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(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 know this already”… this conversation is for you.

Building on insights from my conversations with Karen Lichtman and Jason Fritze, and grounded in research by Bill VanPatten and Stephen Krashen, this episode breaks down why acquisition is slow, piecemeal, and unpredictable—and how that reality should shape the way we plan input, reading, and output. I also share practical routines you can use mañana to make your classroom more inclusive, more human, and more effective. Sí, se puede. 💛

Key Takeaways

• Comprehensible input needs support.
  Pair oral language with writing, visuals, gestures, pauses, and slower pacing to help all brains process language.
• Reading requires intentional scaffolds.
• Output improves when students have options.
  Allow multiple ways to respond—yes/no, either/or, gestures, drawings, sentence frames—so more voices are heard.
• Personalization is what builds community.
  Using names, asking real questions, co-creating texts, story asking, listen & draw, and Star Student interviews turns class into a shared experience, not a performance.
• Episodes on the Three Basic Skills for Acquisition
  – Conversation with Karen Lichtman and Jason Fritze
  – Episode 177 on asking better questions
  – Episode 176 on staying comprehensible in the target language
• Research & Frameworks
  – Bill VanPatten on acquisition as piecemeal and stage-like
  – Stephen Krashen on comprehensible input and the affective filter
  – Nancy Young’s Ladder of Reading & Writing
  – ACTFL Proficiency & Performance Descriptors (via ACTFL)
• Related Podcast Episodes
  – Episode 170 with Wesley Wood on supporting neurodivergent learners
  – Episode on Story Listening with Margarita Pérez-García
  – Episode on Embedded Reading with Michele Whaley and Laurie Clarcq
  – Episode on Star Student Interviews

If you’re a Spanish teacher who wants ongoing guidance, practical PD, ready-to-use resources, and a community that truly gets the realities of our classrooms, I’d love to invite you to join Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy.

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

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 unsafe, students shut down. When we stay too long in low-level questions, attention drops.

In this episode, I break down how to sequence questions intentionally so students feel successful, engaged, and ready to communicate — without overwhelming you or them.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why asking questions is a foundational skill for acquisition-driven instruction
• The difference between display questions and referential questions — and why we need both
• How to use circling to add repetition and processing time
• Why circling alone is not enough to sustain communication
• A step-by-step questioning sequence you can use in just 5 minutes
• How to manage cognitive load while increasing student participation
• How to move from comprehension to communication intentionally

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

🎧 Episode 175:
How to Maximize Target Language Use in 5-Minute Blocks

🎧 Episode 157:
Episode with Dr. Karen Leachman and Jason Fritze on the three basic skills for language acquisition

🎧 Episode 54:
Episode with Paulino Brenner on display vs. referential questions and question complexity

Free Webinar Invitation

If you’re thinking, “This makes sense, but how do I put it all together into an actual lesson?” — I’ve got you.

I’m hosting a free live webinar where I’ll show you how to plan ONE lesson for different levels.

👉 Register at growingwithproficiency.com/onelesson
📅 January 15 | 7:00 PM ET

Five minutes at a time — that’s how we build clarity, confidence, and sustainability in our teaching 💛

Send us a text

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 bloques de cinco minutos. Por eso, en este episodio comparto comparto una secuencia práctica de actividades, organizadas en bloques de 5 minutos, que puedes integrar fácilmente en una sola lección y adaptar a diferentes niveles.

La secuencia incluye Estudiante Estrella, Escribir y discutir (Write & Discuss) y una actividad de lectura en clase con traducción, acompañada de actividades basadas en el texto y el juego de la desaparición del texto. El enfoque no es planear más, sino planear mejor, usando rutinas repetibles y sostenibles.

🎯 Lo que aprenderás en este episodio:

• Cuáles son las tres habilidades básicas para la adquisición de la lengua
• Una secuencia clara de tres actividades que maximiza el input comprensible
• Cómo ajustar y personalizar sin añadir más carga a tu planificación
• Por qué las rutinas repetibles hacen la enseñanza más sostenible

🔗 Recursos mencionados

🎧 Episodio 157 – The Three Basic Skills for Language Acquisition Instruction
🎧 Episodio 54 – Paulino Brener: El arte de hacer preguntas en clases de lenguas

📌 Webinario gratuito en español
🎓Regístrate acá ➡️ Cómo planear UNA lección para diferentes niveles
🗓 15 de enero | ⏰ 7:00 p. m. (hora del Este)

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

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, it adds up.

Inspired by my conversation in Episode 158 with Dr. Karen Lichtman and Jason Fritze, this episode focuses on the foundation: teacher talk that’s comprehensible. Remember: what matters most isn’t how much students speak—it’s how much they understand.

✅ What you’ll learn (takeaways)

• Why comprehensible teacher talk matters more than pushing student output
• How to stop chasing percentages and start building momentum 5 minutes at a time
• 3 practical 5-minute routines to increase target language use without stress:
  • Classroom instructions you can point to, gesture, and recycle
  • A quick daily check-in / morning meeting that builds connection and input
  • A low-stress familiar text + audio (cloze) routine that boosts listening confidence
• What to do when you slip into English (hint: reflect, adjust, keep going)

🎯 Try one routine this week and DM me how it goes!

Mentioned in this episode:
Episode 158 (Dr. Karen Lichtman + Jason Fritze)
Episode 160 (Save time, reduce stress, maximize TL with routines)

Other links:

• Find me on Instagram: @claudia.m.elliott
• Join the waitlist for Growing With Proficiency: The Spanish Teacher Academy → growingwithproficiency.com/academy
• Discover culturally rich, month-specific resources for Spanish classes in my TPT Store: Growing With Proficiency.

