SDLC_FinalReflectionPaper.docx

English:

Thank you for an awesome semester!

I hope you had a great experience at UR...

Wishing you all the best :)

We should meet up if/when I go to Barcelona

Catalan:

Gràcies per un increïble semestre!

Espero que tinguis una gran experiència a UR ...

Desitjant-vos tot el millor :)

Hem de trobar-nos si / quan vaig a Barcelona

I struggle quite a bit with the double Ls in Catalan...

SDLC105_Artifact.mp3Here's an audio to try to explain the difference

For reference:

English:

a) I hate the rain and b) Moon

Spanish:

a) Odio la lluvia and b) Luna

Catalan

a) Odi la pluja and b) Lluna

I watched an interview from FC Barcelona's coach on how he feels about his country and its language. 

He is very proud and loving of Catalunya. Calling his country a marvelous place and saying he would like nothing more than playing for a Catalan national team...

Some of his most striking phrases are:

"es la nuestra llengua" --> "it is our language"

"som un país i tenim una llengua propria" --> we are a country and we have our own language

The video actually has English subtitles, so if you're interested here is the link

When I started studying Catalan, my family was hyped because I could watch Merlí -- a TV series in Catalan that is available on Netflix -- with them. 

Sweet innocence, to think I would be able to watch a whole Netflix series during the semester... But I did watch the first episode in Catalan! ... with subtitles in Spanish, because that was the closest that I could get to Catalan and farthest from "my" languages (PT and EN)

Short summary: Merlí, the main character, is a middle aged man. The episode opens with him and his ex-wife discussing living arrangements for their son while she takes a job away in Rome. Merlí is living with his mother, because he was out of a job -- he is a philosophy high school teacher. But then luck strikes and he is offered a position... At his son's school!  Merlí is peculiar and treats his students differently from the other professors in the school.. I don't know what will come of that... 

I understood what happened throughout the episode, but I definitely did not understand *everything* that was going on. But I worked hard to listen to the Catalan and compare it to the Castellano on the screen, and I felt like I did a fine job differentiating each...

Throughout the semester, I had the invaluable experience of learning about Catalan culture and language through my self-directed studies and LP.

In our SDLC105 class, I also learned about the process of learning languages, was introduced to cultures/languages completely foreign to me and developed a new interest/perspective on the “more subjective” fields of studies out there and how they relate to the things I already study/have an interest on – i.e.: linguistics as it relates to learning, conceptualization, and abstraction and how these processes occur in brain.

One of the highlights of my experience in SDLC was seating down with both exchange students from Barcelona – after I did most of the research for my cultural presentation – and listening to their perspectives on the Catalan Independence movement. I was amazed by their insight, way of thinking and how they expressed their thoughts that day.

I like to think that my research experience, tutoring background and now SDLC studies complemented each other in the best way possible to help my learning this semester… And I mean the things you cannot possibly learn from a book on Catalunya or Catalan (the language).

And finally, I would argue that (sort of unfortunately) you can only get a glance through conversation with someone who was immersed in a culture. And that immersion is the key word here. I cannot wait to be immersed in Spanish/Catalan culture and learn more if/when I do research abroad!!

While preparing my last cultural presentation for SDLC105, I “fell in the hole” that research assignments usually become for me…

The PowerPoint slides are a piece of cake – I love making them, and I do it fast. Now, deciding what to cover when you have spent hours and hours reading and learning about a subject, that is a challenge!

I learned so much about Spain’s and Catalunya’s history, politics and economy– all aspects of culture that helped me make sense of what was happening there currently. I also found many interesting points from scholars regarding nationalist feelings and the separatism issue.

Ultimately, I stumbled during my presentation in class. Partly because I got nervous¹, but mostly, because I relied too much on the words of experts… I had many quotes and insights from linguists and social scientists that I felt/thought brought out the point much better than I could state it.

… That was my personal pitfall studying culture with a big C. I can tell because I was much more comfortable addressing the little C aspects – i.e.: my interviews with the exchange students.

----------------------

¹honestly, I think was better prepared to give it the week before…

Reflect on your experiences of (trying to) read and write in your target language. Are you bilingual? If so, would you agree with the arguments made in the two readings on bilingualism?

I can’t say with certainty if I am bilingual just like I can’t say if I agree or not with the claims from the articles from the readings. That is because the definition of bilingual is not clear enough for me and my definitions of ability, intelligence and knowledge are too fluid – Some days I feel confident that I “know” things (be it English, Portuguese, even math), others, not so much…

I think it is never as “clear cut” as we wish it would be – at least for the sake of our hypotheses…I understand these are almost impossibly complex issues and that breaking the systems down is the only way to tackle the questions, but I am afraid this makes it too easy to forget to look at the “big picture.” But I am thankful some scholars are mindful of that:

“Bialystok has been researching the bilingual brain for decades, and she is adamant: Bilinguals aren’t smarter than their single-language counterparts. “I think it’s a real problem that [my work] may be interpreted that way,” she says.” (from ScienceLine article)

Another major personal issue I have with these readings/topics is the intertwining of so many unanswered questions/grey areas: we don’t really know what “intelligence” means, how to measure it, and much less what drives it – of course language can/would be one of them, as well as 10000 other things, like educational opportunities, modes of learning, personality, even nutrition!

