My ability to speak and use Spanish has developed drastically since I started my undergraduate studies here at Brigham Young University. As I have progressed through the various Spanish courses offered here at BYU, I have been given numerous opportunities to expand my speaking, listening, reading and writing abilities. In most of my courses, it was expected that Spanish was the sole language spoken in class. I have strived, throughout my entire time as an undergrad to persist in my use of the Spanish language. I have challenged myself to reach a level of pronunciation that is clear and correct. I have done so through taking classes on Phonetics and Linguistics, and I have spoken a lot of Spanish in my volunteer and extracurricular activities outside of the classroom. Doing so has enabled me to improve my pronunciation greatly. In this section I present my OPI as a token of my speaking ability. I was able to achieve a score of “Advanced High” on this test, which is a certified measure of speaking ability.

I have also greatly developed my listening abilities during my time at BYU. I have done so through listening to Spanish speakers on the Spanish News and through Hispanic music and podcasts. Listening to hundreds of native speakers articulate this beautiful language has helped me to feel very confident in understanding Spanish. The artifact that I present here is my ALT certificate which is an official test of my ability to listen to and understand Spanish. I scored “Intermediate High.”

I attribute my ability to write in Spanish to the plethora of essays and papers that I have written here at BYU over the last 5 years. I have observed how my ability to write in Spanish has improved over the years. My grammar and ability to formulate my thoughts in Spanish have grown much more sophisticated in character as well. I submit here in this section my WPT as my artifact for writing because it is an official certificate of my ability to write. I scored “Advanced High” on this test. 

Lastly, my reading ability is another facet of my Spanish ability that I have been able to develop during my time as a BYU student. I have been given the opportunity to read Spanish in many forms, including novels, textbooks, short stories, and poetry. I have always loved reading, and it has been so rewarding to learn to read complex and thought-provoking texts in another language. I am so grateful for the knowledge and wisdom that Hispanic authors have contributed to the world and for the opportunity I have had to read them. I submit here my ART which is an official certification of my reading ability in the Spanish Language. I scored “Intermediate High.”

I will continue to develop my skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking by continuing to engage with the Hispanic population. I will speak Spanish at every opportunity, and I will strive to continue to learn vocabulary. I will listen to Spanish music and podcasts. I will continue to write in Spanish through correspondence with friends of mine that speak it. I will read my scriptures in Spanish as well as other books in order to strengthen my reading. I will strive every day to look for opportunities to speak Spanish and retain it as a part of my identity.