This 3 week course "American True Crime" discusses recent legal cases that have dominated the news headlines in the United States for months and shaped the culture. This course is suitable for uppe
This 3 week course "American True Crime" discusses recent legal cases that have dominated the news headlines in the United States for months and shaped the culture. This course is suitable for upper-intermediate and advanced level students.

We will focus on a single case each week.

Week 1: Lori Vallow

This mormon, beauty pageant mother of two children is accused of manipulating her brother into murdering her two ex- husbands, then marrying a cult leader after killing his wife, then murdering her two children because she thought they couldn't enter heaven with her. In order to cover everything up, Lori Vallow then murdered her brother.

Week 2 : Natalia Grace

There is a famous 2009 horror movie called Orphan, about a family who adopts a little 6 year old girl only to find out that she is 30 years old and trying to sleep with the husband and is desperately trying to kill the mother. The movie is based on the true story of an orphan named Natalia Grace.

Week 3 : Dalia Dippolito

This seems like a simple story of a greedy gold-digging wife who tries unsuccessfully to hire a hitman to murder her husband but it is much crazier than that. Dalia Dippolito is pure evil and tries the craziest things in order to destroy her husband. I promise you that I have saved the best true crime story for last.

I will send out the article and discussion questions 1 week in advance for you to read and prepare. In addition to the written article, there will be an audio MP3 version of the article for you to listen to.

In each class we will read the article together and I will correct any pronunciation issues.

After reading the article, students will have time to clarify any misunderstandings with sections of the article or specific vocabulary.

We will then go over the questions with a focus on speaking and improving our vocabulary. ...Read More Show Less

Students will gain a deeper understanding of American culture. and hopefully learn more about what is happening in the world. This class has a strong focus on vocabulary building and discussion.

I will write down all grammar mistakes made by students during class and provide the correct usage on a PDF for students to keep.