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Do you love or hate 90-minute block classes? In the past, I can’t say that I hated them, but I wasn’t a fan. I remember looking at the classroom clock so many times wondering when the class would be over. Thankfully, I was able to discover some tips and tricks to plan for my 90-minute class, and now I love it.

If you’re looking for new ideas to make the most of your 90-minute block class without spending hours planning, you need to listen to this episode. I think you will find great ideas even if you don’t have a block class. Ready? Let’s start!

Links + Resources

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Language Booster tool created with Christina
Margorie

TpT Store with Calendar Talk, Monthly Resources, & Other Classroom Activities

My Blog

Connect in IG

Back to School Folder

Eduprotocol

Kagan Structures

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Discover 4 Games to Get them Talking with Christina Margiore!

How can we encourage our students to use the target language more in class? That’s a question we’re always asking.  Even though “talking” is not essential for language acquisition, talking and using the target language is the reason why our students are in our classes.  They want to use the language, and we want them to use it too.  But it’s not as easy as it sounds.

If you’re looking for new ideas on how to get your students talking, you need to listen to my conversation with my friend Christina Margiore.  Christina is sharing with us 4 games she uses frequently in class to get her students talking from level 1 to Spanish 5 IB.  

I’m sure you’re ready, so let’s start. 

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Language Booster tool created with Christina Margiore

My Blog

Connect in IG with Claudia @claudiamelliott

Christina Margiore

Connect on IG with Christina @supersenora

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Have you ever been to the Annual Conference of ACTFL? This was my first one and it exceeded all my expectations.  I attended 11 sessions and ALL of them were incredible, but the best part was just meeting online friends in person and having great conversations with like-minded language educators.


But these big conferences can also be very overwhelming and when we feel like that, we don’t even know where to start.  That’s why in this episode I’m going to share with you the 5 activities I am already incorporating in my class because they are SO good and the prep is very low.  Don’t you love that combination, of powerful and low-prep?


There were so many more ideas, strategies, and AHA moments I experienced during this conference but I cannot do it all.  I don’t have the energy now, but I love to add something new to my class, so if you’re ready, click play and let’s start.

Links Mentioned

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Growing With Proficiency Programs and Free Resources for this week

Blog

Jennifer Degenhardt

Sra. Haston

Benjamin Tinsley

Bertha Delgadillo

Annabelle Williamson

Bethanie Drew

Lisa McH

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Where I am today as a World Language educator is not what keeps me learning.  What keeps me growing and learning, is where I can be and do next week to impact my learners.  I started teaching in 2004 with not many tools. I entered the classroom knowing the language I was going to teach and a textbook. Soon, I realized I needed more than that. 

Today, I’m sharing with you what I had to unlearn to learn and grow as a World Language educator and how I stay curious and motivated despite the daily challenges I face in the classroom.

Are you ready to grow with me? Click play and let’s start.


Links & Resources

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Check out my Blog 

Follow me in IG @claudiamelliott

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Have you tried everything with a class and nothing seems to motivate your learners?  If you’re looking for a different approach to boosting engagement in your class, especially at this time of the year, you need to listen to this episode.

In this episode, I will share 5 quick-win ideas you can use with any of your classes to make your students feel successful.  There is nothing like “feeling” and “seeing”  that you’re making progress in the class to build confidence, motivation, and trust in your learners.  Sometimes they can feel they are not learning anything because language acquisition is a slow process, but we can always show them how much they know with these quick-win ideas.

I can’t wait for you to hear this episode, so click play now and let’s start.

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Click here to download a comprehensible reading about ThanksGiving for your Spanish class

Get on the GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List

Blog

Connect with me on IG

Check out my TpT store

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Can you guess who loves music the most? Our students. They are always listening to music, so why not use music in class?  Today, Bertha Delgadillo shares with us why we should use more music in our language classes, her favorite 4 activities to do with songs, and where we can find great music for our classes. 

I love how Bertha talks about music. For he,r using music in class is more about the connection and the experience. And, those connections and experiences can be a door we can open for our students to look into different cultures and perspectives.  Are you ready? Let’s get started now. 