One thing that I cannot deny is how much Portuguese has helped me read Catalan thought. I guess the statement that I would be the most comfortable making for now is: learning languages/of cultures is like adding valuable instruments to our personal toolbox and the skillset they provide is valuable regardless of age, life/work path, or field of study.

1) How have you organized your learning plan, and what have you learned so far? 

It is a lot easier for me to “process input” in Catalan than to “produce output.” So, I made a learning plan to “equalize” the gap between my language skills – listening/reading vs. speaking/writing. I have been learning most about pronunciation and how to differentiate Catalan from Castellano. I know how to read out loud in Catalan now (with some help from my LP :) 

2) What challenges or difficulties have you encountered?

I think the biggest challenge is the novelty of it all: learning a new language at an “older age” (compared to when I started learning English); not feeling sure about the pace of the progress; and the flexibility and autonomy in this course.

And I mentioned several throughout the semester how messy my mind would get with all these languages: I would answer my LP unsure if I was speaking in Catalan or in Castellano – or worse, if I was just adding an accent to my Portuguese. Today, talking to someone from Brazil, I thought “Porque” and typed “Because!”

How would you qualify or describe different aspects of your target culture? Reflect and your own experiences and expectations of the culture in question.

Unsurprisingly, the Spanish/Catalan culture is more similar to my Brazilian culture than American culture. First, our languages are more closely related. And – risking to fall too much into stereotypes – we generally tend to be Catholic raised, soccer loving, outgoing people with a very flexible notion of time…

Another reason I was interested in studying Catalan: during my freshman year, there were more than ten exchange students from Spain, but after a while, I noticed a few of them were closer to each other and spoke in a different tone. This was my first personal contact with Catalan people, language and culture. I was curious to how/why these guys related differently than the students from Madrid.

Interestingly, in this past year, my first personal connection with a student from Spain ended up being with a Catalan student. My international friends always meet the exchange students and that’s how I get to meet them early in the semester… I would strike up a conversation, not knowing where the person was from, and when that subject came up, Ta-dam: “I’m from Barcelona.”

Maybe my mind is playing tricks and looking for connections, but I would rather see these as signs I am meant to visit Barcelona soon :) 

How does your culture reflect various qualitative Hofstede dimensions of culture explored in class, e.g., body language, how people talk about time, etc.

One challenge in using the Hofstede analysis tool with Catalan culture is that the website only allows you to select a country. So, when I met with my language partner, we evaluated Spain and discussed how he thought it compared with “his” culture – because my LP identifies as Catalan, not Spaniard.

One of the points where I could not completely agree with my LP was his opinion on polarization – in the “Masculity” dimension. According to the website, “polarization is not well considered.” That seems very much in line with the current separatism issue unraveling between Spain and Catalunya: The idea of separation (and the underlying polarization fueling it) is not well received in Spain.

Now, my LP argued that polarization was not that big of an issue. His argument was that despite him being the only exchange student openly supportive of Catalan independence, this was not a barrier to his friendships with other students who might have differing opinions. As much as I was glad to hear that (for his sake), I could not help to note that he also said they avoided discussing the subject. So, I wonder if they are really tolerant of the divergence in opinions or if they just ignored it for the sake of cordiality…

Reflect on how knowing a language's history can help you learn the language. To what family does your language belong? What sounds, words, or structures exemplify periods of contact with other cultures?

Catalan is in the Indo-European family, more specifically in the Romance languages family – So it is right there with Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Latin, etc…

Many words in Catalan are similar to words Spanish and/or French, and then not…

For example:

Most of the time, I perceive Catalan as a hybridization of Spanish and French + a “sprinkle of unknown” which makes it what it is.

While knowing Catalan’s “common denominators” with other languages is definitely helpful, I have to be careful to keep myself on check, so I remember which language I am dealing with!

1. What first prompted your interest in the target language? 

I love how Richmond promotes international education and think it is amazing how so many students get the change to study abroad. But I honestly did not want to spend a semester (or year) anywhere else. Then I heard of CienciaUR. It is a program that allows students to do research abroad, and that made more sense to me than a study abroad program, since I am already studying abroad. 

2. Why did you decide to start your self-directed learning endeavors?

English is my second language and while I do not want to minimize the importance more “formal” language classes, I think I only ever became comfortable speaking and communicating in English when I came to UR. I first heard of SDLC when I was contacted to be someone’s Portuguese language partner. It raised my curiosity about languages/self-directed learning and later seemed like the perfect fit when I decided to study Catalan.

