Hello everyone! My name is Natasha Raman and I'm a freshman at Dartmouth. Although I'm undecided on my major, I am leaning towards something related to government, economics, and Asian studies. In my free time, I like to watch The Office, keep up with current events, learn new languages, and hang out with my friends. I am excited to explore my interests at Dartmouth and take advantage of the amazing opportunities offered here!
The Rassias method is a language learning technique developed by former Dartmouth professor John Rassias in 1964. All language departments at Dartmouth have adopted this method because it makes students comfortable in a foreign language in a relatively short amount of time!
The Rassias method consists of three components: language classes, drill sessions, and a language study abroad program. After completing two to three courses in a specific foreign language, students can participate in a language study abroad program. By studying abroad, students get the opportunity to increase their fluency further and fully immerse themselves in the culture tied to that language. Although it is not required to study abroad as part of the Rassias method, many Dartmouth students look forward to the experience.
But what makes the Rassias method unique is the drill sessions. Drill sessions are intended to help students with their pronunciation through fast-paced activities focused on repetition. During the fall term of my freshman year, I attended drill sessions for my Chinese 4 class. My drill class met three times a week for an hour and was led by Eileen, an upperclassman fluent in Chinese. At first, drill sessions were quite intimidating for me. After teaching us how to pronounce a phrase, Eileen would randomly choose people in our session to repeat it. If we got it wrong, she would explain how to pronounce it correctly and ask us to go again. Sometimes, we had to do improv scenes and incorporate the vocabulary we learned during that drill session. Once I got used to the format of drill, I started to have fun. My drill class had less than ten students, so we all bonded really quickly and were supportive of each other. When the term was over, I realized how much my pronunciation had improved through these drill sessions. The Rassias method is an integral aspect of learning a foreign language at Dartmouth. By wholly embracing it, Dartmouth students like me have seen their fluency dramatically improve within only a single term.
When I entered college, I was super excited to join The Dartmouth news staff, which is, fun fact, America's oldest college newspaper. Journalism is an awesome way to grow as a writer, hear stories, work on a passionate team, and report the truth!
Although I'll be engaging in a variety of programs this summer, I wanted to first introduce the Tuck Business Bridge program, which I spent most of June partaking in!
When I was applying to colleges, I absolutely loved watching 'A Day in the Life'-style vlogs. I wanted to share what a typical Monday at Dartmouth is for me to show there is truly never a dull moment here in Hanover, New Hampshire!
I've taken nine classes (three/term) ranging from international development to education to economics. I can't believe this term will wrap up my freshman year. Come learn about my English, psychology, and math classes I'm taking this spring!
We're just past the halfway point for spring term! For this blog post, I wanted to write about my classes because 1) I'm absolutely loving them and 2) I think they are reflective of some standout strengths of the Dartmouth curriculum.
