Beginner Spanish focuses on basic elements, emphasizing the development of spoken language skills. One goal will be “thinking on one’s feet”—viable self-expression. Classroom practice spans the gamut from the traditional through situational exercises and “total physical response” techniques. Class skips 10/12. Instructor Amy Ferlauto grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has lived in midcoast Maine off and on since 1984. She has also lived in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Czech Republic, and has travelled throughout Europe, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has a BA in Community Studies. She has worked at Camden Hills Regional High School as a Spanish Teacher since 2007 and is Board President of the Penobscot Bay Language School. During the 2015-2016 school year Amy took a leave of absence CHRHS to live in Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico, while her daughter, who is half Mexican, attended the local high school. While there Amy taught at the Cornerstone Idiomas language school giving Spanish lessons to foreigners living in Barra. Additionally, she gave English lessons to locals and ran “Todos Somos Americanos” (We Are All Americans)—a group for teenagers. Prior to teaching at CHRHS, Amy was a social worker, working with immigrant families and gang-affiliated youth in Santa Barbara and with homeless youth in Rockland. She is passionate about language learning, teaching, and introducing the world to her students.