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Click here to download a comprehensible reading about ThanksGiving for your Spanish class
Links mentioned in this episode:
Connect with SEL
Word Clouds
Word Clouds extra     
TPR with music
Output with Music
Music to My Ears Course by La Maestra Loca & Profe Delgadillo
Profesora Delgadillo’s YouTube Channel

Read the blog HERE for more resource links about music!

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There is nothing more frustrating than a chatty class, especially when students are NOT chatting in the target language. As World Language teachers, we put so much effort and intention to stay in the target language, but chatty classes make this goal more difficult. You and I know that our students need to listen in order to acquire the language, but can they acquire if they are talking all the time? I don’t think so.

So, if you’re facing this challenge, this episode is for you.

Today, I will share with you 5 strategies (and a big bonus) I use in class to have my students listen with intention. But, I need to make a big disclaimer before I do. I also have chatty classes every year. My classes are not perfect, I’m not perfect, and my students are not perfect. So, if you’re ready for a real conversation about this topic, join me today.

Links Mentioned

Jon Cowart

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

If you want to learn with me, check out this power-pack live series From Input To Output where you can discover strategies and activities from delivering input to supporting students’ output. *USE DISCOUNT CODE: GWPPODCAST

Let's Connect!

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Instagram

Don’t forget to check my blog for more resources about music in classrooms.

If you want to check out some of my resources for Spanish class, you can go to my TPT Store here.

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How can I maintain the use of the target language in class? We both know that using comprehensible target language in class is crucial.  However, maintaining that day in and day out can be overwhelming, to say the least, unless you´re incorporating these three strategies in your class every day!

In Episode 4, I´ll share with you the 3 most impactful strategies that I use every day in class to be able to use a ton of target language that is also comprehensible.  Ready? Let´s begin.

Let's Connect!

Join my Free FB Community Growing With CI

Instagram

Links + Resources

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

If you want to learn with me, check out this power-pack live series From Input To Output where you can discover strategies and activities from delivering input to supporting students’ output.  Use DISCOUNT CODE: GWPPODCAST

Don’t forget to check my blog

If you want to check out some of my resources for Spanish class, you can go to my TPT Store here.

My video doing TPR

Weekend Chats

GWP Spanish Teacher Academy
Waiting List

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How to stay in the target language may be the most crucial question we, as World Language teachers, ask all the time, and because I know how important the answer to that question is,  I decided to split it into two parts. Today, in Part 1, I will focus on how I was able to go from barely using the target language in class to using it more than 70% of the time and sometimes achieving the 90% goal and more. 

I understand that staying in the target language in class is not easy, but it gets easier.  The reality is that if our goal is to support language acquisition and the development of proficiency, we don’t have much of a choice.

Tune in to find out the 3 major shifts I have to incorporate in my class to make target language in class a reality.  Ready?

Resources I mention in this episode:

Growing With CI FB Community

GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List

Leyendas Latinoamericanas

Power Pack:  From Input to Output Live Powerpack Training Session, get a 10% discount using the code: GWPPODCAST

Blog

Bryce Hedstrom Teaching With Word Frequency in Mind

Terry Walts

Mike Peto

TPT Store

Instagram

Send a text

I only wish someone would have told me these three things 17 years ago when I first entered a Spanish class. If you have been a World Language teacher for a while now, then there have been probably a million times you have said, "If only I knew then what I know now, I would have done things so differently“. 

Yes. It's always so much easier to analyze situations when you're looking back than when you're in the present. It's also easy to look back one year, one month, or even yesterday and find something we could have done better. But this is the thing, we make the best decisions at the moment with the information, experience, skills, and tools we have. There is no need to say things like "I'm not a great teacher" or "I just can't do X or Y". 

As teachers and truly as humans, we're always growing, we´re always becoming more. So, let's keep on growing. Today, I'm going to share with you the 3 things I wish I would have known early on. So, if you're ready, let's start.

Links I Mention In Podcast:

Dr. Stephen Krashen website

While We´re On The Topic by Dr. Bill Van Patten

Let's Connect!

Growing With CI FB Community

GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List

Leyendas Latinoamericanas

World Language Teacher Summit

Blog