Growing With Proficiency The Podcast

Re-release: Simplify Language Teaching and Boost Engagement with Lisa McHargue (Episode 61)

Claudia Elliott, World Language educator

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One Resource, One Activity, Endless Possibilities for Pre-Reading, Reading, and Post-Reading

This episode is exactly what we need at this time of year! With our plates full and creativity hitting a plateau, it’s easy to feel stuck. But what if you could give your go-to activities a fresh twist without starting from scratch? That’s the focus of today’s episode!

If you’re spending way too much time brainstorming new ways to work with texts, check comprehension, or ask open-ended questions—or if you have fantastic resources but want to make them more dynamic and engaging—this episode is for you. 🎧 Click play now!

I’m joined by my friend and the incredible manager of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, Lisa McHargue, as she shares actionable tips and ideas to repurpose your favorite strategies and resources.

Here’s what we’re diving into:
Adapting Personalized Questions (PQAs): Simple tweaks to make them more engaging.
Open-Ended Questions: How to spark deeper thinking and interaction.
Dynamic Reading Activities: Keeping students interested from start to finish.
Matching Activities: Creative spins to maximize comprehension.
True/False and Comprehension Questions: Innovative approaches to make them more interactive.
Opinion Questions: Encouraging thoughtful responses with a twist.
Resource Repurposing: Practical tips to adapt materials for different classes and contexts.

We’ll show you how small adjustments to your existing activities can unlock creativity, increase engagement, and boost learning outcomes. Sometimes all it takes is a little thinking outside the box to transform your classroom into a vibrant, innovative space!

🎉 Plus, don’t miss the tool or activity of the week! This episode features an incredible brain break—the Number Challenge Brain Break—that transitions seamlessly into a powerful comprehension check.

Get ready to simplify, repurpose, and energize your teaching!

Important Links:

Growing With Proficiency The Spanish Teacher Academy Waitlist

Dia de Gracias Reading: http://growingwithproficiency.com/thankyou

Growing With Proficiency Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Lisa’s Unit Hubs Training: https://lisamch.com/hub  

Lisa’s IG: https://instagram.com/lisajmch 

Our guest’s Bio:

Lisa McHargue is a former high school Spanish teacher turned online digital organizer. She taught Spanish for ten years, the last seven in a 1:1 school. She's a minimalist living her best life binge-reading fiction and helping teachers and online business owners take control of their digital chaos and create systems to keep it organized. When she's not geeking out about organization or minimalism, she's probably hanging out with her family or pretending to be a contestant on The Great British Baking Show.

People on this episode