John A. Rassias, who developed an innovative and highly effective approach to teaching languages, known as the Rassias Method, will be the keynote speaker at the 30th National Convention of Alpha Mu Gamma, the national honor society for foreign languages. The Convention, hosted by Fairfield's Eta Pi Chapter, takes place Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31, in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University, and is attracting faculty and students from 20 colleges and universities across the country.

Professor Rassias is the William R. Kenan Professor and Chair of the Department of French and Italian at Dartmouth College, where his method of teaching language has resulted in a steady increase in foreign language majors, a stark contrast to the national trend of decreasing enrollment. He has been the subject of more than 400 articles in the press, including Time Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, New York Times, Boston Globe and Newsweek Magazine, among others. He has also appeared on "60 Minutes" and "Good Morning America."

Over 25 workshops will be presented, beginning on Friday morning at 9:45 a.m. and continuing through the day until 5:00 p.m., with a break for lunch and the lecture by Professor Rassias. The workshops continue Saturday morning. Some of the topics include: "Come to the Cabaret! Add Spice and Passion to the Cultural Experience," "The Importance of Popular Music and Music Technology in German and French Literature," "Teaching French for Business with the Internet," "Distance Learning," "The Relationship between Syntax and Cognition," and "Bilingual Poetry Reading: Spanish/English."

Dr. Eileen M. Wilkinson and Adjunct Professor Angela Tauro, from Fairfield University's Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, have organized the Conference.

Posted On: 03-01-2001 09:03 AM

Volume: 33 Number: 170