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What if we recognized language learners as linguistically gifted individuals, rich in stories, knowledge, and potential?

In this powerful conversation, Juliana Urtubey, 2021 U.S. Teacher of the Year, shares her inspiring framework of Joy and Justice in Education. Rooted in her experience as a bilingual special education teacher, Juliana offers practical ways to recognize students' strengths, build classroom community, and redefine what success looks like in education.

🎯 Why This Matters for Language Teachers:

Juliana’s 5 Pillars of Joy and Justice offer a roadmap for transforming how we support language learners:

1. Recognize Brilliance: See beyond language proficiency levels by valuing students’ stories, strengths, and cultural wealth.
2. Reflect on Context: Identify who might not be experiencing joy or belonging in your classroom and adapt to ensure inclusion.
3. Grow Collective Wellness: Create a supportive space where everyone—students, teachers, and families—thrives through mutual care.
4. Engage in Generational Learning: See families as holders of valuable knowledge, not just as participants in school events.
5. Design for Collaboration, Not Compliance: Build a learning environment where student voices shape classroom practices, fostering a sense of ownership and purpose.

This episode will encourage you to see your students through a strengths-based lens, redefine what “success” means in language learning, and create a classroom culture that honors every student’s journey. Ready? Click to play!

Resources & Links:

🔗 Find more about Juliana Uturbey here 👉🏽 https://juliana-urtubey.com/

🎯 Freebie: 10 Stations Template – Keep students engaged while you reflect! 👉🏽 growingwithproficiency.com

💻 Growing With Proficiency Blog

📚 Growing With Proficiency TPT Store

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

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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

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“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. 

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Are your students tuning out as the school year winds down?

Keeping students focused during the last weeks of school can feel like an impossible task. But what if you could turn this tricky time into a fun, engaging learning experience—without burning yourself out?

In this episode, I’m sharing 3 powerful strategies that will keep your students active, learning, and excited to participate—all while giving you space to breathe and teach with intention.

Plus, I’m giving away a FREE Ready-to-Use Resource Pack with templates for 10 station activities that will transform your classroom. Download it now!

🎯 Key Takeaways:

✅ Why Year-End Engagement Feels So Hard: Learn why students lose focus at the end of the year—and how to reset the learning vibe.

✅ Strategy 1: Stations for Focused Learning: Discover how to set up simple stations that boost reading, and interaction while you work with small groups.

✅ Strategy 2: Rotations for Recap & Review: Use rotations to reinforce what students have learned with creative brain dumps, illustrated one-pagers, and group summaries.

✅ Strategy 3: Pre-Recorded Listening & Reading Tasks: Create audio and video tasks students can complete independently using tools like EdPuzzle or Formative.

💻 Tool of the Week:

Chrome Extension: Mote
Looking for an easy way to record audio for your class? Mote is a Chrome extension that lets you record short audio clips directly from your browser. It’s a game changer for teachers looking to integrate more listening without extra prep!

📢 Resources & Links Mentioned:

The Spanish Teacher Academy Waitlist

🎁 Download Your Free Resource Pack:
“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activity Templates” 

🎙️ Related Podcast Episode:
Episode 32: “How to Use Stations for a Low-Stress, High-Engagement CI Classroom” 

Episode 118: Low-Stress Assessments with AnneMarie Chase

Episode 64: Teaching Without Tears: Effective Technology in Language Classes with Meredith White

💡 Let’s Connect!
✨ Follow me on Instagram
📧 Join my free Facebook group: Growing With CI FB Community

👉 Ready to keep your students engaged through the end of the year? Don’t miss this episode and grab your freebie today!

🎉 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! 

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What if you could easily add more reading to your classroom to support language acquisition and cultural competence without overwhelming yourself with extra work? Research shows that reading is one of the most effective ways for students to grow in proficiency. So, how can we make time for it in our busy classes?

In today’s episode, we dive deep into Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)—a simple, yet powerful strategy to boost your students' reading skills. You’ll learn how SSR works, why it’s so effective, and how to make it work for you and your students. I also share tips for building a library on a budget, keeping students accountable, and creating a routine that gets results.

And don’t miss our new segment, “The Tool or Activity of the Week,” sponsored by Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy!

Episode Highlights:

• What is Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)? Learn what SSR is, why it’s so effective for language acquisition, and how it fosters a love of reading.
• Building a Library on a Budget: Tips on creating a diverse and accessible library for your students, including asking for PTA funds, using DonorsChoose, and creating your own books.
• How to Make SSR Work for You: Practical strategies for when to implement SSR in your classroom, setting up reading logs, and using choice boards to engage students.
• Keeping Students Accountable: How to ensure your students are really reading and engaging with the material, without the need for grading or additional assignments.
• Translation Race: This week's “Tool or Activity of the Week”—a fun and competitive game that encourages translation practice and gets students involved while adding a little luck to the mix.

