Growing with Proficiency The Podcast episode 109 is our first collaboration episode with the outstanding Dr. Liam Printer, host of the Motivated Classroom Podcast. In this episode, we dive into the heart of language acquisition, motivation, and community-building in the classroom.
We’re also discussing practical strategies to inspire your students, enhance comprehensible input, and create a learning environment where every student feels empowered.
Liam Elliott, an experienced language teacher and instructional coach, has been recognized for his work in motivating language learners through storytelling and has published research on the topic. You can read more about him at the end of this post in his bio.
Diverse Students
Liam and I started our conversation with his first question for me on why I started my podcast. Basically, I created my podcast to share insights from my diverse students in my public high school’s IB and AP classes. I also wanted to connect with amazing teachers such as Liam and others that I have previously had on my podcast.
As I’ve shared before in previous episodes, I also talked about my shift from traditional grammar-based teaching to acquisition-focused CI approach which I started because of the frustration I had with limited progress in my previous teaching methods. Now, my approach emphasizes comprehensible input and communication, with the goal of enabling students to use Spanish outside of the classroom.
Student Motivation
I, like many other teachers, have realized the importance of comprehensible input in language acquisition. This is why I apply research-based principles in my classes, tailoring instruction to specific students. In episode 109, Liam and I emphasize the transformative impact of using Spanish in the classroom, where students feel more confident in their abilities and can see the potential for bilingualism.
Teachers need to create a supportive learning environment where students feel competent and motivated. How do you do that? We need to understand our classes and tailor our teaching to the students’ needs, as some may require more comprehensible input due to their mindset. Students feel more confident and engaged in class when learning is more accessible and relatable.
Upper-Level Language Classes
I asked Liam about what we can do in our upper-level classes to keep the high level of comprehension, when we know that our students are going to be exposed to texts that are going to be more complex. Liam suggests gradually introducing authentic resources to upper-level students to maintain comprehension and competence.
He continued to explain how to do this gradually. Liam shared that it’s about “choosing the correct resources and gradually introducing them to things that are written or made for the target language, for the target culture, the target population, gradually and bit by bit”.
Student Behavior
Liam wanted to know if I saw any difference in my students’ behavior after providing more inputs and acquisition to my students. When I’ve reflected on classroom management issues, I realized that my students were not previously paying attention despite engaging in drills and worksheets. However, when I shifted to a comprehensible input approach, focusing on communicating with my students using language, it improved engagement and behavior.
Engagement and Community
I like to challenge myself to use more authentic language in class, prioritizing student engagement and understanding over grades. In episode 109, Liam also shares a practical tip for listeners, involving an accidental discovery of a special person interview that helped him get a particularly challenging class on board.
Links and resources!
Comprehensible and Communicative Language Education: Free Teacher Guide
Back to School Bundle for Spanish Classes
GWP Spanish Teacher Academy Waiting List
IG & Twitter: @claudiamelliott
Dr. Liam Printer
Dr. Liam Printer hosts The Motivated Classroom podcast and is currently an Instructional Coach at the International School of Lausanne in Switzerland, where he works with teachers to improve their practice. Prior to this role, Liam was the Leader of Pedagogical Innovation and Approaches to Learning at the school. Liam has been a teacher of additional languages for the past 17 years. He currently teaches Spanish and English in the middle and high school as part of the International Baccalaureate. His Motivated Classroom podcast was listed in the Top 5% of all downloaded podcasts worldwide in 2022 with over 400,000 listens to date. His Doctorate in Education focussed on motivation and teaching languages through storytelling and his research has been published in various peer reviewed journals and it has been cited over 30 times in the past 3 years in other academic research. Liam also holds a Masters in French, a Postgraduate Diploma in teaching of modern languages, a Bachelor’s degree in Business and languages, and he is currently working on a Masters in Applied Linguistics and Teaching of English. His book with Oxford Hachette publishing, on motivation and language teaching, will be published in 2025. Liam has been invited as the Keynote speaker at more than 10 international language teaching conferences and he continues to work with a wide range of schools and districts around the world on raising motivation in the language classroom. If you’d like to learn directly from Liam, check out his upcoming online workshops on his website www.liamprinter.com.
