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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 pilares de las clases de herencia: sostenimiento de lengua y cultura, comunidad, identidad socioemocional y excelencia académica.
• Una rutina semanal clara (lunes de noticias y progreso, martes de lectura, miércoles/jueves de escritura y video-respuestas, viernes de plática comunitaria).
• Estrategias prácticas para clases mixtas donde hay estudiantes de herencia y de L2 juntos.
• Cómo evitar errores comunes como “corregir” la herencia lingüística en lugar de valorizarla.
• La inspiración del programa Latina Leadership, un modelo de comunidad, orgullo e impacto académico.

Si enseñas español y tienes (o tendrás) estudiantes de herencia en tus clases, este episodio es tu guía para empezar con claridad, propósito y corazón.

Escúchalo ahora y compártelo con un colega que también necesite estas ideas.

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Why am I re-releasing this episode? Because after a few weeks back in the classroom, I felt it again — that weight of doing everything myself: picking up pencils, erasing the board, answering endless “what did I miss?” emails. And I remembered… this episode holds the solution.

In this powerful conversation with Annabelle Williamson (La Maestra Loca) and John Seifert, we dive deep into classroom jobs — not just what they are, but why they matter. Annabelle and John share:

• Their favorite jobs and how they transformed their classes.
• How to implement jobs step by step (even mid-year).
• Troubleshooting tips to keep the system running.

Whether you’re the “least type-A teacher ever” (like Annabelle) or highly structured (like John), you’ll find a way to make class jobs work for you.

If you’re feeling tired, stretched thin, or just looking for a way to re-energize your class culture, this episode is exactly what you need right now. Listen now.

Class Jobs Course

John’s Blog

Annabelle’s Blog

More resources:

• 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.

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Silence in the language classroom doesn’t mean students aren’t saying anything. Silence is information.

In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, we explore why silence can be a valuable source of information and how teachers can use it to foster curiosity, lower risk, and create more meaningful engagement.

You’ll learn:

• The 3 main reasons students don’t respond to questions
• How to make your questions comprehensible and accessible
• Low-prep strategies that lower response risk and boost participation
• Ways to connect unit content to your students’ lives without rewriting your curriculum

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 161 with Becca Silver: Moving Past the “Shoulds”
• Episode 157 with Dr. Karen Lichtman & Jason Fritze: Three Key Skills for Teaching Acquisition
• Episode 54 with Paulino Brenner: Asking Better Questions in the Language Classroom
• Episode 88 with Dr. Bill VanPatten: What about Output?

If you’re ready to reframe silence from something frustrating to something informative, this episode will give you practical tools and a new perspective to bring into your classroom tomorrow.

More resources:

• 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.