Listening
Learning through music has transcended the way I practice listening skills. Finding music for new music Fridays and blog posts induces the duality of both hyper focusing on the words that are being said and stepping back and just listening to the flow and sounds of words. When I first began finding music, it was very difficult for me to understand what singers were saying so I chose songs that were catchy and partially multilingual. Halfway through the semester, I wrote a blog post about Vivo Per Lei by Andrea Bocelli. I had previously enjoyed it because of the rhythm and sounds but when I really listened to it, I realized I understood most of the words. It is much more enjoyable to understand lyrics and listening is a great way to practice!
Vivo Per Lei da Andrea Bocelli (e Giorgia) Blog
Speaking
Speaking has always been the most challenging skill for me to master with new languages. However, mini presentations have been very helpful in making me a more comfortable speaker. I find that if I plan out topics and some sentences, I will be more fluent. The third presentation on a song was particularly pivotal in improving my skills. Maria and I chose Roma Capoccia and discussed the song’s meaning and connection to Rome. I felt much more comfortable talking, bouncing off her ideas, and answering questions.
Il talento di parlante è sempre stato il talento più impegnativo per padroneggiare con le lingue nuove. Però, le mini presentazione sono state molto utile mi facendo un oratore più confortevole.Trovo che se organizzo argomenti e alcune frase, sarò più fluente. La terza mini presentazione su una canzone è stata particolarmente cruciale nel migliorare i miei talenti. Maria ed io abbiamo scelto Roma Capoccia e abbiamo discusso il significato della canzone e il suo collegamento a Roma. Ho sentito più confortevole a mio agio nel parlare, rimbalzare sulle sue idee, e rispondere alle domande.
Cultural awareness
Watching movies has been a very enjoyable way of becoming more culturally aware. La Meglio Gioventù taught me about Italian culture, history, education, and geography. It was fascinating putting the characters’ faces to the information we learned in class because I felt like I truly understood the Italian people better. I also learned a lot about language by how characters spoke to one another and phrases and abbreviations they used. I think movies give an authentic picture of culture by drawing off actual Italians’ experiences.
Reading
Pieces like “Autunno Caldo” contributed greatly to my reading skills this semester. In high school I was never really exposed to Italian literature or read longer articles, so it was very helpful to have the opportunity to read a longer work like “Autunno Caldo”. It was very daunting at first and sometimes difficult, but ultimately I was surprised at how much I could translate or glean from context. Readings like this taught me that if I put in the work and am an active reader, I can understand most things.
Pezzi come Autunno Caldo hanno contribuito grandemente ai miei talenti di lettura questo semestre. Al liceo, non ho messo a contatto con la letteratura Italiana o ho letto articoli più lunghi, allora è stato molto utile di avere l’opportunità di leggere un pezzo più lungo come Autunno Caldo. È stato molto scoraggiante all’inizio e qualche difficile, ma infine mi ha sorpreso quanto ho tradotto o ho capito dal contesto. Pezzi come questo mi hanno insegnato che se lavoro, capirò quasi tutte cose.
Reflectivity
Interestingly, I found a lot of reflection in the film La Grande Bellezza. I did not understand a good amount of the plot or sometimes what the characters were saying, but it made me realize how I have grown since high school because I rely on subtitles much less now. The movie also furthered my cultural awareness by giving insights to both high society and Roman culture. I found myself making many comparisons between Rome and my city, New York. It seems Rome is much more centered on tourists than New York and as a result Romans are more conscious and critical of the issues of their city and country. I really enjoyed seeing a behind the scenes look at Italian high society and think the film helped me practice several other learning objectives.
Writing
Scritturas have been crucial in improving my writing skills. Longer pieces allow me to develop and clarify points and make me incorporate the complex grammar we have learned. The last assignment was longer and lent itself to the subjunctive, passato prossimo, and imperfetto which allowed me to develop my writing greatly. It was very difficult at times to find a way to communicate what I wanted to but as I continued to write it began to flow.
Scritture hanno state cruciale per migliorare le miei talente di scrittura. Pezzi più lunghi mi permettono a sviluppare e chiarire punti e mi fanno incorporare la grammatica complessa che abbiamo imparato. L’ultimo compito era più lungo e si ha prestato al congiuntivo, il passato prossimo, e l’imperfetto che mi permette a sviluppare la mia scrittura grandemente. È stato molto difficile a volte per trovare un modo di comunicare quello che volevo ma mentre continuavo a scrivere iniziava a fluire.
Il Mio Viaggio Italiano scrittura
Research
An unexpected learning objective I think I worked towards this year was researching in Italian. Assignments where we needed to find 10 facts about a singer were very helpful because I tried to do this in Italian so I got used to doing some informal researching in Italian. These assignments combined informal reading and writing.
Bettina's Music 