Nos vemos pronto 💛

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

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 trying to stay on top of email. Yet when we hear phrases like organize your drive or clean your inbox, it often feels overwhelming and unrealistic. In this episode, we break down simple, practical systems for teachers that make lesson planning more efficient and help reduce burnout.

Lisa shares actionable strategies for organizing digital files, creating sustainable routines, and managing your inbox so you can focus on what matters most—your students and your well-being.

This episode is especially helpful if you’re looking for:

✅ Teacher organization tips

✅ Lesson planning systems for teachers

✅ Google Drive organization for educators

✅ Time management strategies for teachers

✅ Ways to reduce teacher stress and burnout

If you want to start the year with clearer systems, less overwhelm, and more confidence in your planning, this episode is for you.

Hit play and learn how to reclaim your time—inside and outside the classroom.

In this episode, we discuss:

✨ Why teachers spend so much time searching for files and recreating lessons

✨ How simple organization systems save time instead of adding more work

✨ Practical ways to organize Google Drive for lesson planning

✨ Inbox management strategies that actually work for teachers

✨ How routines and systems create clarity, not rigidity

✨Why small, consistent systems lead to long-term time savings

Whether you’re a new teacher or a veteran educator, these strategies will help you feel more in control of your time and energy.

Resources Mentioned

• Lisa McHargue
• Join the waitlist for Growing With Proficiency: The Spanish Teacher Academy → growingwithproficiency.com/academy
• Follow me on Instagram @claudiamelliott
• ​​📑 Discover culturally rich, month-specific resources for Spanish classes in my TPT Store: Growing With Proficiency.

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

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, learning strategies, and personal progress. I’ll also reflect on the responses of my own students and how those responses are helping me to adjust some of my lessons, routines, and strategies—all while keeping things simple and actionable.

If you want to close the year with purpose and set yourself up for a stronger start next year, grab a notebook and let’s start.

Resources & Links:

1. 🎯 Freebie: 10 Stations Template – Keep students engaged while you reflect! 👉growingwithproficiency.com
2. 🎙️ Related Episodes:
   • Episode 125: 3 Creative Ways to Keep Students Engaged and Learning as the Year Ends
   • Episode 76: Talk, Read, Talk, Write with Tan Huynh
   • Episode 124: Silent Sustained Reading: Why It Works & How to Start

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

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 quality of the lesson.

Top Takeaways

1. Review + Recall + Input
Students list everything they remember about a story or unit, reread the text in groups, and create an illustrated or mapped version.

2. Dictation That Actually Works in December
We combine recall → dictation → comprehension tasks.

3. “Guess Who?” Based on Your Content
A collaborative guessing game using characters, themes, or topics from the semester. Students listen, discuss, negotiate meaning, and celebrate everything they’ve learned.

Free Resource

Want an easy way to keep students moving and collaborating this month?
Download my Stations Template Freebie here:
👉 growingwithproficiency.com/stations

It includes 10 ready-to-use station ideas you can apply to ANY unit — perfect for December when you need structure + movement + input.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Episode 31 — Stations & Rotations
Ten ideas you can use right away, plus the downloadable template.

Episode 125 — More on Stations
A deeper look at creating smooth, purposeful rotations.

Episode 171 — ClipChat with Amy Marshall
Ideal for seasonal commercials and short clips during December.

Episode 173 — My ACTFL Takeaways + Dopamine
Great for managing energy and motivation during this season.

December can feel heavy… but with the right activities, it can also feel joyful, calm, and full of meaningful learning.

I hope this episode gives you simple ideas to celebrate everything your students have learned — and to take care of yourself, too. 💛✨

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

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 learners experience curiosity, anticipation, and the desire to know what happens next. And the moment she said that, everything clicked. I suddenly saw the pattern in the effective activities.

In today’s episode, I break down three simple, low-prep strategies I learned at ACTFL you can use right away in your world language class — even in December — to spark that curiosity while keeping comprehension and safety at the center.

🌟 In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why curiosity naturally increases student motivation
• How Picture Talk with one compelling image can create instant intrigue (learned from Mira Canion)
• How cultural storytelling (inspired by Carolina Gómez) builds prediction, anticipation, and deep meaning
• How the Movie Trailer Technique gives you easy engagement with zero prep
• How simple “cliff-hanger” moments create dopamine, motivation, and comprehension
• Why motivation is not about hype… it’s about relevance, safety, and curiosity

And toward the end, I talk about the piece many of us forget: teachers need community too. ACTFL reminded me that when we feel supported, inspired, and connected — our classrooms change.

Which is exactly why I’m so excited about the six-month membership option now open inside Growing With Proficiency: The Spanish Teacher Academy. This is for any Spanish teacher who wants to grow as a teacher, to gain practical, comprehensible-input strategies, and to access culturally rich units, and a supportive community — without burning out.

If you’re thinking, “I want to teach better, but I need it to feel manageable…” this six-month option is exactly for you. 👉 Join the Academy

The World Largets Lesson with SDG

Samara Spielberg IG: @samaraspielberg

Carolina Gómez IG: @funforspanishteachers

Mira Canion www.miracanion.com

Episode of Growing With Proficiency on Picture Talk
Episode with Karen Rowan on storytelling, comprehension, and brain-friendly instruction

If this episode gave you a spark of hope this December, share it on IG and tag me @growingwithproficiency.