Alexandra Brooks

Culture Blog

I chose this blog for my social phenomena artifact because it discusses a social practice in France that was quite shocking to me. The striking they do there frequently is very different from how life is for students in the United States. In my French class Julien told us about the strikes that occurred when he was in school in France and how they have at least one a year. I think this shows a lot about French culture. They are more open about going against their government then in the United States. Strikes here are looked down upon, and I can imagine those involved would be severely punished if a university decided to have one. I feel this blog is a definite example of a more flexible government who can allow strikes to occur without severe punishment.

Culture Blog

I feel that this blog is an example of understanding and distinguishing the different perspectives in French/ Canadian culture as well as a social phenomena because I discussed the affects that agrotourism has on the economy, as well as the impact it makes on a society. This culture blog discussed the different aspects of French culture that one does not hear about very often. Also it discusses the positive effects of going green and the efforts made by other countries to fuel their local economy while also going green. This shows a lot about their culture and the extent they will go to do the simplist things to help make our world a more eco-friendly place. There has been a change in culture and society there. People are becoming more focused on how to create a healthier environment for the future generations.

Culture Blog

This culture blog is an example of the values of French citizens. They were extremely adamant about making sure that every person is represented and not discriminated against. The underlying value I found in this article was the value of human life and equality. There are some very important social issues being raised and I found the article to be very enlightening on French values.

I chose this artifact to show my presentational writing because I feel it has been one of my best examples of writing this semester. I used the vocabulary from our online lessons as well as the classes with my French mentor. I found it quite hard to create an exciting story using the French language, and I feel that is where this is lacking. Overall I do think this is a very accurate representation of what I have learned this semester.

Although I feel that I have improved greatly in grammar, I do feel it is one of my biggest weaknesses in French. During this project I found it very difficult to use the correct grammar rules, but compared to my first and second writing samples it is much better. I feel that if I knew more about grammar and more vocabulary I could have created a more exciting story.

The artifact I used to demonstrate my presentational speaking was my first audio sample where we introduced ourselves. This artifact shows my proficiency in speaking French using the correct grammar and inflection. Although this was my first audio sample, I feel it is an accurate representation of my skills in speaking. It challenged me due to the fact that it was longer then the second sample and there was more complicated language being used.

Some areas where I feel I can improve include pronunciation of the words that are similar to English. I notice that I fall back on the English language and I do stumble a few times. Also while speaking I sound choppy and the language does not sound fluid. This is a definite area where I could improve in speaking.

The artifact I used to demonstrate interpersonal speaking is a section from my Midterm examination. I feel that this is a definite area need of improvement. While reading or writing I have an easier time comprehending the language, when speaking in an interpersonal setting I felt more overwhelmed with it and I have a hard time remembering the correct grammar necessary.

Although I do feel that my interpersonal goal was not fully met, I do believe I have made improvements since the beginning of the semester. I have become more comfortable, and since the midterm there has also been some improvement.

To show that I have met my Interpretive reading goal I used my project 2 in which I read an article written in French about politics and the economy in France. I then, after reading the article, summarized what I had read. I feel this is a very good representation of meeting this goal. I have improved incredibly in my understanding of written French and did not have much trouble comprehending the concepts in the article. One of the most difficult aspects of this projects was understanding the political terms that were written in the article. I had to go on their website to understand what the political organizations that were being discussed were actually about to fully recognize the meaning of the article.

This is a script I wrote to the second audio sample we had. It demonstrates my ability to understand what is being said to me. While listening to the audio sample, I typed what was being said as I heard it, then revised it each time I listened. For about the first ten times I found something that needed changed. . One thing I definitely need to improve on is being able to distinguish when one word is ending and the other is beginning. One of the largest difficulties I had writing the script was identifying each individual word. I had to listen to the sample an inordinate about of time to fully understand and differentiate every word being said.

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