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I’m re-releasing this episode today because Silent Discussions have become one of the most powerful activities in my classroom. Recently, during a formal observation, my assistant principal watched my students fully engaged in a Silent Discussion for almost 30 minutes—reading, asking questions, responding to each other, and learning from their classmates.

If you’ve been looking for a strategy that truly gets students interacting in the target language, this episode is a great place to start.

Have you ever felt like getting your students to really use the target language with each other is the hardest thing? You want them to share ideas, agree or disagree, and ask questions. But when the moment comes, silence takes over—or worse, they switch to English.

In this episode, I sit down with my friend and incredible Spanish teacher, Chelsea Lawrence, to talk about a game-changing strategy: Silent Discussions.

✨ What you’ll learn in this episode:

• What Silent Discussions are and how to set them up step by step.
• Why this strategy works so well to lower stress and build success in interpersonal communication.
• Real classroom examples—from connecting the Panama Canal to a local tunnel, to jigsaw activities with biographies and even telescopes.
• Practical scaffolds to support your students: graphic organizers, sentence starters, question stems, and even a “How do you say…?” board.
• What to do after the Silent Discussion to extend the learning with gallery walks, reflections, or presentational tasks.

👉 If you’re a Spanish teacher looking for resources to create great jigsaw activities plus Silent Discussions, check out the Biographies to Celebrate Hispanic Women or explore the Panoramas Culturales, where you can assign one article to each group.

Listen now and discover how one big sheet of paper can transform into a powerful tool for authentic student interaction in your classroom.

📬 Stay connected:

GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List
Growing With CI FB Community
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Teacher Pay Teachers Store

Website: https://growingwithproficiency.com

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Dictation is one of those classic activities many of us use in our language classes—but sometimes it can feel repetitive or not very communicative.

In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I talk with Latin teacher Keith Toda about how a simple tweak can transform dictation into a purposefully communicative activity. We discuss how dictation supports comprehensible input and how we can add curiosity and interaction to make the activity more meaningful for students.

If you’re looking for a low-prep strategy that slows down your pacing, increases focus, and encourages communication in your world language classroom, this conversation will give you ideas you can try right away.

Takeaways

• Why dictation still supports language acquisition
• How to make dictation purposefully communicative
• A simple prediction twist that sparks discussion
• How to mix dictation with quick personalized questions (PQA)
• How dictation can prepare students for reading or video input

Resources

📖 Read the blog post: Dictation + Communication: How to Make Dictation Purposefully Communicative

🌍 Keith Toda – Toda-lly Comprehensible Latin
https://todallycomprehensiblelatin.blogspot.com

🎙️ Related Episodes
Talking Language Acquisition with Dr. Bill VanPatten (Part 2)
Talking Language Acquisition with Dr. Bill VanPatten (Part 1)
Beyond Exposure: Comprehensible and Meaningful Input with Dr. Florencia Henshaw (Part 1)
Making Our Classroom Communication Driven

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Growing With CI FB Community
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Teacher Pay Teachers Store

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Join host Claudia Elliott in this insightful episode of 'Growing with Proficiency, the podcast,' as she delves into the importance of listening comprehension and skills in world language education with special guest, Marta Yedinek.

Discover innovative strategies and the story behind the renowned podcast 'Cuéntame,' designed to aid Spanish learners. Claudia and Marta discuss methods to prepare students before, during, and after listening activities, offering practical advice for language teachers to implement in their classrooms.

Learn about Marta’s hands-on experience in adapting her podcast to meet the varying needs of her students and takeaway actionable tips to enhance your teaching approach. Don't miss out on this engaging conversation that promises to inspire and support language educators in cultivating proficient and culturally competent learners.

