Donna may very well be one of the ‘best kept secrets’ of the world of Language Acquisition. Even most of those close to her have no idea that underneath the encouraging teacher or the fun loving Jazzercise® instructor that they see on the outside, is a well-respected, seasoned presenter. Donna is invigorated by being involved in the process through which people acquire language. She is inspired when helping adults and students of all ages better understand second-language acquisition and communication.
Donna presents workshops and teaches French during her summer hiatus. She has served as a language-lab teacher and session presenter at iFLT, led beginning and advance workshops at the National TPRS® Conference, and has also taught French for Fluency Fast. Her incomparable sense of humor makes her one of our most entertaining Fluency Fast teachers according to her students. Donna also has a heart for Haiti, and has visited the country multiple times to encourage and instruct the English teachers on how to use CI in their classrooms.
”When a fellow teacher comes up to you and says, “You helped me stay in the classroom.” It is very rewarding.
Donna Tatum-JohnsMaking Language Come Alive
”...The linguistic system is implicit. We do not think about breathing, we just breathe. When we have a typical conversation, we do not think about communicating, we just communicate.
Dr. Stephen KrashenLinguist
8 Reasons to Book Donna
Audiences Love Her
All of her audiences, whether students or teachers, enjoy learning from Donna. In fact, they have so much fun, that they forget that they are even learning.
Still in the Trenches
Donna knows what the day to day life as a french teacher is like. She is alongside you in the teacher trenches working with students every single day, and still loving it!
Compelling Storytelling
You will be drawn in as Donna uses the art of storytelling to both train and encourage teachers in her audience to develop this skill for use in their own classrooms.
Transparency & Authenticity
Donna connects with her audience through personal stories and openly shares from her own struggles and daily experiences. Still in the classroom, she understands the challenges teachers face daily.
Encouragement & Motivation
Her audience leaves feeling empowered to go back to their classrooms with a new love for language acquisition and belief in their own ability to help their students succeed.
Continued Support
Donna is an incredible resource for future support and can point the way to valuable materials to continue developing skills. Her work is all about people and communication.
Heart for Haiti
Her work goes beyond the corners of our small English-speaking world. Donna has spent time during her summers training Haitian teachers who live and teach in difficult conditions that any American teacher would find challenging.
Worldwide Vision
Donna recognizes that #1 – the world needs to be multilingual, and #2 – teachers need CI training in order to be most successful. She is compelled to get her message out there.