El Periodismo Project Reflection
This project consisted of creating a video with a group about news in Puerto Rico. My group had four members each in charge of a different thing- current events, pop culture, and an advertisement. The first semester was individual research and writing. My article was about the Puerto Rican artists who won Latin Grammys. When we returned from winter break we united with our groups to record our videos. My groups video was humorous and very enjoyable to film.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed all aspects of this project.I enjoyed the time spent filming with my group. I also felt that this time was the most beneficial because we got to practice speaking in Spanish. Personally I don't practice speaking in Spanish very frequently so this was a great opportunity for us. It was super low-stress and an excellent time for us to focus on our speaking. It was also cool to come together after independent work to make a creative piece which incorporated all of our different angles.
This project was challenging for many reasons. Specifically, none of my group members had much experience recording or editing videos, so refinement and editing of our video took us longer than we originally planned. The most difficult part for me was using my speaking skills. I get quiet and usually chose to avoid speaking in Spanish at all costs. This project forced me our of my comfort zone and made me practice my speaking skills. Ultimately, I am grateful for the experience and I'm glad that my group faced the challenge of a video.
I learned some interesting things about myself through this project. Usually in group projects I take a backseat, do my work, and then carry on with my life. In this project my group expected me to take some of the lead. As a language learner, I realized that I need to actually practice speaking the language if I want to improve my language speaking skills. I need to get over my timidness if I want to be able to confidently speak in Spanish.
"Now that (I) have spent a month focusing on current events in Spanish speaking countries, how is this knowledge valuable as part of the language learning experience?" I believe that focusing on a specific country was a very valuable experience for my entire group. Knowledge about Spanish-speaking countries and about the lives of people who actually speak Spanish is a very important step in the learning experience.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed all aspects of this project.I enjoyed the time spent filming with my group. I also felt that this time was the most beneficial because we got to practice speaking in Spanish. Personally I don't practice speaking in Spanish very frequently so this was a great opportunity for us. It was super low-stress and an excellent time for us to focus on our speaking. It was also cool to come together after independent work to make a creative piece which incorporated all of our different angles.
This project was challenging for many reasons. Specifically, none of my group members had much experience recording or editing videos, so refinement and editing of our video took us longer than we originally planned. The most difficult part for me was using my speaking skills. I get quiet and usually chose to avoid speaking in Spanish at all costs. This project forced me our of my comfort zone and made me practice my speaking skills. Ultimately, I am grateful for the experience and I'm glad that my group faced the challenge of a video.
I learned some interesting things about myself through this project. Usually in group projects I take a backseat, do my work, and then carry on with my life. In this project my group expected me to take some of the lead. As a language learner, I realized that I need to actually practice speaking the language if I want to improve my language speaking skills. I need to get over my timidness if I want to be able to confidently speak in Spanish.
"Now that (I) have spent a month focusing on current events in Spanish speaking countries, how is this knowledge valuable as part of the language learning experience?" I believe that focusing on a specific country was a very valuable experience for my entire group. Knowledge about Spanish-speaking countries and about the lives of people who actually speak Spanish is a very important step in the learning experience.
Dia de los Muertos
Recently we completed a project to remember a loved one for The Day of the Dead. We wrote about them as well as created an art piece to represent them. I choose to focus on my great-grandfather. Below is both parts of my project.
I learned a lot about the Day of the Dead because I'd never studied it before. One thing that was cool to me was how differently people who celebrate the Day of the Dead view death. Mostly in US culture, death is not "celebrated". I am proud of my writing because prior to this project I had very little experience writing the the past tense and distinguishing between usage of preterit vs imperfect. If I were to do this project again, I wouldn't do a photoshop piece because there wasn't much else I could do in it. It was difficult for me to remember my greatgrandpa and celebrate him enough with an art piece I wasn't super proud of.
I learned a lot about the Day of the Dead because I'd never studied it before. One thing that was cool to me was how differently people who celebrate the Day of the Dead view death. Mostly in US culture, death is not "celebrated". I am proud of my writing because prior to this project I had very little experience writing the the past tense and distinguishing between usage of preterit vs imperfect. If I were to do this project again, I wouldn't do a photoshop piece because there wasn't much else I could do in it. It was difficult for me to remember my greatgrandpa and celebrate him enough with an art piece I wasn't super proud of.
Dia de los Muertos-
Mi bisabuelo se llamaba James O’Nan. Nació en 1923 en El Paso, Texas. El murió en marzo de 2013. En guerra mundial él estuvo en los militares. Fue en varios submarinos. Conoció su esposa en New York City, se llamaba Amelia. Él estaba casado a Amelia para muchos años. Tenía dos hijos y dos hijas. Él tenía muchos nietos y muchos bisnietos. El cumpleaños de mi bisabuelo es Halloween. Le gustaba el aire libre.
Yo tengo memorias feliz de mi bisabuelo con mi familia. Mis bisabuelos tuvieron una cabaña del lago. Mi entero familia fuimos a la cabaña del lago a pasar tiempos juntos. La cabaña no fue grande y familias estacionaron los cámpers en el patio trasero. También, yo recuerdo mi bisabuelo siempre tuvo caramelos y gominolas por los chicos. Es un poco triste para ir a casa de mi bisabuelo sin mi bisabuelo. Él es recordado en las cosas que hacemos, especialmente cuando nosotros vamos la cabaña.
Mi bisabuelo se llamaba James O’Nan. Nació en 1923 en El Paso, Texas. El murió en marzo de 2013. En guerra mundial él estuvo en los militares. Fue en varios submarinos. Conoció su esposa en New York City, se llamaba Amelia. Él estaba casado a Amelia para muchos años. Tenía dos hijos y dos hijas. Él tenía muchos nietos y muchos bisnietos. El cumpleaños de mi bisabuelo es Halloween. Le gustaba el aire libre.
Yo tengo memorias feliz de mi bisabuelo con mi familia. Mis bisabuelos tuvieron una cabaña del lago. Mi entero familia fuimos a la cabaña del lago a pasar tiempos juntos. La cabaña no fue grande y familias estacionaron los cámpers en el patio trasero. También, yo recuerdo mi bisabuelo siempre tuvo caramelos y gominolas por los chicos. Es un poco triste para ir a casa de mi bisabuelo sin mi bisabuelo. Él es recordado en las cosas que hacemos, especialmente cuando nosotros vamos la cabaña.