00:00 Introduction to Growing with Proficiency

01:09 Meet Your Host: Claudia Elliott

01:45 Special Guest: Martha Yedinek

01:50 The Importance of Listening Skills

03:11 Creating the Cuéntame Podcast

05:46 Strategies for Effective Listening

08:05 Using Podcasts in the Classroom

11:21 Practical Tips for Teachers

13:16 Engaging Students with Listening Activities

23:16 Reflection and Continuous Improvement

30:09 Final Thoughts and Resources

Meet our guest:

Marta Ruiz Yedinak is a National Board Certified Spanish teacher, Kohl Fellow, and a WAFLT New Teacher Award recipient. She is a passionate provider of comprehensible input and a firm believer of teaching students, not curriculum. She loves sharing with other teachers by presenting at various language conferences such as ACTFL, WAFLT, CSCTFL, FLAND, MittenCI, iFLT, and CIMW, a conference that she co-directs. Marta works for the Ripon Area School District. She is the author of “La princesa y el guerrero”, published by Wayside, and the producer of ¡Cuéntame!, a podcast for Spanish acquisition.

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

Cuéntame Podcast

List of all the episodes of Cuéntame

Facebook community of Cuéntame

More resources:
GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List
Growing With CI FB Community
Blog
Teacher Pay Teachers Store

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La comprensión auditiva es una de las habilidades más desafiantes para nuestros estudiantes… y muchas veces también para nosotros como docentes.

En este episodio hablamos sobre cómo enseñar listening de manera intencional en la clase de español. Exploramos la diferencia entre el input oral que damos diariamente y un audio grabado, qué tipo de audios son más efectivos, y cómo crear un ciclo de instrucción que permita múltiples oportunidades de comprensión.

Te comparto un framework práctico que incluye:

• Actividades antes de escuchar para activar conocimiento previo y enfocar la atención.
• Estrategias durante la escucha para aumentar la comprensión.
• Lectura posterior con echo reading y coral reading para reforzar seguridad.
• Espacios de reflexión y autoevaluación.
• La importancia de repetir el ciclo para desarrollar resistencia auditiva.

Este episodio no es sobre evaluar si entendieron.
Es sobre crear oportunidades estructuradas para que cada estudiante pueda entender mejor cada vez.

🎧 Podcast Cuéntame

🎙️ Episodio 180 en español sobre el ciclo de instrucción
[Inserta aquí el link]

🎧 Episodio 181 con Sally Barnes

🎙️ Episodio 114 sobre listening en inglés con Marta Ruiz

🛍️ Teachers Pay Teachers: Panorama Cultural con Audio – Marzo 2026

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Are you a language teacher looking for ways to engage your students? If you’re, you’re not alone. How to engage students is the most common question among teachers today, and that’s why I’m so excited about today's episode of Growing With Proficiency!

Let's face it, even the most compelling and relevant unit won't make much of an impact if students aren't engaged with the content. So we're diving into the topic of student engagement and discussing three low-prep activities that you can incorporate into your classes tomorrow.

I will share my insights and experience on how to create a more engaging classroom environment. We'll explore ways to spark student interest, keep them motivated, and create meaningful connections between the language and their lives.

This episode has something for everyone. So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage, settle in, and join me as I explore how to keep your students engaged in language learning. Tune in now to Growing With Proficiency!

In this episode, we'll discuss how to engage language learners through three low-prep activities that promote student engagement.

Links & Resources

Growing With CI FB Community
Blog
Teacher Pay Teachers Store
IG & Twitter: @claudiamelliott

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What if every student in your world language classroom was actively engaged, supported, and confident in using the target language?

In this practical and inspiring conversation, Sally Barnes shares the powerful framework behind the 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom. Rooted in research on comprehensible input, student engagement, and low-stress output, Sally offers clear routines and strategies that work across levels, languages, and curricula—so teachers can build sustainable, proficiency-driven classrooms where everyone is doing everything.

🎯 Why This Matters for Language Teachers:

The 7 Steps provide a roadmap for transforming participation, comprehension, and confidence in any world language classroom:

Replace “I Don’t Know” with Supportive Language:
Teach students how to ask for help, request time, and stay engaged instead of opting out.

Use Total Response Signals for Full Participation:
Move beyond calling on one student at a time and create low-stress, non-verbal ways for everyone to show understanding.

