SPAN 301
Course description: Continues to build proficiency as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Content-based instruction develops communicative language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing through readings and discussions of authentic Hispanic cultural and literary texts. For students with two or more years of Spanish or an intermediate level of Spanish language proficiency.
Meets MLO 1 & 2
Meets MLO 1 & 2
Reflective Narrative
In SPAN 301, I exercised my presentation and writing skills through various activities, such as writing exercises and oral presentations. Throughout the semester, Dr. Pablo Oliva helped me improve my writing with reviews of grammar rules, so that I could write short essays on various Ted Talks and mini-documentaries we watched in class. These videos dealt with many relevant topics, such as gender equality, inclusive language, and attitude, among others. Almost every week, Dr. Oliva asked us to reflect on the video we had seen that week, and then give us feedback on the areas that we needed to improve. My favorite subject to write about was "The history of women in Latin America". For this short essay, I wrote about how women had been invisible for history, since our participation in society was not recorded in history books, because it was men who wrote history, and we were often left out. I also pointed out how many times these other versions of the story were not included to accommodate the social groups that were in power at that time, where most of the time the most affected group was women. The topic that struck me the most when writing was about the grandmothers and mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the group of Argentine women who went out of their way to try to find all the children who were lost during the dictatorship period. Another thing that I improved through this course was my presentation skills. On the occasion of reflecting on Women's Day, Dr. Oliva asked us to make a presentation on a topic related to feminism and gender equality. With my group, we decided to talk about Muxes, the third gender of an indigenous community in Oaxaca, Mexico. Overall, this course helped me a lot, especially in my oral skills due to the practice through Pechakucha sessions, a form of presentation where we talk about a topic only with images, where each one should last 20 seconds before moving on to the next one. This way, I was able to exercise my fluency and organization of ideas, especially when I don't have an outline to follow. The Pechakuchas were very useful for me, so I will recommend them to others, as it is a good way to improve oral skills.