Gaining Confidence para Hablar y Escuchar

The preparation of a Spanish speaker

By Bella Cankurtaran

We are going to Puerto Rico in exactly a month and a day as of today and things are busy in Carroll Hall room 58. Someone to my left is on the phone with a possible interview subject. The person on my right is deeply invested in the article they are reading. People are in and out of the room. You can just smell the progress and creativity brewing from each story team.

Originally, our MEJO 584 group was supposed to travel to Brazil to create our multimedia website, which would have been a very unique and exciting experience as I have not traveled to Brazil before and had no prior knowledge of issues affecting Brazil. However, I am secretly thankful it was switched to Puerto Rico. Now I have the chance to put my Spanish into practice and delve deeper into a territory I am familiar with.

In preparation for the trip, I am working to strengthen my Spanish skills. I am listening to Spanish music, especially Bad Bunny el rey de Puerto Rico, as much as I can. I am watching movies and TV shows in Spanish, which has been really helpful for learning slang words or any lingo. I am actively participating in my Spanish class at UNC whether that’s speaking, writing, reading, or just listening to my professor and classmates.

My current TV show

I want to increase my confidence with the language and with my abilities. I tend to doubt my Spanish skills, but I am eager to help translate and bond with the Spanish speakers while in Puerto Rico. This reinforces my desire to land in Puerto Rico sure of myself and ready to engage.

My dad lived in Puerto Rico for a little over a year for his work, so I have been having frequent conversations with him concerning the culture, how the people interact, and the speed of the language. I am used to the Spanish from Spain as I studied abroad there this past summer. The vosotros tense is ingrained in my brain. Now, I need to adapt to Puerto Rican Spanish, which is a challenge I am ready to overcome.

It’s important for me that I am able to connect with the people I speak to in Puerto Rico. Aside from translation purposes, I feel that with a genuine connection, people will be able to trust me and possibly be willing to share more information or provide me with other contacts or sources to look into.

My playlist

Furthermore, I am doing the advertising and public relations for this project, and I am so glad that my other team member also speaks Spanish. We want to make our posts in both English and Spanish so that our audience extends to the Puerto Rican community.

I never imagined that I would be able to incorporate all of my passions into one class. Here I am developing social media accounts and creating a media/communications strategy, while also sending emails to potential interview subjects and having conversations with them in Spanish on the phone.

I am honored to work alongside such bright and motivated students who push me to think differently and stay on track. The anticipation to make our research stories a reality is high. Until then, I will continue with my plan to build up my confidence and refine my Spanish skills.

Te veré en el otro lado!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RELATED POSTS