concept of comfort?

The power-point presentation that contrasted cultural views of Americans and French caught my attention when a slide appeared that stated Americans were “people who do not understand other nations and whose press never addresses international issues.”  Is this notion that Americans do not understand other nations true? Personally, I do not agree with this assertion, however, what has been obvious to me after spending quite a bit of time in Mexico City  is that people, whether young or old, educated, or not, are very involved in politics- from the professional, college student, taco vendor, to the taxi driver- they now their country’s standing and they are pretty familiar with what is going on in the rest of the world.  Also, one observation from watching the Latin American news is that it does appear to show a broader spectrum of the news worldwide- not just a 60 second segment of it. Nonetheless, I feel that the American public should not be stereotyped as being unaware of what occurs in other countries- it just seems as a very ignorant thing to claim.

Finally, one of the socio-cultural norms between these two cultures that I often notice takes place in the classroom: it is in regards to sneezing. It is interesting that when a person sneezes in an American classroom it is very seldom that someone will acknowledge that sneeze with a “Bless you.”  However, after my experience of living in Puerto Rico when attending high school, it was very typical for a teacher to interrupt his/her lecture to tell someone “salud” after that person sneezed- I imagine this gesture is a characteristic of appropriate behavior within this culture.

This is a very brief look at some of the ideas that I have contemplated in order to discern a few of the cultural characteristics between the Latin and North American cultures.

Indeed, the Picture Game is a fun and engaging concept in learning a second language. And, if I were to be teaching the Picture Game to L2 students, I would either have the student describe to the entire class, collectively, the different aspects (people, colors, scenery, events, etc) in their picture or, I would proceed with the game as it is presented in Dr. Rings’ article, in which a group of two students take turns in explaining and drawing the different aspects of their respective pictures. My experience last Monday playing the picture game made me realize that I am not as proficient in Spanish as I sometimes believe myself to be. I recall I had trouble describing and explaining to my partner what wallpaper was in Spanish- he looked very puzzled. I felt the challenge in this situation. I wonder if maybe, the use of a dictionary would be a valid tool to have available in this particular activity? Would it be too time constricting? I just began to contemplate the idea of having the use of a dictionary, because at the time of playing this game I did not have one available and, I felt a little defeated in my determination to have my partner understand what wallpaper was in Spanish. However, regardless of this minor setback, I completely agree with Dr. Rings when she states in her article, “the game is a flexible tool for practicing the descriptive mode of language use…. it involves the students physically, mentally, linguistically, and even emotionally in the speech event” (287).

In addition, I think in order to introduce different cultures to my students I would introduce pictures that depict a respective culture very vividly. For example, for the Mexican culture I would select pictures of possibly a group of Mariachis with the huge sombreros and the form fitting outfits with eye-catching ornamentation. And, for the Spanish culture I would select pictures of Flamenco dancers with the very beautiful and vibrantly colorful dresses and hair ribbons. Hopefully, this idea of presenting different cultures to students by means of photographs would enlighten them to the fact that sometimes a number of places speak a particular language, in this case, Spanish. And, each place is governed by its own unique culture. Students need to also know that in addition to the different cultures within a specific language, the manner in which that language is spoken is also very different, because sometimes a particular word in one Spanish speaking country may mean something different in another Spanish speaking country, and the dialect may also be very distinct. From my personal experience, due to the reason that my mother is from Mexico City and my father from Puerto Rico, when I visit Mexico City and ask for a banana in Spanish I ask for a platano, and then, when I visit Puerto Rico and make the same request using the same word, platano, I usually will obtain a look of confusion from the person I am speaking to. This is because a platano in Puerto Rico is referred to as a guineo, since a platano in Puerto Rico, is a mature banana that is cut into circular slices then fried, it is not a fruit one just eats at the spur of the moment. Finally, it is also worth mentioning that pronunciation differs amongst these two Spanish-speaking places. For example, in Mexico City, people are accustomed to rolling the “r” in their speech, like in arroz [a-roz], while in Puerto Rico people sometimes do not pronounce it at all, such as in the same word arroz [a-hoz]. This is just one example that I am mentioning, because there is an entire list of words that differ between these two places, and between other countries as well.