Must-Listen Podcasts to improve your CI skills

Truth be told: Prior to this school year, I had never been “a podcast person.” I lived through my twenties, during what I would call a boom of podcasts, not ever listening to one entirely. I tried… but I never wanted to just sit and listen when I truly just preferred to read. People told me, they recommended, etc, but there was never really a topic that pulled me in.

*Photo from:* https://infromtheoutpost.com/in-between-instagram-getting-around-peru-quinn/

On top of it, in Peru (which was mostly my twenties) I didn’t have a car, but I did have an awfully long commute: 1.5 – 2 hours in little combis. For reference, I’ve included a photo below… put that into the context of my height of 6’1: back problems for years! If you’ve ever been to Peru, or countries who also use these little buses as public transport, you experienced the collective struggle, and you also are aware of the possibility to get pick pocketed. Thus, I never had a cell phone nice enough to listen to podcasts on my long commute even if I wanted to.

Then, about five years ago, I moved back to the U.S. I moved to the suburbs of Chicago. I got a job that has a 30 minute commute. I now have a car. Slowly but surely, podcasts have crept into my repertoire and have now become an absolute staple. I have become totally enganchado (hooked).

I’ve enjoyed engaging, even if it is from a listening standpoint, in the CI community from all over the world. I know I am becoming a better teacher thanks to the amazing ideas, knowledge and encouragement from these voices in the CI teaching community. I’ve realized that podcasts are becoming my bridge to stay motivated and keep going in between conferences–and, seeing as you can listen for free, they are a lot more affordable than other PD opportunities out there (although consider supporting your podcast hosts if able!).

So, here are five (well, potentially six) highly recommended podcasts to get you thinking and improve your teaching.

#1. Need practical tips mixed with some theory? Check out Dr. Liam Printer’s The Motivated Classroom podcast. I enjoy this podcast from my personal standpoint because I seem to align very well with what Liam does in his classroom. I’ve gained lots of ideas, and motivation, from him and his guests. I know his podcast is centered around motivating his students, but it’s quite motivating for teachers as well! My favorite episodes include:

Episode 108: Story Listening with Dr. Beniko Mason and Alice Ayel
Episode 110: Story Listening: Lessons from classroom perspectives with Cécile Lainé
Episode 124: Using a CI approach to boost motivation, acquisition and inclusion (Tina Abour, Grant Boulanger)

#2. Are you new to CI and/or need to adapt textbook curriculum to fit your (student) needs? I find Joshua Cabral’s podcast The World Language Classroom very friendly to both CI and new to CI teachers. My recommended episodes:

Episode 170 Calendar Talk. So many ideas thanks to guest John Sifert. Total transparency, I suck at Calendar Talk and it has been a goal this year to get better, keep trying, try new approaches. This really boosted my confidence and got the creative wheels turning.
Episode 164 Grammar in Context. I am at a school currently that gives grammar quizzes, so I’ve been hungry for ways to do this in context so my students can at least survive those quizzes.

#3. Challenge yourself to think critically and check out Armando Bochinche podcast by Adriana Ramírez and Margarita Pérez García. It was an absolute pleasure to hear Adriana Ramírez speak at Comprehensible Midwest 2024 as a keynote, but also in her workshops at the conference. She has a knack for coming off so personable and knowledgeable right away, so it was easy to learn from her. Check out my previous blog post where I share about some takeaways from her presentation.

This is a different type of podcast from the ones listed above, as it is less about practical tips and much more about teacher reflection on our identities, our decisions, our biases, etc., and how that influences instruction (and thus, our students). This podcast is entirely in Spanish.

Episodes that I must highlight, which all go hand in hand:

I haven’t made my way through the lastest published episodes, but judging by their topics and guests, they look quite promising. My next one to play will be ¿La cultura vende?

Side note, both Adriana and Margarita write graded readers for students, which they talk about at length in the podcast. Consider adding their titles to your classroom library, if you haven’t already.

#4. Want to listen to two more incredibly bright people just talk about anything related to language acquisition? Check out Dr. Diane Neubauer and Dr. Reed Rigg’s Conversations about Language Teaching. This is, what I would call, a more laid back, open ended podcast–less bells and whistles than others, but honestly, who needs that anyways. I like the relaxed nature of the discussion and hearing perspectives from non-Spanish teachers. We Spanish teachers seem to dominate conferences and it’s refreshing just to hear discussions on cultural perspectives/products/etc about another culture, in this case, Chinese culture.

An episode to get you thinking:

Season 3, Episode 16 Using Authentic Texts. I am at a school that is very authentic text heavy, which doesn’t align well with my approach for novice level learning. I needed this info to get me re-thinking authentic texts and what the definition actually is.

I’m also not sure in what episode I heard Diane discuss how she considers herself bicultural, but that concept really got me thinking. I’ve never included that in my identity, but I’ve often felt confused on how to express the fact that yes, I am a white woman, but I know a heck of a lot about Peruvian culture after 10 years there and my life still here in the US mostly operates in Spanish (which, I’m aware knowing a language does not equate to cultural competency). I’m even a Peruvian citizen. So… can I comfortably call myself bicultural? Maybe.

#5. OK, full disclosure I haven’t had time to listen to this one more than in snippets, but… I know the quality of work by Claudia Elliot so I am confident in recommending the Growing with Proficiency podcast. I have heard her guest speak on so many different podcasts, read her blog which outlines many episodes, etc. She shared a great idea of “truth or lie” (which is not 2 truths and a lie) which provides so much input. That idea I heard on the Motivated Classroom, but now I’ll be listening in more intently to Growing with Proficiency.