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If you’ve ever found yourself searching for an activity that is engaging, meaningful, and actually supports language acquisition, this episode is for you. Many of us want our students to feel confident understanding and using the language — without us spending hours planning something new every day.

In this conversation, I’m joined by Amy Marshall, a world language teacher with over 25 years of classroom experience, known for her thoughtful use of ClipChat. ClipChat blends short films with teacher-guided narration to build comprehension in a way that feels natural, visual, and compelling. Students watch, listen, and make meaning — and we guide the language to match what they need.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What ClipChat is and why it works to support real acquisition
• How to choose the right video clips for different levels
• Why slowing down can actually boost student confidence and understanding
• How small student responses (“guided output”) create a natural pathway for teachers to give even more input
• Practical routines like Write & Discuss, acting with whisper support, puppets, gallery walks, and picture grid listening
• How one short clip can carry your class for days or even weeks — without adding more planning to your plate

This episode is full of strategies that work in real classrooms — including the classes that are wiggly, chatty, distracted, or just tired.

If you’re working to design world language classes rooted in comprehension, communication, and cultural connection, you’ll find something here to take with you tomorrow.

Resources Mentioned

• Read the blog here
• ClipChat Examples & Classroom Materials:
  Zona de Profes on TPT — https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Zona-De-Profes
• Amy’s Website: https://zonadeprofes.weebly.com
• Short Film Playlist for ClipChat: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKhH5MAAh6FpSBBumo6Cv8lG_iS8Q9Lpz
• Free November Resource: Download Here: https://growingwithproficiency.com/diadegracias
• Join the Academy Waitlist: https://growingwithproficiency.com/academy-waitlist
• IG Claudia Elliott
• Growing With Proficiency TPT Store
• Free FB Community

Be Part of the Community

If this episode inspired a new idea, I’d love to hear about it. Tag me on Instagram @claudiamelliott and share which clip you’d like to try — or send me a DM and I’ll help you brainstorm one.

Make sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation. We grow by learning together — we learn, we try, we grow, and then we pass it on.

Click here to download for FREE ➡️➡️➡️ https://growingwithproficiency.com/diadegracias

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En este episodio, comparto uno de mis episodios favoritos en español sobre tres cambios fundamentales que transformaron mi clase y renovaron mi motivación como docente.

Estos cambios surgieron a lo largo de 15 años en el aula y responden a una pregunta que muchas profes me hicieron recientemente: ¿Cómo construir una clase donde la conexión, la comunicación y la cultura sean el centro, y donde el español se use de manera auténtica?

Hablaremos de:

• Construir conexiones con los estudiantes empezando por sus nombres.
• Comenzar a usar el español en clase, en lugar de enfocarnos en explicar reglas.
• Poner la cultura en el corazón de la experiencia para desarrollar curiosidad, identidad y pertenencia.

Cuando nuestros estudiantes participan en eventos comunicativos significativos, la competencia lingüística crece y la clase se siente más humana y más viva — para ellos y para nosotros.

Suscríbete para seguir construyendo clases que apoyan la adquisición, la competencia comunicativa y la conexión cultural.

Click here to download for FREE ➡️➡️➡️ https://growingwithproficiency.com/diadegracias

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A conversation with Wesley Wood

What happens when we stop planning for the “average” learner and instead design our classrooms with neurodivergent students and students with disabilities in mind? In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I’m joined by Wesley Wood, Disability Specialist at Georgetown University and former world language teacher, for a powerful and eye-opening conversation about expanding what is possible in the language classroom.

Wesley brings deep experience supporting students with disabilities as well as working side-by-side with world language teachers. Rather than focusing on labels or deficits, he invites us to see the strengths and identities our neurodivergent learners bring — and to plan instruction that welcomes different ways of processing, communicating, and engaging from the very beginning.

Together, we explore:

• Why planning for the “middle” unintentionally leaves many students out
• How planning for the margins strengthens learning for everyone
• The difference between accommodations and designing with accessibility in mind
• How predictable routines, visuals, and co-created norms help students feel safe and ready to communicate
• Ways to offer multiple paths to input: visuals, text, audio, modeling, and gestures
• How choice and flexible output honor students’ strengths and lower anxiety
• What it looks like to slow down, observe, and truly see our students

This conversation connects deeply with the core of our work in world language classrooms: comprehensible input, communication, connection, and cultural competence. You’ll walk away with mindset shifts and simple classroom practices you can begin using right away — not by doing more, but by seeing differently.

If this episode resonates, make sure to follow the podcast, share it with a colleague, and tag Claudia on Instagram @claudiamelliott so we can continue learning and growing together.

Resources:

Growing With Proficiency The Blog
Growing With Proficiency The Spanish Teacher Academy Waitlist
Growing With Proficiency TPT Store
Free FB Community

Click here to download for FREE ➡️➡️➡️ https://growingwithproficiency.com/diadegracias

Click here to download for FREE ➡️➡️➡️ https://growingwithproficiency.com/diadegracias