Growing With Proficiency The Podcast
Welcome to Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast! Are you a World Language teacher who is looking for ideas, strategies, activities, and inspiration to create a World Language class where you and your students enjoy using the language to learn about the world and each other? Do you want to transform your class into an acquisition-driven instruction space where you intentionally provide a ton of comprehensible input? If you are, you're in the right place. Let's start this journey together. Head over to IG, and send me a DM @claudiamelliott to let me know what topics you would like me to cover in an upcoming episode.Join my free Facebook community, Growing With C. Also, check out my blog to start discovering some of these ideas and strategies at growingwithproficiency.com
Episodes
I’m re-releasing this episode today because Silent Discussions have become one of the most powerful activities in my classroom. Recently, during a formal observation, my assistant principal watched my students fully engaged in a Silent Discussion for almost 30 minutes—reading, asking questions, responding to each other, and learning from their classmates.
If you’ve been looking for a strategy that truly gets students...
Dictation is one of those classic activities many of us use in our language classes—but sometimes it can feel repetitive or not very communicative.
In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I talk with Latin teacher Keith Toda about how a simple tweak can transform dictation into a purposefully communicative activity. We discuss how dictation supports comprehensible input and how we can add curiosity and i...
Join host Claudia Elliott in this insightful episode of 'Growing with Proficiency, the podcast,' as she delves into the importance of listening comprehension and skills in world language education with special guest, Marta Yedinek.
Discover innovative strategies and the story behind the renowned podcast 'Cuéntame,' designed to aid Spanish learners. Claudia and Marta discuss methods to prepare...
La comprensión auditiva es una de las habilidades más desafiantes para nuestros estudiantes… y muchas veces también para nosotros como docentes.
En este episodio hablamos sobre cómo enseñar listening de manera intencional en la clase de español. Exploramos la diferencia entre el input oral que damos diariamente y un audio grabado, qué tipo de audios son más efectivos, y cómo crear un ciclo de instrucción que permita múlti...
Are you a language teacher looking for ways to engage your students? If you’re, you’re not alone. How to engage students is the most common question among teachers today, and that’s why I’m so excited about today's episode of Growing With Proficiency!
Let's face it, even the most compelling and relevant unit won't make much of an impact if students aren't engaged with the content. So we&apo...
What if every student in your world language classroom was actively engaged, supported, and confident in using the target language?
In this practical and inspiring conversation, Sally Barnes shares the powerful framework behind the 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom. Rooted in research on comprehensible input, student engagement, and low-stress output, Sally offers clear routines and strategi...
Nothing works if our students aren't truly listening, and I mean truly listening.
Do you have that one class that pushes all your buttons? The chatty class where students talk over you, chat in English, and seem to tune out no matter what you try? I listened to this original episode again last week while dealing with my own challenging class, and it reminded me why this message matters so much.
Here's the truth: ...
Planear clases no debería sentirse agotador. Muchas veces el problema no es la falta de ideas, sino no tener una estructura clara que podamos repetir.
En este episodio comparto un ciclo de instrucción del input al output que puedes usar con cualquier texto, tema o nivel. Un ciclo que te permite dejar de improvisar todos los días y empezar a enseñar con más intención.
Hablo de:
- qué necesitan tus estudiantes para entender...
Why do some stories immediately capture students’ attention—while others lose them halfway through?
In this episode of Growing With Proficiency, I sit down with Erica Peplinsky-Burge to explore what the brain tells us about storytelling, attention, and student engagement in the world language classroom.
This conversation goes beyond “telling better stories.” We unpack why storytelling works, how the brain processes languag...
So many teachers ask the same questions:
"How do you assess in a proficiency-driven classroom?"
"How do you grade without overwhelming students—or yourself?"
And, "How do you keep assessment sustainable?"
That’s why this episode is worth revisiting.
In this re-released episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I sit down with AnneMarie Chase to talk about low-stress assessm...
Interpersonal communication is what our students want most… and what many of us struggle to make happen without it turning into their common language in 10 seconds 😅
In this re-released episode, I’m joined by a friend and outstanding educator and curriculum designer Bethanie Drew to break down five repeatable, low-prep interpersonal activities that build community and keep students supported enough to stay in the target ...
(Why one-size-fits-all lessons don’t work—and what to do instead)
In this episode, I focus on what I consider the heart of acquisition-driven instruction: adjusting and personalizing what we do in class so all students can stay engaged, successful, and confident—without creating multiple lesson plans. If your classes include a wide range of proficiency levels, literacy skills, heritage learners, or students who “should kn...
In this episode of Growing With Proficiency, we continue the series on how to build foundational skills for language acquisition in intentional 5-minute blocks.
This episode focuses on one powerful — and often underestimated — skill: asking better questions.
We know questions are essential for staying in the target language, checking comprehension, and personalizing instruction. But when questions feel too complex or unsaf...
En este episodio de Growing With Proficiency, hablo de tres habilidades esenciales para la adquisición de la lengua que sostienen nuestras clases comunicativas: maximizar el uso de la lengua meta, hacer preguntas que apoyen la comprensión y muevan la conservación y ajustar y personalizar el contenido.
Pero, ¿cómo podemos cultivar estas habilidades sin que creemos una mayor carga de trabajo y mayores niveles de estrés? En ...
Happy New Year, profe 🎉 If you’re setting classroom goals for 2026—this episode is for you.
So many language teachers want the same thing: use more target language, keep students engaged, and support acquisition… but “90% in the TL” can feel overwhelming.
In this first episode of a 3-part mini-series, I’m sharing a more realistic approach: think in 5-minute moments. Because five minutes is doable—and when you repeat it, i...
Do you spend too much time lesson planning, searching for files, or managing your inbox—and still feel like you’re always behind?
In this re-released episode of Growing With Proficiency, I’m joined by Lisa McCart to talk about how systems and organization can help teachers reclaim their time without adding more stress.
Teachers spend hours every week redoing lessons, digging through Google Drive (or its equivalent), and tr...
As the school year wraps up, there’s no better time to reflect—not just on what we think worked, but on how students experienced our class. In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I’m sharing how I use end-of-year surveys to gather meaningful feedback that helps me adjust my teaching and better meet my students’ needs.
I’ll walk you through key survey questions that cover classroom culture, comprehension...
In this episode, we talk about December. I’m sharing three low-stress activities that keep students engaged, help them revisit everything they’ve learned, and still give them meaningful input, even when their energy (and ours) is running low.
These ideas have worked beautifully in my own classroom. My students stay focused, they collaborate, they read, they listen… and I get to step back a little without sacrificing the q...
If you are exhausted this December and looking for simple, meaningful ways to keep your students engaged — this episode is your cafecito.
I’m sharing what truly stood out at ACTFL this year, and spoiler alert: it wasn’t a new app, a new tech tool, or a shiny new curriculum. It was something much more human:
✨ Curiosity + Safety = Motivation.
In a powerful session with Samara Spielberg, she shared how dopamine rises when lea...
¿Te sientes que se te acabo la gasolina? ¿Tienes poco tiempo pero muchas ganas de que tus clases sigan vivas y activas? En este episodio te comparto 3 estrategias reales para que tus clases sean dinámicas, participativas y en español — sin que tengas que quedarte hasta tarde preparando cada día.
Hablamos de:
🎯 Preguntas personales y rutinas de entrada que activan la clase desde el minuto uno.
🔄 Brain breaks, pausas mental...
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