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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
Growing With Proficiency The Podcast
Episode 151: Back to School in the World Language Classroom: 3 Pillars to Build a Sustainable Language Classroom
As we step into a new school year, one word guides everything: sustainability.
In this first episode of a 4-part summer series, I’m breaking down the key to a successful and sustainable language class—one that doesn't run on exhaustion. You’ll learn about the 3 essential pillars that create a joyful, communicative, and manageable classroom experience—plus the one critical consideration teachers often overlook. Whether you're teaching Spanish or any world language, this episode will help you set up your routines, relationships, and planning framework so you can teach with energy and intention all year long.
This is not just about strategies—it’s about making them last.
Grab your cafecito and let’s get started. ☕💬
What you'll learn in this episode:
✅ Why sustainability isn’t optional—it’s essential
✅ The role of context and how it shapes your classroom decisions
✅ Pillar 1: How consistent routines support input, structure, and classroom management
✅ Pillar 2: Why relationships must come before content (especially in the first weeks)
✅ Pillar 3: A clear planning framework grounded in Second Language Acquisition
✅ What’s coming next in the Summer Series
✅ Sneak peek into the 7-day free trial of the Spanish Teacher Academy
Mentioned in this episode:
🔗 Join the waitlist for the 7-day free trial (starting July 7):
growingwithproficiency.com/academy
🎧 Related podcast episodes:
- Episode 11 – How to Plan a 90-Minute Class
- Episode 131 with Maris Hawkins – Understanding the New ACTFL Descriptors
- Episode 90 with AnneMarie Chase – Low-Stress Assessment for Proficiency
- Episode 52 on how to adapt your textbook with CI-based strategies
Let’s keep growing — with joy, clarity, and connection.
If this episode inspired you, please leave a review or share it with a fellow teacher. ✨
