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We all want our students to acquire the language. We also want them to read it and, eventually, write it. But are we teaching them how to become readers and writers in the target language?

That’s what I discuss with Dr. Lara Bryfonski in this episode. Lara is a professor at Georgetown University and coauthor of The Art and Science of Language Teaching. Together, we explore why developing literacy and acquiring a language are different processes—and how we can support both in our classrooms.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why we cannot always assume that students’ reading and writing skills in their first language will transfer automatically to the language we teach.
• How to find out what support students need when they read.
• What to do before, during, and after reading to help students make sense of a text.
• How to show students what they can do when they reach a word or paragraph they don’t understand.
• Why writing needs time for brainstorming, drafting, feedback, and revision.
• How to teach useful peer feedback, even when you have a large class.

One thing surprised me during our conversation: I was already using some of these strategies. Understanding how they help students develop literacy skills made me want to name and model them more intentionally.

If you’ve ever finished reading with your class, looked at the comprehension questions, and wondered, How do I actually help my students become better readers?—grab your cafecito ☕️ and join us. This conversation gave me tools I can use in my next lesson.

MORE FROM GROWING WITH PROFICIENCY

• Follow me on Instagram: @claudiamelliott
• Read the Blog
• Growing With Proficiency on Teachers Pay Teachers
• Join the waitlist for Growing With Proficiency: The Spanish Teacher Academy

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

Subscribe to Growing With Proficiency — The Podcast so you don’t miss our next conversation. If this episode helps you, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more world language teachers find the show. 🎙️

Gracias for listening. ❤️

Profe de español,

Bring five fascinating, comprehensible Latin American legends into your classroom for free. Grab your copy at growingwithproficiency.com/leyendas.

Profe de español,

Grab this free resource and bring into your classroom 5 fascinating and comprehensible leyendas Latinoamericanas.

Go to growingwithproficiency.com/leyendas to grab your free copy.

Send us Fan Mail

A student threw her backpack on the floor and said loudly, “I hate this class. I hate everything about this class.” More than once.

Everything inside of me wanted to react. I wanted to defend myself, my class, and all the work I put into creating a space where students feel successful.

But I didn’t.

In this episode, I’m taking you inside what happened next, the framework that helped me respond without escalating the situation, and the private conversation that followed. We’ll talk about what we can do when a student’s frustration becomes disruptive: regulate ourselves first, have the conversation privately, set the boundary, give students better options for communicating what they feel, and then release.

But this experience also revealed a blind spot I didn’t expect.

I care deeply about my students feeling connected, confident, and successful in my classroom. But somewhere along the way, I had started watching this student a little too closely—hoping she would smile, laugh, participate differently, and eventually love the class.

And that made me ask myself a much harder question:

Do our students need to enjoy our class in order to belong in it?

This episode is about classroom management, yes. But it’s also about us—our triggers, our expectations, and what difficult moments with students can teach us about ourselves when we’re willing to look.

Grab your cafecito ☕️, your mate, or just take me with you on your drive to school. This is a conversation I think we need to have.

MORE FROM GROWING WITH PROFICIENCY

• Follow me on Instagram: @claudiamelliott
• Blog
• Growing With Proficiency on Teachers Pay Teachers
• Join the waitlist for Growing With Proficiency: The Spanish Teacher Academy

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe to Growing With Proficiency — The Podcast and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your support helps more world language teachers find the podcast and join these conversations. 🎙️

Gracias for listening. ❤️

Profe de español,

Grab this free resource and bring into your classroom 5 fascinating and comprehensible leyendas Latinoamericanas.

Go to growingwithproficiency.com/leyendas to grab your free copy.

Send us Fan Mail

What if one strategy could give your students more comprehensible input, more repetition, more writing, AND more opportunities to think and contribute?

In this episode, we're talking about teacher-led collaborative writing, also known as Write & Discuss, shared writing, or joint construction. It's one of those strategies that can do a LOT without requiring a lot of prep.

I break down how I use it before, during, and after writing—and some small changes I'm making this year that are making it even more effective.

A few takeaways:

• Why Write & Discuss is especially powerful with large and mixed-level classes
• How a quick brain dump or retrieval activity BEFORE writing can prepare students to contribute
• When to co-create freely and when to choose one intentional language move
• How to use proficiency targets to decide what to model
• How tasking instead of asking can keep more students actively involved
• What to do AFTER you create the text, including choral reading, comprehension activities, and retrieval writing
• How to use a disappearing text variation with less experienced learners

You don't need to do all of these things every time. Choose what your students need, make the strategy work for your classroom, and keep coming back to the language.

Resources & Episodes Mentioned:

• Episode 204 with Ben Fisher-Rodriguez — We talk about Write & Discuss with a specific focus on using pop-up grammar during the process.
• Mike Peto — The educator I originally learned Write & Discuss from.
• Blog
• Growing With Proficiency on Teachers Pay Teachers
• Join the waitlist for Growing With Proficiency: The Spanish Teacher Academy

Profe de español,

Grab this free resource and bring into your classroom 5 fascinating and comprehensible leyendas Latinoamericanas.

Go to growingwithproficiency.com/leyendas to grab your free copy.