Shows
The ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 161 - Announcement + Big News About the RoadmapToday’s episode is short, sweet, and exciting! I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes update and big news about the ESL Teacher Roadmap.Whether you're new to the ESL Teaching Podcast or you’ve been listening since day one, this quick episode is for you. I’ll walk you through a few upcoming changes, a big shift I’ve been planning, and how it will impact the content, resources, and support available to ESL teachers just like you.If you’ve ever wished there was a clear, practical path to follow as an EL teacher - one that bal...2025-07-0107 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 159 - What to Do When a Newcomer Walks Through Your Door: The First 30 DaysYou’re in the middle of your school day when the front office calls: “You’re getting a new student tomorrow. They don’t speak any English.” Cue the racing heart and rising questions. In this episode, I’m sharing exactly what to do during those critical first 30 days after a newcomer walks into your classroom. Whether you're an ESL teacher or a classroom teacher supporting English learners, you’ll leave this episode with clarity and calm.Show Notes:Episode 159 - What to Do When a Newcomer Walks Through Your Door: The First 30 Days Simply I...2025-06-1719 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 158 - What They Wish You Knew: Muslim Students in the ClassroomI’m joined today by Farhana N. Shah - an experienced educator, instructional specialist, and advocate for Muslim students. Farhana brings over two decades of expertise in teaching, professional development, and equity work. Together, we explore what real inclusion looks like for Muslim students in today’s classrooms.Farhana shares powerful stories and actionable tips for educators: how to build trust with students from diverse backgrounds, how to honor religious and cultural practices like Ramadan and Eid, and why visibility and empathy matter more than ever. Whether you're new to supporting Muslim learners or want to deepen your...2025-06-1044 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 157 - Here is Why You're Drained (or Energized) by TeachingHave you ever walked out of your classroom at the end of the day feeling completely drained by teaching, even when everything went “according to plan”? Or maybe you’ve had days where tossing the plan aside and following your gut left you feeling more energized by teaching than ever before. What’s really going on? In this episode, we dive deep into why you’re sometimes drained (or energized) by teaching, and how understanding your unique teaching energy can help you work with your natural rhythm, set better boundaries, and recover from those exhausting weeks.Show N...2025-06-0328 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 156 - The Hidden Key to Engagement: Learning Rhythms You've Probably Never ConsideredIn today's episode, we're talking and taking a closer look at what I call five learner energy profiles. These aren't learning styles per se in the traditional sense. They are patterns that I've seen over and over again. Patterns that help explain why some students engage instantly, why some stay quiet for months, and how we can meet all of them where they are. We're going to explore how each learner shows up, what they need to thrive, and how small shifts in your teaching approach can make a big difference, not just in academics, abundant connection and confidence...2025-05-2720 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 155 - How to use AI to Personalize Learning, Boost Engagement and Assess Multilingual Learners (Part 2)In part one, we covered the why behind using AI in the classroom, how to craft effective prompts, and two smart ways to use it to differentiate instruction and generate speaking and writing prompts based on proficiency levels. And today, we're picking right up where we left off with tips three through five, where I will walk you through how to use AI to personalize learning experiences based on your students' needs, interests, and cultures, create engaging content and classroom activities that reinforce language in fun and low prep ways, and how to design quick and effective assessments and...2025-05-2026 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 154 - Smarter Planning for ELs: AI Prompting & Differentiation Made Easy (Part 1)In this episode, we’re exploring a topic that’s generating a lot of buzz in the world of education - AI. Whether you’re excited, skeptical, or simply overwhelmed by all things AI, I want to break down exactly how tools like ChatGPT can be a game-changer for EL teachers and classroom educators working with multilingual students. Planning, differentiating, and scaffolding for English learners takes a ton of work, but what if AI could save you time and help you create more meaningful, engaging content without losing your unique teaching touch? In this first part of this special two-pa...2025-05-1324 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 153 - 5 Must-Know Tips for New EL TeachersOne of my favorite things about connecting with teachers is hearing your questions. Whether it's navigating a tricky teaching moment or figuring out where to start with English learners. And while each situation is unique, so many of your questions echo the same themes, especially from those of you who are new EL teachers. If you are stepping into the EL world for the first time, transitioning from a general education role or newly certified in figuring out what this all looks like in real life, this episode is for you. And since spring is often a time when...2025-05-0620 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 152 - 5 Simple Wins for the Days You’re Just DoneLet’s get real about those exhausting days when lesson planning feels impossible and burnout lurks around every corner…especially as the end of the school year approaches. In this episode, I open up about my own struggles with low energy and share my solution: an “emergency lesson folder” packed with simple, engaging activities that spark student energy and make teaching easier when you’re running on empty. From creative listening and speaking tasks to easy yet effective writing prompts (including clever uses of social media) these activities are low-prep, fun, and work across all four language domains. Whether your stude...2025-04-2918 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 151 - The Big 5: Key Pillars of EL Inclusion in Mainstream ClassroomsWhen it comes to teaching English learners, there's no question that EL specialists are trained to meet their unique language and learning needs. But what about regular classroom teachers, the ones juggling 25 different needs in one room and suddenly faced with students who speak little or no English? It can feel overwhelming, confusing, and even a little bit lonely at times. That's why I wanted to share this episode with you, the key pillars of EL inclusion. Whether you are an EL teacher looking to support your colleagues or a general educator who wants to do right by the...2025-04-2218 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 150 - Rooted in Success: 5 Reasons to Teach Greek & Latin Roots in Any ClassroomToday's episode is all about building vocabulary in a powerful and lasting way. We're diving into something that often gets overlooked, Greek and Latin root words. I am so excited because we have a special guest joining us who's incredibly passionate about this topic. My dear friend, Laura Kebart from Language Arts Teachers is on the podcast today again and sharing with us five compelling reasons why it's absolutely worth your time and energy to teach root words and how this one strategy can open up a world of understanding for your students no matter their language background. 2025-04-1533 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 149 - Why Social-Emotional Learning Matters Just as Much as AcademicsThe world needs emotional intelligence. We need emotional intelligence. Our students need emotional intelligence. Intellectual knowledge is great, but by itself, it wreaks havoc, as without emotional depth and experiences, we're not able to engage in meaningful conversations, discussions, learning, and problem solving. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about why social-emotional learning matters just as much as academics. The intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence, EQ and IQ, and how the two of them work together to help students learn and become well rounded adults who are able to communicate productively in any situation....2025-04-0818 minThe ESL Teaching PodcastEpisode 148 - How to Teach ELs When You Don't Speak Their LanguageYou just found out you have English learners in your classroom, but you don't speak their language. Now what? Should you Google translate your entire lesson? Mime your way through the day? Don't worry. You don't have to speak their language to be an effective and impactful teacher. In today's episode, we're going to talk about the mindset shift that will take some pressure off your shoulders, practical strategies that make your teaching more accessible, and even a few stories from my own classroom to prove that you really don't need to speak another language to be an amazing...2025-04-0119 min