Newark post., 1918-09-04
ENGLISH TAUGHT
TO ALIENS
Pantomime System Successful

In line With the intensive mill
tary training given our soldiers in
the training camps is the effective
method used in teaching alien SOL
diers to speak, read and write the
English language. This system,
which was prepared by DR.. Peter
Roberts, head of the industrial de-
partment of the International Y.
M. c. A., makes use of pantomime
and enables the alien to learn in
one-fifth of the time required un-
der the old systems. The new sys-
tenn was adopted at a conference
OF War Department representatives
for try-out at Camp Dix, Wrights-
town, N. ]. Nearly 1000 soldiers
are attending the schools which
have been established there for
about month. Already the results
have surpassed the expectations of
the Department for many of the
most intelligent foreigners are able
to win school diplomas in four
weeks. The method is SO success
full that it has been introduced in
to other camps. The method has
none of the childish twaddle found
in beginners school readers. In
stead of at is dog" "The apple
is good' and phrases of such order,
the course introduces list of the
most common nouns and verbs
through the teacher acting out the
sentence in pantomime.
In "Y" Tent C, which is one of
the many school centres, for in
stance, one will find Charles F.
Sleeper, former newspaper pub
Usher of Palmyra, but now acting
as an educational secretary, or one
of his assistants, acting out before
hundred or more foreigners some
domestic experience. The initial
lesson carries the pupil through
the experience of getting up in the
morning. The teacher uses a cot
to illustrate the lesson. He rises
from feigned sleep and tells the
class 81 awake from Sleep" They
repeat it after him. No matter if
there are dozen nationalities in
this class, the lesson fits them all.
No attempt is made at interpreta-
tion into their own language, and
teachers find this very act inspires
them to greater speed in. learning.
The instructor takes his class
through the other activities of get
ting out of bed and dressing. 81
open my eyes," quickly gives the
class understanding of two key
words: open" and "eyes." So it
goes through, 81 put on my stock
: ings and Shoes" 81 wash myself"
! comb my hair" etc. Again the
course differs from a child's first
! studies in that every sentence is
built on adult experience.
The lessons carry the soldier
pupils through quite a series OF
domestic experiences from build
ing fire to welcoming visitors te
4 the home. Other later series are
: based on everyday experiences in
r civilian life and a final series or
+ military training camp activities
e Officers are finding that by this
e system aliens can be assigned tc
distinctive duties and depended
4 upon to understand and carry out
e orders in as many weeks as it form
t erly took months for them to learn
: Instructors say the eagerness
t with which the majority of the
e foreigners welcome the opportun
ity to learn is almost pathetic
S Each pupil has a leafet on which
t is printed the sentence enacted by
Y the teacher. The student thus no
: only hears the words, but learns tt
n, recognize them by sight even be
fore he can spell them. On the re
verse of the sheet the sentence ap
pears in script. Teachers say tha
before the first week of thei
X schooling ends, half of the men i,
the class are exultingly endeavor
II ing to write letters to English
e speaking friends at home. Secre
S tary Sleeper tells a story that il
g typical of the earnestness of man,
II OF the soldiers in the schools.
He happened to awaken a few
e minutes before 'reveille" sounde,
% a few mornings ago, he says, an,
x glanclng through his tent door saw
= an italian sprawled upon tn