Introduction

During my first semester of college, I took Spanish 305 in order to fulfill my Foreign Language requirement. As a native Spanish speaker born in Colombia, I knew I would have no trouble in the course and just wanted to get the requirement over with. I was proud of being bilingual and knew it was a skill which gave me an advantage over others both academically and professionally, and since I was already one language ahead of most of my other classmates, the thought of taking on another language never even crossed my mind.

That is until I learned that my intended major, International Comparative Studies, requires four semesters of language classes, despite any fluency in a foreign language. Once I became aware of this, I knew I had a decision to make: I could breeze through another three high-level Spanish classes and gain some additional knowledge of Latin America, or I could commit to learning a new language I had no experience with and aim towards the title of Trilingual. I decided to challenge myself. My second semester, I enrolled in Italian 112, and now here I am in 203.

Before taking 112, I had absolutely no experience with the Italian language beyond ordering lasagne and spaghetti at Italian restaurants. Additionally, I had barely any experience with the process of learning a new language. Although I grew up speaking Spanish, I attended an international school which provided English courses as part of its core curriculum. I still had a lot to learn once I moved to the United States at age 8, but I had been exposed to the language from a very early age, which helped me immensely. I did not have that same advantaged when I stepped into my first Italian class.

Yet, I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the Italian department here at Duke. Italian 112 was very fast-paced, but by the end of that single semester, I was surprised at how comfortable I felt with the language. In just a few short months, I established a proficiency which I would have previously imagined to take years to achieve. I didn’t fully realize how much the class taught me until I watched a movie the following summer, Letters to Juliet, which employed a minimal use of Italian, and I realized that I could easily understand the conversations they were having. It was an incredible feeling knowing all my hard work throughout the semester wore off and that I was actually learning the language.

Italian 203 has expanded my knowledge of the language from this slightly superficial perception to a more in-depth understanding of it through exploration of the culture. I think the reason I enjoyed this class so much was that the focus was no longer on learning vocabulary and grammatical structure, but rather on Italian customs and culture. Learning about things like the Slow Food movement, the importance of museums in regards to nationality, and etiquette rules taught me about different aspects of the culture while simultaneously forcing me to practice and perfect my vocabulary and grammar.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the incorporation of technology in the learning process. In the technology-driven world we are living in today, having the skills to edit a video or create an infographic are very valuable. Various assignments we’ve had throughout the course have encouraged the development of these skills, such as the final film project and the video recipe. Although I initially struggled with the editing process, having these assignments really pushed me to at least try to learn how to edit media, and as a result I really improved my skills.

The assignments I have chosen to display in this portfolio demonstrate my deeper understanding of Italian culture as well as the technological skills I have gained. I have included a variety of assignment, ranging from project presentations to video blogs to written assignments. All of these pieces come together to provide a comprehensive demonstration of my range of abilities regarding the use of Italian language. All items are categorized according to the objectives they are intended to demonstrate, and these categories can be accessed through the links on the sidebar on the right. Although the items are diverse and may not always seem to connect with each other, they can really be seen as a narrative in which each piece corresponds to a different point in my journey through learning Italian. The assignments completed later on in the semester show evidence of lessons I learned earlier on in the course; without the earlier assignments, the later assignments would not have been possible. My skills and abilities have been building up since the first day, and each of these pieces has served as an integral part of the effort.

All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Italian language and culture, and I look forward to expanding my knowledge in the future when I study abroad in Bologna as well as when I return to Duke and take additional Italian courses.

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