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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.

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

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

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Every world language teacher knows the power of music — but how do we move beyond karaoke Fridays and make songs truly comprehensible and meaningful for our learners? 🎵

In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, host Claudia Elliott sits down with veteran teacher and blogger Kara Jacobs to unpack how she turns authentic songs and music videos into acquisition-rich, culture-centered units. Together, they explore how to create stories around songs, use visuals to support comprehension, and design lessons that engage both novice and heritage learners.

You’ll learn:

• How to choose songs that are compelling, not just grammatically useful
• Simple ways to make authentic music accessible for every proficiency level
• How “triple input” — audio, visual, and text — boosts comprehension

Why translation and storytelling can deepen students’ cultural connectionWhether you teach Spanish, French, or any other language, this episode will leave you inspired to use music as a powerful tool for communication and connection in your classroom.

🎧 Tune in, take notes, and start making songs comprehensible!
Subscribe to Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast wherever you listen, and join a community of teachers transforming language classes through acquisition, proficiency, and culture.

Resources:

Free resources created by Kara Jacobs

Acquire & Inspired PD Opportunity with Kara and AnneMarie Chase. Details are available HERE.

Growing With Proficiency The Blog
Growing With Proficiency The Spanish Teacher Academy Waitlist
Growing With Proficiency TPT Store
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There’s never a bad time of the year for a good game. Whether it’s November, May, or that wild week before a break — a well-chosen game can transform your classroom energy and boost your students’ confidence to use Spanish.

In this re-release of one of the most-loved episodes of Growing With Proficiency, the Podcast, I sit down with Christina Margiore, a high-school Spanish teacher from Long Island (you might know her as @supersenora), to talk about how she uses games to lower the affective filter and get students speaking — authentically, joyfully, and without fear.

Christina shares four classroom-tested games that help students forget their nerves and start communicating:

🎯 Taboo with a twist — students describe in Spanish, no acting, no English, building real circumlocution skills.

💬 Heads Up! — small-group chaos that gets every student talking at once (and loving it).

🕵️‍♀️ Guess Who – ¿Quién es quién? — the childhood favorite reborn for practicing questions, adjectives, and cultural knowledge.

✍️ Collaborative Story Writing — creative writing meets competition, perfect for transitions or Fridays.

🌟 Big Takeaways

• Games are not just fillers — they can be powerful tools for output and confidence.
• When students play, they can naturally produce language, take risks, and forget they’re using target language.
• You don’t need dozens of new games — just master a few that work, and repeat them with variations.
• Building fun and community in class keeps students motivated all year long.

💌 Bonus Freebie: Grab the Language Booster Tool Christina and I created to help your students keep using Spanish outside the classroom → Download here

Growing With Proficiency The Blog
Growing With Proficiency The Spanish Teacher Academy Waitlist
Growing With Proficiency TPT Store
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