Tool or Activity of the Week: Sponsored by Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy

This week’s highlighted activity is Translation Race learned from Nelly Andrade—a fun and interactive way for students to listen to sentences, comprehend, and translate in groups, with a lucky dice twist to keep things exciting and level the playing field.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

• Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy: Join the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open at growingwithproficiency.com/academy.
• DonorsChoose: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Revista Literal by Spanish Martina Bex
• Le petit journal by Toward Proficiency
• Bryce Hedstrom resources

If you’re ready to get reading in your classroom and boost your students’ language acquisition, this episode is packed with tips to make it happen. Be sure to try Translation Race this week and share how it goes with your class!

🎉 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! 

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Este episodio fue lanzado el año pasado y se convirtió en uno de los favoritos de nuestra audiencia. Hoy lo traemos de vuelta porque cada vez es más claro: la sostenibilidad de nuestras estrategias es clave para mantenernos motivados y eficaces en el aula. 🎯

En este episodio, descubrirás tres claves esenciales para transformar tus clases en espacios más dinámicos y sostenibles, sin sacrificar tu tiempo ni tu energía. 💡

¿Qué encontrarás en este episodio?

1️⃣ Actividades Repetibles en Todos los Niveles
Aprende a implementar actividades versátiles que funcionan en cualquier nivel, semana tras semana. Estas estrategias te ayudarán a reducir el tiempo de planificación y evitar la fatiga de la toma constante de decisiones.

👉 Mis favoritas: "Calendario," "Estudiante Estrella" y las "Charlas de Fin de Semana," con trucos para hacerlas más interactivas.

2️⃣ Co-Creación de Contenidos con Estudiantes
Descubre cómo trabajar con tus estudiantes para co-crear textos y actividades que sean comprensibles, atractivos y relevantes. ¡Una fórmula ganadora para el compromiso estudiantil!

3️⃣ Fomentar la Autonomía Estudiantil
Empodera a tus estudiantes con pequeñas decisiones que aumenten su motivación, sin añadir más carga de trabajo para ti. Verás cómo esta práctica mejora la dinámica en tu clase.

Además, comparto herramientas prácticas como Blooket, Kahoot y QuestionWell, que hacen que tus clases sean más efectivas y entretenidas. 🎉

🎧 Presiona play y revive este episodio que dejó huella. ¡Tu enseñanza lo agradecerá!

Recursos mencionados:

Growing With Proficiency Blog

Growing With Proficiency Teachers Pay Teachers

Growing With Proficiency Academia para Profes de Español

Weekend chat

Question Well

🎉 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! 

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Are we reading enough in our classes to truly support language acquisition? Research says reading is the most effective way for students to grow in proficiency and cultural competence. But, how can we add more reading without feeling overwhelmed by extra work? 

In this episode, we share five practical and easy-to-implement strategies to make reading a central part of your class. From daily short readings to Silent Sustained Reading (SSR), you’ll discover actionable ways to help your students engage with comprehensible input and boost their language skills.

And don’t miss our new segment “The Tool or Activity of the Week” sponsored by Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy! 

Episode Highlights:

• Daily Short Readings: Use “Do Now” activities to expose students to quick, engaging, and comprehensible texts daily. Ideas include recaps, cultural facts, and student interviews.
• Co-Created Texts: Turn classroom discussions into reading opportunities by summarizing them as texts, then engaging students in activities like choral reading or partner summaries.
• Read-Aloud Fridays: Create a cozy, engaging atmosphere for students to listen to you read aloud. It’s a low-pressure way to model fluent reading and connect with your class.
• Silent Sustained Reading (SSR): Build lifelong readers by dedicating time to independent reading. Learn how to start small and build a classroom library your students will love.
• Re-Reading Familiar Texts: Use those last few minutes of class effectively by having students revisit texts they’ve already read. This reinforces vocabulary and comprehension without requiring extra prep.

Tool or Activity of the Week:
Sponsored by Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy
This week’s highlighted tool is Bingo Baker—a fun and interactive way to get your students listening to you without any disruptions!!!

Resources and Links Mentioned:

• Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy: Join the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open at growingwithproficiency.com/academy.
• Episode 86 with AC Quintero: Learn how to introduce and sustain Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) in your classes. 
• Episode 84 with Dr. Stephen Krasen. 
• Bingo Baker: Create engaging, customizable bingo cards for your class at bingobaker.com.

Stay Connected:

• Follow Claudia on Instagram: @GrowingWithProficiency
• Leave a comment or DM with your favorite reading strategies for language classes!

Don’t Forget:
If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Growing With Proficiency – The Podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps other teachers discover tools and ideas to grow their proficiency and cultural competence.

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“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! 

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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.

🎉 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! 

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In this final installment of our three-part series, Elevating Intermediate Learners with Comprehensible Input, we’re tackling the questions YOU asked! From authentic resources to grammar instruction, writing support, and feedback, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you simplify and strengthen your classroom practices.

Let’s remember that whatever strategy you’re incorporating in your class, it has to be sustainable—because you deserve strategies that work without burning out.

