In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I’m joined by three brilliant educators—Donna Tatum-Johns, Justin Slocum Bailey, and Erika Peplinski-Burge—for a real, honest, and insightful conversation straight from the heart of CI Mitten.
Together, we answer 6 of the most common questions world language teachers ask, like:
🎯 How can I get my upper-level students to actually speak in class?
🧠 How do I juggle multiple preps without burning out?
🎭 What if I’m tired of feeling like a performer?
🧩 How do I support neurodiverse learners in a CI classroom?
🤝 What if my department isn’t on board with CI?
🌍 How can we advocate for our programs when cuts are everywhere?
You'll leave with tangible strategies, mindset shifts, and a deep reminder that you’re not alone in this work. 💛
Whether you’re new to CI or a seasoned teacher, this episode is packed with inspiration, practical ideas, and lots of love for our community.
Resources:
Stuff You Should Know
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!