3. Also, how will your studies allow you investigate your target language and culture more deeply, and what topic is most interesting to you?

Barcelona and Catalunya are surrounded by controversy due to the Autonomous Movement. What I find intriguing is that there were/are separatist movements in Brazil, but none ever reach the “momentum” we see in Spain. I know that there are economic and political reasons for this observation, but I am interested in the culture’s and particularly the language’s roles.

I also enjoy hearing my language partner’s, as well as other Spaniards’, perspectives to take a more subjective approach into something – which I do not get to do often studying STEM.

Week 2

Reflect on the readings. What parts of the brain are most important for the production and comprehension of speech?

In speech production: Thought is generated in Wernicke’s area, encoded in Borac’s area and the signals are passed to articulatory organs. (Crystal, 2005)

In speech comprehension: The auditory cortex receives signals from ear and transfers it to Weirnecke’s are, where it is interpreted. (Crystal, 2005)

The Weirnecke’s area is the common denominator.

How do you conceptualize or process meaning?

The most common mechanisms for deriving meaning from a lexeme are:

• Grouping them – by field of meaning, or function in speech, for example.
• Observing the position and associated lexemes – where is it used? And with what other lexemes?
• Associating lexemes – either by similarity or opposition, associating words or phrases helps increase vocabulary.

Do these readings bring to mind any questions or motivations that could help promote your foreign-language abilities, retention, and recollection?

What I found most interesting in the reading was the idea of how different populations use their languages to represent the world around them. I think it showed a strong correlation between language and culture. Knowing that there are aspects in any language that are inherent to the culture where it grew is exciting, because now I see my language study as an opportunity to have a peak at a new foreign culture before I get the chance to travel there!

My experience as a language learner started fairly early on – my mother always wanted my sister and I to speak English, because she believed it would be a useful, maybe even essential skill. When I was born in Brazil, bilingual or American schools were even less common than they are nowadays, and they were of course, private. Nonetheless, my parents put me in a bilingual school when I was only four years old. Therefore, I do not actually remember the start of my experience learning a second language. I recall stories from my mother: The baby-sitter would offer me an apple, and I would ask for a maçã (the Portuguese word for apple) instead. So, I guess that there was some confusion between the two languages and the world in my young mind. However, even though I started to study English as an infant, I would not say I became fluent until I came to college in the United States and was “forced” actually communicate only in English.

I have friends who had English speaking parents, so they would speak it at home, but that was not my case. Thus, I lived the first eighteen years of my life only speaking in English when I was in school. Looking back at my experience in Middle and High School, I see how my classmates and I cheated ourselves – we spoke Portuguese even when we were supposed to speak in English. But I have a theory that it was not because we did not know English or because we were lazy, but rather because children are less likely to take a conscious effort to speak in their second language and teenagers are prone to self-consciousness. At least I know it took me “not having an option” (in regard to which language I could use, when I was abroad) to lose my fear of being wrong –   funny pronunciation here, maybe a grammatical mistake there, or plainly not making any sense at first. I still have a noticeable accent and I learned to be in peace with it, even proud.

After getting some confidence on my English and having the opportunity of teaching both English to Brazilians and Portuguese (or about Brazilian culture) to Americans, I have come to enjoying the process of “making sense” out of the languages and finding (or not) relationships between both. And I found that helping people learn the languages I know has been an intense (and lovely) learning experience for myself as well. I feel like I have a better understanding both about how English and Portuguese “work” and about how different learning a language at an older age is from my personal experience. I think it was good preparation for my present venture into independent learning of Catalan.

In regard to learning style and approaches, the assessments pointed that my learning style is mostly tactile (55%), which did not surprise me at all – I had already noticed that I absorb whatever I write down more efficiently than what I read or hear, so much that I am usually the girl with the notes and summaries in the classes I take. However, I need to beware of falling too comfortably into writing when I need to learn how to speak as well. I have never tried the one-on-one conversational style approach that SDLC110 takes, so it will be a completely different and new learning experience for me. One that I am very much looking forward to embrace.

I would say that the first week was pretty successful! I was waiting for the semester to start, because I was hoping there would be an exchange student from Barcelona willing to partner up with me for my SDLC110 in Catalan. Thanks to a classmate’s help, I found a language partner and had him introduced to Dr. Soloway, so now we are just waiting on the bureaucracy part to be over with before we can start the weekly meetings.

Besides looking for a language partner, I explored some of the Catalan resources from SDLAP Wiki and did some independent research, I even found a Netflix series that is in Catalan!

I am curious as to how we will be sharing our learning experiences in 105, considering the broad range of languages the students are interested in. I am also looking forward to learning more about linguistics in general, since “languages” are not really one of my fortes – Surprise, surprise! Hahaha, I already had this impression and on the "multiple intelligences" assessment I took for this class, my language score was just average.

Prompts addressed: the task(s) you are working on; a statement of what you hoped to accomplish;