Integrative Narrative

As a second language learner, I noticed the challenges some people face by

learning a second language. In my case, it was really difficult to learn English at first but

my desire to study and communicate with other people motivated me to continue with

my education. Since I was a child, my dream was to become a teacher and help

students to pursue their goals. At first, I was not sure what I would like to teach but after

my first semester at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), I realized that I

would like to become a Spanish teacher. It was the best decision I have made because

I can help all those people who are having difficult time learning Spanish. Also, this

major has provided me a lot of rich resources that have enhanced my learning about

Latin american cultures, literature and linguistics.

The Spanish major gave me the opportunity to grow academically. My goal as I

mentioned before is to become a Spanish teacher, and the Spanish major have

supported me in different ways. This major has six different MLO’s and each had

helped me develop different skills that prepared me for my career. The MLO 1 helped

me to increase my language skills because in this major I have the opportunity to

communicate in Spanish with my classmates by presenting in front of the class,

interpreting English sentences to Spanish and having class discussions. The MLO 2

helped me to improve the quality of my writing and expand my Spanish vocabulary

which makes it easier to communicate with other people in a proper manner and

provides me the ability of writing academic papers. The MLO 3 helped me to expand my

knowledge about Latin american cultures through their literature, history and traditions
of their people. Also, I had the opportunity to become more familiarized with Latin

American writers such as Luisa Valenzuela, Gabriela Mistral, Julio Cortázar, Juan Rulfo,

etc. The MLO 4 gave me the opportunity to explore other cultures besides latin

american cultures. In my case, I learned about the Japanese culture. I really enjoyed

learning about Japanese people, their history and traditions. The MLO 5 gave me the

opportunity to interact with the Hispanic community by completing a community project.

The MLO 6 provided me the necessary tools for appropriate research and effectively

analyzed sources for further scholarly work. I also learned how to use technology and

how to apply it to my career.

On another hand, the Capstone Project is a professional paper that provides

evidence of all my abilities gained in the Spanish major such as language, writing,

literature, research, use of technology and knowledge about Latin American cultures.

Also, It prepared me for the workplace and provides evidence of my learning experience

in the major.

In the Spanish major, I had the opportunity to do my service learning in Seaside

Middle School. I really enjoyed helping students with school activities and assignments.

I had the opportunity to learn all the responsibilities a teacher has in the classroom

setting. Also, I learned different ways to teach children and support them in their

learning process. Service learning was an amazing experience that prepared me for my

future job as Spanish teacher.

During this journey at CSUMB as Spanish major, I discovered all the amazing

opportunities Spanish language provided me because I have learned many things that I
can share with other people. I feel really grateful with all the teachers that contribute in

my learning process. Also, I would like to continue with my education in Spanish and

prepared myself the best I can to pursue my dream.