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Have you ever felt like you’re running low on energy in your classroom? Maybe you’ve been wondering how to bring more movement, engagement, and joy into your lessons. In this special episode, I’m sharing my biggest takeaways from the Growing With Proficiency Winter Conference! This is Part 1 of a two-part series, and today, we’re diving into Brain Breaks, Map Talk, and Bringing Stories to Life with some of the most inspiring educators in our field.

✅ Brain Breaks with Annabelle Williamson (@lamaestroloca)
✅ Map Talk & Google My Maps with Carolina Gómez (@funforspanishteachers)
✅ Storytelling with Berta Delgadillo (@profedelgadillo)

Each of these strategies can be easily implemented in your class tomorrow—or even today if you’re listening on your way to school! 🚗☕ Let’s bring more movement, curiosity, and deep cultural understanding into our language classrooms!

Key Takeaways:

🌟 Brain Breaks Keep Engagement High

• Set clear expectations and model the activity before starting.
• Try These Brain Breaks:
  • The Number Game.
  • Pass It On.

🗺️ Map Talk & Google My Maps – Exploring the World Through Geography

• Start with students’ own communities before expanding to other locations.
• Tools to use.
• What is geo-literacy and why it’s important
• Google My Maps!

📖 Storytelling

• Go beyond surface-level culture—ask deeper questions and uncover your own blind spots.
• Help students act out key story elements with Reverse Charades.

Resources & Links:

📌 La Maestra Loca Blog
📌 Explore Google My Maps for Your Classroom: 🔗https://funforspanishteachers.com/map-talk-from-our-communities-to-the-world/
📌 Bertha Delgadillo Blog

📌 Learn More About Classroom Culture: Episode 110: Six Strategies to Cultivate Classroom Culture
📌 Get More Ideas for Intercultural Teaching: Episode 134: Intercultural Competence in the Language Classroom
📌 Join the Spanish Teacher Academy: https://growingwithproficiency.com/academy

💬 Let’s Connect!
📸 Instagram: @claudiamelliott
📘 Facebook: Growing With CI Community

If you found this episode helpful, please take a moment to leave a review! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Your feedback helps other language teachers discover these ideas.

🎧 Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll dive into powerful output strategies and activities!

This teacher guide, available in English and Spanish, will give you clarity about how our students acquire the language and develop proficiency and the shifts I made to move from a traditional approach to a more comprehensible and communicative teaching approach.

Click here to download now https://growing-with-proficiency.mykajabi.com/teacherguide

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February can be tough. We’re not just physically exhausted—we’re emotionally drained. The weight of our classrooms, our students, and everything happening in our communities can make us lose sight of what truly matters in language teaching.

That’s why I’m bringing back this incredible conversation with Dr. Bill VanPatten. When we’re running on empty, it’s easy to forget the foundation of language acquisition: input. In this episode, Dr. VanPatten reminds us why the essential role of input in language acquisition isn’t just a theory—it’s a fact.

Dr. VanPatten dives into the true nature of language, the limitations of traditional instruction, and how we can refocus on what our students need to acquire language.

💡 If you're feeling tired, overwhelmed, or questioning your approach, this episode is the perfect reset.

Key Takeaways:

✅ The role of input in language acquisition is a fact, not a hypothesis.
✅ Understanding the nature of language is crucial.
✅ Traditional assessments don’t accurately measure language development.
✅ Interaction and communication should be at the heart of every language class.

Join us for this important conversation, and let’s get back to what truly matters. 💛

🎧 Listen now!

Connect with Me:

💬 Join the Growing With CI FB Community 👉 Facebook Group

📝 Read the GWP Blog 👉 www.growingwithproficiency.com/blog

📚 Shop resources on Teachers Pay Teachers 👉 TPT Store

🎓 Join the GWP Spanish Teacher Academy 👉 Academy Waiting List

💻 Comprehensible and Communicative Language Teaching Guide: Click here to download now.

Dr. Bill VanPatten Bio:

Prof. VanPatten is widely known for his work in second language acquisition and second language instruction, with special emphases on input processing, processing and parsing more generally, the interface between input processing and acquisition, morpho-syntactic relationships, and instructed SLA.

He has published eight books, eight edited volumes, six language textbooks (including the movies Sol y viento, Liaisons, and the tele series Destinos), and close to 200 articles and book chapters. In 2018 he left academia to pursue writing full-time.

His debut novel, Seidon's Tale, was the recipient of the 2019 Kops-Fetherling International Books Silver Phoenix Award for Best New Voice in Fiction. His second novel, Looks Are Deceiving, received the bronze medal from the International Readers' Favorite Book Awards for LGBTQ fiction. He is currently working on his sixth novel.

For more information, check out his personal website at http://www.billvanpatten.net

This teacher guide, available in English and Spanish, will give you clarity about how our students acquire the language and develop proficiency and the shifts I made to move from a traditional approach to a more comprehensible and communicative teaching approach.

Click here to download now https://growing-with-proficiency.mykajabi.com/teacherguide

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In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I’m joined by the incredible Laurie Clarcq and Michele Whaley, the pioneers of Embedded Reading, to explore how this powerful strategy can transform language learning and boost student confidence in reading.

Together, we break down the step-by-step process of Embedded Reading and discuss how it helps language learners of all levels engage with texts in a way that is meaningful, accessible, and empowering. Whether you’ve heard of Embedded Reading before or are brand new to it, this episode will give you practical strategies to bring it to life in your classroom.

We dive into proven methods to scaffold reading, build comprehension skills, and ensure all students—regardless of their proficiency level—can experience success and joy in reading.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🔹 What Embedded Reading is and why it’s a game-changer
🔹 How to create engaging, layered readings that support all learners
🔹 The difference between ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ Embedded Reading
🔹 Why this strategy builds reading stamina and language acquisition
🔹 How to differentiate for mixed-proficiency classrooms with ease
🔹 20+ classroom activities to make reading more engaging and interactive
🔹 Common challenges & how to overcome them

💡 BONUS: Get your FREE Embedded Reading guide to start experimenting with this strategy today! 👉 www.growingwithproficiency.com/podcastER

Connect with Me:

💬 Join the Growing With CI FB Community 👉 Facebook Group

📝 Read the GWP Blog 👉 www.growingwithproficiency.com/blog

📚 Shop resources on Teachers Pay Teachers 👉 TPT Store

🎓 Join the GWP Spanish Teacher Academy 👉 Academy Waiting List

💻 Comprehensible and Communicative Language Teaching Guide: Click here to download now.

Resources Mentioned:

📥 Free Embedded Reading Guide: www.growingwithproficiency.com/podcastER
📅 Sign up for the Embedded Reading Webinar: tinyurl.com/webinarER
📖 More on reading strategies:

• Episode 84: Dr. Stephen Krashen on Reading & Language Acquisition
• Episode 51: Pre, During & Post-Reading Activities for Maximum Comprehension

Connect with Laurie Clarcq & Michele Whaley:

🌍 Website: www.embeddedreading.com
📷 Instagram: @embeddedreading
📘 Facebook: Embedded Reading Community

Meet with Laurie and Michele at CI Beginnings conference in Oregon this summer

🎧 Loved This Episode? Let’s Keep the Conversation Going!

💡 Have questions about Embedded Reading? Drop them in the comments or DM me on Inst

This teacher guide, available in English and Spanish, will give you clarity about how our students acquire the language and develop proficiency and the shifts I made to move from a traditional approach to a more comprehensible and communicative teaching approach.

Click here to download now https://growing-with-proficiency.mykajabi.com/teacherguide