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
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 targ...
(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...
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 un...
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? ...
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...
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...
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, comprehens...
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 th...
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 ...
¿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 men...
Have you ever felt disconnected from your passion for teaching — like you’re doing all the things but nothing seems to spark joy anymore? You’re not alone.
In this re-released episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, we talk with Spanish teacher Mirna Deakle, who shares her journey of burnout, rediscovery, and finding her authentic voice in the language classroom.
Mirna opens up about how she shifted from surv...
If you’ve ever found yourself searching for an activity that is engaging, meaningful, and actually supports language acquisition, this episode is for you. Many of us want our students to feel confident understanding and using the language — without us spending hours planning something new every day.
In this conversation, I’m joined by Amy Marshall, a world language teacher with over 25 years of classroom experience, kn...
En este episodio, comparto uno de mis episodios favoritos en español sobre tres cambios fundamentales que transformaron mi clase y renovaron mi motivación como docente.
Estos cambios surgieron a lo largo de 15 años en el aula y responden a una pregunta que muchas profes me hicieron recientemente: ¿Cómo construir una clase donde la conexión, la comunicación y la cultura sean el centro, y donde el español se use de mane...
A conversation with Wesley Wood
What happens when we stop planning for the “average” learner and instead design our classrooms with neurodivergent students and students with disabilities in mind? In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I’m joined by Wesley Wood, Disability Specialist at Georgetown University and former world language teacher, for a powerful and eye-opening conversation about expanding...
Every world language teacher knows the power of music — but how do we move beyond karaoke Fridays and make songs truly comprehensible and meaningful for our learners? 🎵
In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, host Claudia Elliott sits down with veteran teacher and blogger Kara Jacobs to unpack how she turns authentic songs and music videos into acquisition-rich, culture-centered units. Together, they...
There’s never a bad time of the year for a good game. Whether it’s November, May, or that wild week before a break — a well-chosen game can transform your classroom energy and boost your students’ confidence to use Spanish.
In this re-release of one of the most-loved episodes of Growing With Proficiency, the Podcast, I sit down with Christina Margiore, a high-school Spanish teacher from Long Island (you might know her ...
Are you searching for low-prep games perfect for this busy time of year? Look no further! In this episode, join us as we welcome two incredible educators from Colombia, Profe Valentina and Carolina Gómez. They're here to share five engaging, low-prep games that are ideal for any classroom setting. These games are designed to boost engagement, foster community, review content, and add some fun to your daily routin...
Have you ever noticed that some students struggle to see their progress in an acquisition-driven classroom?
When your lessons focus on comprehensible input and communication, progress can feel invisible to students used to “right or wrong” answers. That’s why Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) can be such a game-changer.
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Claudia Fernández, one of the leading voices on TBLT, about how th...
Does comprehensible input still matter at the intermediate level? Absolutely. In this conversation with Gary DiBianca, he shares how he “levels up” intermediate classes by centering CI, intentionally modeling structures students can recycle (time frames, connectors, question stems), and layering authentic resources that stretch comprehension without overwhelming learners.
You’ll hear:
- What changes—and what doesn’t—a...
En este episodio en español de Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, converso con la Dra. Marta Silva sobre un tema esencial para profes de español: cómo enseñar a estudiantes de herencia. Exploramos la diferencia entre clases de herencia y de segunda lengua, y por qué es clave replantear nuestros objetivos, pilares y rutinas para apoyar a estos estudiantes de manera auténtica.
En este episodio descubrirás:
- Los 4 p...
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