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 "Nothing is real unless it
touches something in me and I am aware of it" - A Philosophy of Language
Instruction, 1967
"To Prof. John
Rassias, language is ritual celebration, a momentous living theatre . .
. Emotion and rhythm and movement make people remember things."
- Linell Smith, The
Baltimore Sun
John A. Rassias, the
William R. Kenan Professor and Chair of the Department of French and
Italian of Dartmouth College, is the developer of the innovative and
highly effective approach to teaching languages, known as the Rassias
Method® or the Dartmouth Intensive Language Model.
A native of Manchester, NH, Professor Rassias graduated summa cum laude
from the University of Bridgeport, and, as a Fulbright scholar, studied
at the UniversitŽ de Dijon in France, where he received his doctorate.
He also did research at the Sorbonne, studied French drama, and acted
in Paris.
In 1964, he began a long relationship with the Peace Corps language
programs, serving as Director of Language Programs at Dartmouth,
consultant and trouble-shooter for Peace Corps programs throughout the
world, and Director of the first pilot program of languages for the
Peace Corps in Africa.
He joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1965, and adapted the Rassias Method
to a new academic community in 1967. Since his approach has been
utilized by all language departments (including Chinese, French,
German, Modern Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese,
Russian, and Spanish), the number of foreign language majors has
steadily increased. This statistic stands out as a startling reversal
of the national trend in recent years of declining enrollments in
foreign language courses. Teachers in other colleges introducing the
Rassias Method report similar renewals of interest.
Rassias is a founder and former Director of Dartmouth's Language Study
Abroad program, whereby Dartmouth students may complete their language
requirements in a foreign country in the target language. Under the
Rassias Method, students learn enough of a foreign language in two
ten-week terms to be functional and go abroad for further accelerated
study in the LSA programs. For several years, he was Director of
Dartmouth's Foreign Study program aimed at students with a strong
proficiency in a foreign language who wish to further their studies
abroad.
Professor Rassias is the author of numerous articles; the publisher of
The Ram's Horn (a journal for teachers of language and culture) and
"The Rassias Connection" (a newsletter of the Rassias Foundation), as
well as the author of three text books in French and Greek. He is
completing The Unzipped Mind, a book covering different modes of
communication, a philosophy of teaching, and comparisons with
historical and mythological exemplars. Professor Rassias lectures
throughout the world to various companies and organizations. Topic
titles range from ãCommunication in a Perilous World,ä
ãOne Nation Divided by One Language,ä Love in Eighteenth
Century France,ä to ãGreek Mythology: Our Past, Present,
and Future.ä
In addition, Professor Rassias is the President of
the Rassias Foundation at Dartmouth College. The purpose of the
Foundation is to support efforts in Hanover and beyond to revitalize
foreign language teaching while using the resources of the vast network
developed through the Rassias Method. In this capacity, he conducts
methodology workshops in the United States and abroad, predominately
for teachers of second languages. These one- to five- day workshops are
held in English with teachers and professors of all languages and at
all levels of instruction.
The Foundation also offers special ten- to twelve- day intensive
language and culture courses in various languages at Dartmouth to meet
specific language requests. Some of these accelerated courses have
included Spanish for New York City Transit Police; English as a Second
Language for Japanese students; French for the northern Border Patrol;
German for IBM executives; Spanish and English for Citibank executives;
Spanish for municipal and federal law enforcement agencies, cross
cultural French and English language instruction to American and French
executives of Groupe Schneider and Square D, Russian to United States
Army officers. Longer courses are also available, and have included a
six-week course in English as a Second language for Japanese teachers,
and a six-week program in French for American students attending French
medical schools, an eight-week program in English as a Second Language
for Russian students from Moscow.
Rassias directs the successful Accelerated Language Programs (ALPs) at
Dartmouth. These courses include ten days of intensive learning through
his methods. Courses in American Sign Language (ASL), Chinese, English
as a Second Language (ESL), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Modern
Greek, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish have been offered. The system
can also accommodate groups of ten who would study any language of
their choice.
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