Beta plan. Launch date: June 2, 2020

Vision: To create unique coursework for English language learners that combines comedy, culturally relevant content and engaging discourse to help the student learn English in a fun, dynamic and nontraditional way.

My (working) philosophy on teaching a language is two-fold:

1. 1. Real-life speaking and cultural/societal references disseminated in an individual/small group setting is essential to truly understand a language
   2. A deep understanding and appreciation for a language comes when the learner is engaged yet relaxed.
   
   
   
   
   While the core components of traditional language learning (repetition, group work and focus on sentence construction and grammar) are important parts of language learning, they only provide the learner with a one-dimensional aspect of the language.  In order for someone to truly comprehend and be able to use a language, they must also explore the use of common day-to-day language (ie expressions, slang, swear words) as well as underlying cultural references and the social framework in which the language lies.  It is only by exploring these linguistic areas that the learner can get a truly comprehensive sense of a language and its corresponding culture.
   I also believe it is imperative that classes are created and executed in a way that engages the learner and allows them to learn in a fun and stress-free manner. Because of this, it is important that the teacher customizes lessons to the individual learner.  Each student has their own individual learning style, motivations and interests.  These factors should be fully considered when deciding on the specific pedagogical approach to use with said student.  It is because of this that small group or individual lessons are vastly superior to larger group settings.  The benefits of smaller classes are as follows:
   • The student has individualized and customized content
   • The speaking time of the student is significantly increased
   • The student feels less intimidated and less likely to compare themselves to their peers and therefore feel relaxed and free to express themselves openly
   
   
   This, combined with incorporation of other traditional learning techniques, serves to provide a comprehensive and holistic view of a language and its corresponding culture.  Only when all these linguistic and cultural facets are deeply explored may the learner be truly proficient in the target language.

Website components:

Start here (teaching philosophy, tips for studying)                                                          

Vocabulary lists (with corresponding videos and contextual examples)                                                                 

American Culture Explained      

Advanced Topics (Adults)

Kids section

Aubs travel blog (travels and documenting meeting online students in real life/reconnecting with old students from decades ago)

                                                                                   

Topics for lesson plans/discussions*: 
- Slang - Modern greetings - Idioms - Swear words (levels of severity/where and when to use them)- Exclamations and filler words - Texting in English - Online dating - Business English - The art of small talk - Navigating embarrassing situations - Dating etiquette/terminology/pet names, etc/do’s and don’t - Pick up lines/how to flirt - How to console someone/grief - Why are Americans so friendly? - Why do Americans dress so casually? - The empty ‘how are you’? - American body language - American accents by region - British English vs American English - Faux pas - Tipping culture/ the culture of customer service - Inside the American house - Food culture (regional) - Guns in America - Trumpism - 2020 Elections - Race tensions - Mental health - The Case of Jussie Smollett - Trayvon Martin  - Idiocracy: a look into the decay of American society - Millennials in America - Mass shootings - The case of Chris Watts - College admissions scandal - Hurricane Katrina: A natural and political disaster - Justin Bieber: love to hate him - Puerto Rico and how it fits into America - Celebrity culture - Reality tv culture - Goodfellas: Exploring the Italian-American mafia in cinema - Mennonites and the Amish - 2008 Economic Recession - Opioid crisis - Meth epidemic - Suicide epidemic - Gay in America - Gangs  - Rap hip/hop culture - Christmas in America - Cultural appropriation and the art of being politically correct 
- Emotions and how to express them (with specific contextual examples

*These topics will be presented in a non-biased manner where all sides are explored.  Lesson plans will consist of original video content, literature, examples, charts and vocabulary lists created by Aubree as well as relevant articles, videos, graphs, music, films, etc. The idea is to present a background and cultural content of the topic in a neutral manner in order for the student to develop their own opinions.