Episode Highlights

🌎 Authentic Resources: Are authentic resources helping or frustrating your students? Learn how to bridge the gap between cultural authenticity and comprehensible input.

📚 Grammar Instruction: Why teaching grammar for grammar’s sake is pointless.  Strategies like P.A.C.E., Pop-up Grammar, and Structured Input Activities that make grammar meaningful.

✍️ Writing Support:  The Breathe In/Breathe Out approach: Reading as input, writing as output.  Break writing into manageable steps with scaffolds and examples.

💡 Feedback: Shift your mindset: Feedback isn’t about fixing everything—it’s about guiding growth.  Strategies to help students listen to feedback while they are working on their product.

🎉 NEW SEGMENT: The Tool or Activity of the Week: Quizzizz!

This segment is sponsored by Mitten CI Language Conference! Register by December 1st to grab your early bird discount and infuse happiness into your teaching!

Resources & Links Mentioned

Free resources:

Scaffold for AP Free Responses

AP Question Guide

📖 Previous Episodes:

Episodes 60–66: Sustainable practices in the language classroom.

Episode 41: Using Structured Input Activities for grammar instruction.

🔎 Edutopia article 

🌟 Mitten CI Language Conference: Register now and save: Mitten CI Conference Registration

Join the Conversation

Did this series spark ideas or questions? Share your thoughts!

📧 Email me: [email protected] 

💬 DM me on Instagram

Thank you for being part of this series. Don’t forget to revisit parts 1 and 2 to explore how comprehensible input can transform your intermediate learners’ experience. ¡Sí se puede! 🎉

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“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!

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In Episode 121 of Growing With Proficiency The Podcast, Claudia dives into the second part of her series on intermediate learners, focusing on two major challenges: output and curriculum. Claudia shares actionable strategies on how to support student output meaningfully, reduce the overwhelm of curriculum, and keep learners motivated as they navigate this critical stage.

This episode is packed with insights to help you create a more manageable and motivating classroom experience.

Episode Highlights:

• Supporting Student Output with Purpose:  
  • What is the role of output and the importance of meaning when it comes to output.
  • How low-stakes output activities can help reduce stress and increase input opportunities.
  • The role of model texts in guiding students to produce the language and the importance of scaffolding output. 
• Dealing with Curriculum Pressures:
  • Strategies for managing a heavy curriculum while keeping the focus on input and maintaining flexibility.
  • How can overlapping themes across units help cover more content without rushing through topics?
• Keeping Intermediate Learners Motivated:
  • Tips on fostering intrinsic motivation through self-evaluation, scaffolded tasks, and regular progress checks.
  • Celebrating comprehension wins and supporting students through the challenge of producing output is important.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Free Resource: 

"Apoyos" for Intermediate Learners and AP Students

Episode 56: Output with Dr. Florencia Henshaw

Episode 119: Elevate Intermediate Learners Part 1

Join the Growing With CI Facebook Community

Get Involved:

Have a question for Claudia about intermediate learners or another topic? Send your questions via:

Instagram DM: @claudiaelliott

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Growing With CI Facebook Community

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow language teachers!

🎉 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. 

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¿Te preguntas cómo ayudar a tus estudiantes de nivel intermedio a dar ese salto de comprensión y expresión en el idioma? En este episodio, exploramos estrategias efectivas para brindar el apoyo que necesitan en esta etapa crítica de su aprendizaje. Conversamos con Esther Galo, profesora de español con 15 años de experiencia enseñando AP Español Lengua y Cultura y 5 años en el Bachillerato Internacional. Esther comparte estrategias que puedes implementar en tu clase para ayudar a tus estudiantes a avanzar en su dominio del idioma.

📝 Lo más destacado del episodio:

Andamiajes y textos modelo: Descubre cómo los textos modelo y los marcos de escritura pueden servir de guía para que los estudiantes se sientan más seguros al expresar ideas en español. Esther nos comparte cómo podemos incorporar estas estrategias cada día. 

Trabajos colaborativos: Aprende a implementar actividades en grupo que facilitan el aprendizaje a través de la interacción y la cooperación. Exploramos cómo podemos hacer estos trabajos colaborativos oralmente pero también de manera escrita para fomentar una colaboración auténtica y significativa.

Desarrollar habilidades de metacognición: ¿Cómo pueden los estudiantes volverse más conscientes de su propio proceso de aprendizaje? Esther explica cómo enseñar habilidades de metacognición puede ayudar a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre sus avances y ajustar sus estrategias, mejorando así su autonomía en el aprendizaje.

🌐 Recursos mencionados en el episodio:

Estructuras para apoyar a estudiantes de AP

Esther´s website: https://www.sragalo.com/

Advanced Spanish purchase link: https://stan.store/sragalo

¿Listo para implementar estas estrategias y ver cómo tus estudiantes de nivel intermedio alcanzan nuevos niveles de comprensión y expresión? ¡Escucha este episodio y lleva tu enseñanza al siguiente nivel!

🎉 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!