Strengthen Comprehensible Input with Visuals and Vocabulary:
Leverage gestures, images, annotations, and word supports to stay in the target language and lower the affective filter.

Build Structured Conversations Across Levels:
Use sentence stems, scaffolds, and clear expectations so students can speak meaningfully—from Level 1 to AP.

Design Reading, Writing, and Listening with Proactive Scaffolds:
Plan for diverse proficiency levels in the same classroom and support authentic language production with confidence.

This episode will help you increase engagement, sustain target-language use, and create an interactive classroom culture where students feel successful and motivated to communicate. Ready? Click to play!

Resources & Links:

🔗 Connect with Sally Barnes on Instagram 👉🏽 @sallybarnesTX
💻 Growing With Proficiency Blog 👉🏽 growingwithproficiency.com
📚 Growing With Proficiency TPT Store

Sally Barnes Bio

Sally is a former Spanish teacher and current trainer/coach with Seidlitz Education. She began her world language journey in 7th grade when she decided to become a Spanish teacher and never looked back! With 12+ years of experience in the classroom, she was named Texas Teacher of the Year by TFLA in 2018 and an Alumni of the Year by her alma mater, Northern Arizona University in 2023. In 2024, she co-authored a book entitled "7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom" and strives to support language teachers all over the country with strategies and resources for all languages at any level.

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Nothing works if our students aren't truly listening, and I mean truly listening.

Do you have that one class that pushes all your buttons? The chatty class where students talk over you, chat in English, and seem to tune out no matter what you try? I listened to this original episode again last week while dealing with my own challenging class, and it reminded me why this message matters so much.

Here's the truth: We design compelling input, stay in the target language, and plan engaging activities, but if students aren't listening with intention, language acquisition simply cannot happen.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• 3 things I don't know anymore about managing chatty classes (this honest reflection will shift your perspective)
• 5 practical, classroom-tested strategies to transform your chatty class into focused listeners without sacrificing comprehensible input or a positive classroom culture
• Real talk about imperfect classes, imperfect teachers, and imperfect students because your classroom doesn't need to be perfect to be effective
• Why traditional "quiet down" techniques fail in CI classrooms and what actually works

This is an old episode, but it's worth listening to again. Whether you're struggling with classroom management right now or just need a reminder that you're not alone in this challenge, these strategies work.

Resources mentioned:

Jon Cowart

Dictation template by Meredith White

Christina Margiore

Grant Boulanger

Bertha Delgadillo’s sitting transcription templates inspired by the Comprehensible Classroom post

GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List

Click here to download 5 comprehensible legends in Spanish: Leyendas Latinoamericanas

Let's connect:

Facebook community Growing With CI

Instagram

Blog for more resources

TPT Store for ready-to-use Spanish class materials

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Planear clases no debería sentirse agotador. Muchas veces el problema no es la falta de ideas, sino no tener una estructura clara que podamos repetir.

En este episodio comparto un ciclo de instrucción del input al output que puedes usar con cualquier texto, tema o nivel. Un ciclo que te permite dejar de improvisar todos los días y empezar a enseñar con más intención.

Hablo de:

• qué necesitan tus estudiantes para entender un tema o texto
• qué lengua y qué conocimiento previo necesitan
• cómo preparar el input para que sea comprensible
• cómo hacer el input guiado
• qué hacer para extender el input
• y cómo acompañar el output sin forzarlo

Uso ejemplos concretos como artículos de Panorama Cultural y eventos culturales actuales como el Super Bowl, para que puedas ver cómo este ciclo se adapta a distintos contextos.

Si sientes que planear te cansa más de lo normal, este episodio es una invitación a simplificar y elegir mejor.

🔗 Recursos mencionados en el episodio

• 🛒 Tienda de TPT – Growing With Proficiency
  Recursos como Panorama Cultural y Calendar Talk
• 🎧 Episodio del podcast con Anne Marie Chase sobre assessment
  Una conversación clave para repensar cómo evaluamos en clases de idiomas
  
• 📄 Freebie: Character Autopsy (Autopsia del personaje)
  Plantilla para analizar personajes de cualquier texto