Some Very American Things I Have Taught my Kids to Say

Somewhere in southern Spain there are little 12 year old kids muttering these words:

1. What's up girl/dude?
2. Yeah!
3. You're crazy!
4. Thank God it's Friday!
5. Yes we can!
6. Awesome
7. Duuuuuuuude!
8. Whatever
9. Shit! (This is PURELY accidental! One day a student pronounced "sheet" this way and I had to explain why not to say that, and what "shit" actually means. Oops! Thank God they don't say it a lot- at least in my presence anyway)
10. Alright!
11. Sweeeeeeeeeet!
12. Eeeeexcelent (think Mr. Burns tapping his finger tips together)

Look How Spanish I've Become!

Living in a foreign country for almost 16 months can really change how you act. I have slowly noticed these changes in myself, whether from my own self-reflection or someone pointing them out to me. A few things stick out:

- I talk very Andalusian. One might compare this silliness with a Spaniard who comes to live in Texas and leaves with a full-on southern drawl. I drop all the "s" s from my words. I try to talk as fast and close-mouthed as possible. I ask for American things in a Spanish accent (ex. E-sprite instead of "Sprite"). I make big hand motions to go along with my words. I tack "vamos" onto the end of almost every statement. Basically all this time of having the Andalusian accent around me day and night has really infiltrated my sub-conscious, because more and more my co-workers say "Mira la Aubree. Que Andaluz habla!" (Look at Aubree. What Andalusian [Spanish] she speaks!")

- I have a very, very serious addition to Spanish coffee and serrano ham. I have at least 2 cups of cafe con leche a day. This isn't your average watered down coffee- this is some strong, strong stuff. And the ham, oh the ham! Don't even get me started on it. I eat it on toast every morning (with tomatoes and olive oil. YUM) and have been known to purchase ham pizza or ham flavored Ruffles chips (yes, they have those here, and they are fantastic). Will I be able to survive on American coffee and york ham when I move back to the States? To be continued.....

- I now eat seafood with the best of them. Before coming to Seville, my idea of seafood consisted of peeled baby shrimp and maybe the odd breaded fish stick. No more. I now have no qualms about eating mussels from the shell, squid in its own ink or even ripping a giant shrimp head off and eating the body. This didn't happen naturally, mind you. I got some great tips from my Spanish friends. The best advice came from my friend Lola who said, "don't look at the little beady eyes when you decapitate it". Ha!

- I also eat lots of cold soup (gazpacho and salmorejo) and olives- two things I despised before Spain. Now I love them!

- If I go into a bar to have a beer or tapa, I don't take a seat. I stand at the bar, like the locals do. I throw used napkins on the ground (like everyone does). I don't ask for a beer, I tell them to give me one. (Again, only tourists would ask nicely).

- For some reason I have noticed that Spaniards love to talk to themselves. In public. And no one seems to mind. While I don't usually talk to myself in public, I do talk to myself from time to time, and its nice to know I can do so out in the open if needed and I still won't be considered crazy.

- I blame everything on the economic crisis. Spain has been hit very hard by these difficult financial times, and they like to blame everything on the crisis to relieve their stress. Your beer is warm? It's the crisis! Stain on your shirt? Oh, the bloody crisis!

- I stare in amazement at tourists that insist on wearing tank tops and shorts when its 20 degrees celsius (do the math). As someone who comes from the midwest, that temperature in February should seem downright toasty to me. Not even close. I am huddled up in my leather jacket and scarves with the best of them. I also don't wear open toed shoes or sandals in public until after Feria (mid-April). That's what most Sevillians do.

