Strand: Creativity
Learning a foreign language always seemed attractive and demanding to me, both at the same time. I thought I would have to give a lot of time and effort, on daily basis to be able to speak a language that I am not accustomed to from the beginning. Spanish, as a language, interested me, due to its prevalence in music, movies, TV shows, etc. During the Covid-19 lockdown, I had a lot of spare time in which I could do something, like learning a new language. I used an app called Duolingo, which provides Spanish lessons for free, in a very effortless way, which makes learning a new language very convenient. I got weekly reports regarding my progress, which showed the amount of time I was learning on average, the lessons I completed, and the new words I learned. This helped me reflect on how much I have achieved.
Learning outcomes:
L2: At first I had a preconceived notion in mind, that I wouldn’t be able to learn Spanish without formal guidance, from experienced teachers, but it turned out it is possible by giving appropriate efforts. I had to get familiar with using technology to learn Spanish. I had to learn to be open-minded, that I can do this. There were times when I thought this wouldn’t be much effective, but I kept on trying, and finally was able to reach somewhere. I developed the skill of exploring technology for learning new things.
L3: I made weekly schedules, in which I decided the number of lessons I have to finish in a week, and the amount of time I need to put into this daily. I spent 30-45 minutes daily into this, and was able to stick with the plan I decided for myself. I used this app for couple of months, due to which I had to plan my schedule in a detailed manner to complete as many lessons as I could.
L4: I practiced learning Spanish daily for nearly 2 months. During this time I spent at least half-hour daily on this. Due to persevering and showing commitment, I was able to get a basic understanding of Spanish as a language, where earlier I was not even trying to understand anything.
