As we gear up for a new school year, many of us are filled with excitement… and stress. We’re passionate about our students, committed to using the target language in class, and constantly trying to create engaging lessons rooted in second language acquisition (SLA) research. But often, we do it all at the expense of our well-being. Sound familiar?
This blog post kicks off a four-part summer series focused on building sustainable growth in your world language classroom.
Today, we’re diving deep into the first episode of Growing With Proficiency, the Podcast, where I outline the 3 essential pillars (plus a bonus!) for creating a class that runs on clarity, connection, and joy, not exhaustion.
Why Sustainability Matters
Here’s the truth: if we can’t sustain a strategy or approach in our teaching, that strategy is not truly effective. Even the most exciting or research-backed method won’t work long-term if it leaves us depleted.
When we’re exhausted, we can’t support our students or ourselves in the way we want to.
Sustainability isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation of impactful, human-centered teaching.
At the end of last year, I received a letter from a student who noticed how much energy I poured into our class. He said, “I hope you also take time for yourself because we all benefit most when you are well.” Wow. That stuck with me.
It reminded me: our students do notice when we’re running on empty. And we teach best when we’re well. So this year, my word is sustainability. Let’s grow—without burning out.
Before the Pillars: Context Matters
One essential idea that shapes everything else is this: your context matters.
Your students, your teaching load, your schedule, your class sizes, your curriculum expectations—they all shape what is possible. For example:
- I teach in a public inner-city school in Florida with an IB and AP program.
- My class sizes range from low 20s to 35+.
- I have a few heritage speakers but not a majority.
- I’ve been in my school and classroom for years, with strong admin support.
If your reality looks different, adjust strategies to work for you. Replicating what you saw online without adapting it can lead to frustration. Context shapes practice.
Pillar 1: Routines with Consistent Expectations
Routines are the backbone of a sustainable classroom. They:
- Reduce cognitive load
- Provide structure
- Deliver optimal input regularly
A strong routine can cover activities that focus on all three modes of communication:
- Interpersonal: calendar talk, weekend chats, student check-ins
- Interpretive: free voluntary reading, read-alouds, listening tasks
- Presentational: free writes
Structure your week with routines that rotate but repeat:
- Monday/Tuesday/Thursday: Free Voluntary Reading (8-10 min)
- Wednesday: Star Student Interview
- Friday: Free Write or Read Aloud
Add small interpersonal routines like check-ins or calendar talk daily. Use routines to scaffold target language use and reinforce classroom management through consistency.
And remember: routines aren’t time-wasters. They provide compelling and comprehensible input that supports language acquisition.
Introducing Routines: Go Slow to Go Far
One big shift I made: slowing down to introduce routines. I used to rush them, and when they didn’t work, I dropped them. Now, I introduce one at a time, explaining:
- The purpose of the routine
- The steps and expectations
- How it connects to language growth
When I launched Free Voluntary Reading, I spent two whole classes setting it up. Result? My most successful reading routine ever.
Model. Practice. Revisit. That’s how routines stick.
If you want to know more about my routine, click here to read about How to Plan For A 90-Minute Class.
Pillar 2: Relationships Before Content
First impressions matter. If students feel safe, valued, and seen from day one, they engage more and tend to be more patient with themselves and with us.
In world language classes, students are asked to be vulnerable:
- Guess meaning
- Share personal info
- Take risks in front of peers
So, prioritize connection:
- Greet them by name
- Follow up on their interests
- Use routines like weekend chats to learn about them
And when you’re using the routines, show authentic curiosity in their lives. For example, if a student shares they went to a concert, follow up with curiosity. Asking follow-up questions and connecting with their class will make your students feel seen.
For more on building connections in your class, click here.
Pillar 3: Planning with a Framework
If routines are 50% of your class, the other 50% is your unit. That planning deserves a solid framework too.
Inside the Spanish Teacher Academy and Crescendo Curriculum, I use the From Input to Output framework, grounded in SLA:
- Start with Input: All units begin with input (text, story, clip, image, etc.) before output.
- Keep Input Comprehensible and Compelling: Rich, just-above-level content that hooks students.
- Support Output: Scaffolded speaking/writing using sentence frames, word banks, or visuals.
- Center Communication: Begin with meaningful conversations, not grammar points.
Ask yourself three questions:
- What is the communicative anchor of this unit?
- What high-frequency structures will support that?
- What will students do at the end (including comprehension goals)?
For example if you need to teach a unit about clothing, think about an essential question that can help you anchor the unit. Your communicative anchor might be: “How does what we wear reflect who we are?”
In the unit related to clothing in the Creciendo Curriculum, we read about “las cholitas escaladoras” who climb mountains in traditional skirts. We are using a lot of vocabulary related to clothing to learn about the importance of clothing for the identity of las cholitas. Language is used to explore identity, not just to label items.
If you have a curriculum or textbook, you don’t need to just discard that and build something new. You can adjust what you have using those questions. And if you want to know more, check out Episode 51 about Reimagining Textbooks for Comprehensible and Communicative Language Teaching.
Ready to Build Your Sustainable Year?
This episode is just the start. The next three episodes in the summer series will dive into:
- Planning your year with sustainability in mind
- How to prioritize during teacher planning days
- Why teaching students about proficiency and acquisition is a game-changer
Want more support? The Spanish Teacher Academy is reopening with a 7-day free trial on July 7. Inside, you’ll find:
- A mini-course on SLA, and the Pillars.
- A training about how to plan for your class.
- The first unit of the Novice A Crescendo Curriculum (“Conociéndonos”)
- And a behind-the-scenes look at everything we offer
Get on the waitlist at growingwithproficiency.com/academy
Let’s Keep Growing
If this helps you breathe a little deeper and feel more excited (not overwhelmed) about going back to school, please leave a review or share with a teacher friend.
Here’s to a year of routines that run smoothly, relationships that matter, and planning that doesn’t leave you exhausted.
Con corazón y cafecito,
Claudia