- I stare in general. When I first came to Spain I was taken back by how people just stared at me. For no reason. But I learned not to take it personally because Spaniards, as a general rule, just simply like to stare and scope out their surroundings. I now find myself doing that ALOT. To the point that it would be rude in the US. Gotta work on that one before I come back :)

And a few Spanish things I STILL refuse to do:

- Get a mullet haircut
- Wear the new fad of pants- jeans that are tight in the legs and loose everywhere else. I call them "diaper pants".
- Get a piercing on my lip, around my lip, anywhere in the lip area.
- Be late- I still think its important to be on time and it shows that you take things seriously. I always arrive to my private lessons ON THE DOT. If I arrive early, I wait around their neighborhood and then ring their doorbell at the exact hour.
- Say thank you- my mom taught me well, and I don't care how "non-spanish" it is, I will always say "thank you" if someone gives me something, gets me something, or does something for me. It's just common sense.

PORTUGAL! (Lagos, Cabo San Vicente (aka ¨The End of the World¨) and Portomao)

Hiya!

Hi everyone! I hope all is well with everyone, especially you poor Iowa folk that are suffering the cold cold winter. I must admit that it is quite chilly here in Seville, though nothing compared to Iowa. We have been having lots of rain storms over the past few weeks. We had a rainstorm so bad on Sunday that a) there was lightning and thunder (much to my delight and my roommates horror) and b) it knocked out our internet. In all my time of living at this apartment, I have never gone without internet, and now that its gone, I realize how much i relied on it. And since this is Spain, and nothing happens right away, we will probably be without internet for a few days, if not a few weeks :( I haven't had any trouble being entertained so far- I have been engrossed in the "Twilight" series that the lovely Maritheresa has let me borrow. I have zoomed through the books at lightning speed- finishing each 500-600 page book in about 8 or 9 hours. They are so good! I never thought that I would be so interested in them, but they are great and they keep me distracted. I am currently at the tail end of the 3rd book, and ready to start the 4th and final one. Has anyone else read these books? I definitely recommend them!!

I have some fun things coming up in the near future. To name them off for you:

- This weekend I am going with Lola (my AWESOME Spanish co-worker) and Diana (my dear American coworker) to Isla Cristina, which is a coastal town in the province of Huelva. It is RIGHT on the border with Portugal, so I'm hoping to hop on over there this weekend!

- From February 12-22, my dear friend from last year, Marion, is coming for an extended visit from France. She will be here for my birthday, Feb. 16th, so I'm sure we'll have a good time!

- My favorite Dutch girls Janneke and Aagje are coming to visit the last week of February. I am SO excited! We luckily have a 3 day weekend when they come, so we are planning on making a trip somewhere fun, maybe Portugal?

- This is WAAAAY far ahead, but in April there will be Semana Santa (Holy Week) with the famous and amazing religious processions (it gives me goosebumps just THINKING about it!!!!!), and my good old U of Iowa Office for Study Abroad amiga Rachael Todt will be gracing me with her presence on Easter weekend. I am so excited to be able to show her around!

- Two weeks after Holy Week is the Feria de Sevilla, a big, one-week long fair thats full of flamenco dresses, dancing, sherry and horses. I am taking Sevillianas dancing lessons so that this year I can bust out some Spanish dancing moves, much to the surprise of my colleagues (shhhhh! i'm trying to keep it a secret until then!!! :) )

- My ticket back home is finalized- I will be returning to the great US of A on June 11th, flying out from Amsterdam. I am taking a 11 or 12 day trip to Holland before I leave Europe so I can spend some time with my Dutch girls and their glorious families.

Well, I'm at school and the bell is about to ring....I've got my favorite class, 1·G. We're gonna learn about Coniferous Forests and Tundra, etc. Yippee!

Until soon.........

Work Christmas Par-tay!

src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZf5Hl8MU-O7uXFcVCvypzkrZUxm_kzc-J3_xTH5fOAgIvmtjBwrDEcCGgVxuUtlNKg3AkWo4B0QxPiGN2Lgd-nDDBs9y8obgmLkF_JioJZHbETSObr7LZbPwOLR2RXknkDfnObxaxDk/s320/100_3660.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287903882062226098" />

Gezellig Nieuw Jaar en Eersel, Nederland