Why Choose Rassias Programs

We guess that the most common question people ask us is "What differentiates you from everyone else?" It is, after all, the essential best question to pose. This is what we believe and how we do the things we do:

We use a single method to teach—the Rassias Method®. All of our staff have extensive training in the Method. We do not subcontract our teaching to foreign universities. We insist on a consistency of application and known expertise. We also want staff who relate to teenagers. Only our people teach you.

We take great care in placing you in a host family. We get to know you as best we can before placement is made. In each city, native citizens who are personal friends help with the search for and training of our host families. We do not hire professional families. Our families are part of our team and are committed to helping you learn their culture. The family stay is an essential and integral part of acquiring a second language and learning a culture.

"Ultimately, it is your warmth, caring, concern, and sincerity that I will tell other parents about, for at the bottom line, all parents
will ultimately be most concerned with how you and your staff take care of and treat our children away from home."

- mother of Lisa, Spain

We plan a full day almost every day, but we also love fun, goofiness, and spontaneity. Nor do we ask for grades, or give homework and tests... ours is not a test, but real life... in France, in Spain, in Italy, in China, in a home stay. No matter what the age, if people are randomly dumped in a foreign city, most will seek the familiar and miss the hidden gems. So we may drag you into an old cathedral, and stun you with the awe-inspiring interior. We balance independence and structure.

For all our programs, we require that we spend some time talking together with both you and your parents, whether it be in person or on the telephone. Year in and year out, personal communication has been the best way to ensure the quality of our programs. We need to know you and you us—it is impossible to achieve the type of success that we are after if either one of us has the wrong impression of the other.

Quotes from some of our students' parents:

"You were as concerned that Howie felt the program right for him as you were that he was right for it. It all worked out so well because you do such a great screening job."

- Linda and Louis Pashman, parents of Howie, Spain

"What are the 2 or 3 most important factors in your decision to join us?"

"Your sense of sincerity and your ability to answer directly questions of parents about adolescent behaviors and your ability to manage them without stress.""

- Teresa, mom of Eliza, Arles

If one of our programs interests you, get in touch with us soon. It’s important for us to identify seriously interested students as soon as possible, since our programs are often filled by March.

We look forward to talking to you and to giving you the best summer of your life!