The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-02-06
Teaching Foreign Idea
to Think in English
Tongue
LESSONS IN LANGUAGE
American Citizenship Univer-
sal Ambition Of Aliens Who
Go TO Night School


night school Nmoricanizdtion class
apswcr tho question put to him the
other uight by his teacher MrH /.
VI. Dodge. Thcrcupou D. dcyolHDl
upon the teacher tu oNplaiu that
ctcry one might have work ana
thcro would still bo the uocogaitr Tor
courts in tho Land. Tho discussion
evoked the word pardon aud in
defining It, a Nuetiau jow. ono OF
thc advanced members ~ the class
insofar as his grasp ot th" mean
irg OF English ls concerned. urod
hc question.
'Nnl Dcha hr pardoucd
Tho question had not 49, set hc"n
definitely sotllcd BY President VII
son h.mscifD
" 10 a. melting poi q medium
through which thc government
socks to solve iN immigration prob
lom and Tulsa 10 weld together its
component part, thia night class
whose members, thr"u times n week,
struggle with tho iu'ricacics Of The
English language and through iH
devious channels sock to learn the
prerequisites Of citizenship In these
United states to which they have
como IN search ut homes and hap
pincsg.
FROM Many Chimes.
IN the first desk In q row sits an
alert looking Greek, who with his
fellow couutryman across the aisle
finds II difficult TO acClimatc
tongue accustomed 10 twist ite"f
about Greek verbs. 10 the strange
Sounds of tho English language. Be-
hind him, very blonde and very
uuict. sits slender youth from llol-
land. he is well dressed. he uses
silver poucil ~ he worbs, his whole
dcmoanor indicates good breeding
but he IL having hard timo Just
now with the quccr-looknE ana
sounding words which he must mas
ter before he can miuglc and talk
intclligcntly with those who are TO
10 his now cuuutrymcn. The huI'
frame uf tho dark -skinucd Polo sit
ting next him Is u tight III for the
Iiitlc desk, the big face bcncn III the
stubblc of black hair strcakcd with
gray Is impassiNc, Another native
az that troublc-torn little country
sits across the aialc from him. JUST
nov he IN very happy, bccnuH" his
wife and child, aftCr years Of separ-
tion, are On their way over mere
from Poland. just before the war
ended. he received picture OF
them; Mrs. Dodge, when he told h'r
Of IT. asked II they had chhngod'
At first ho couldn't speak, th'n
chokcd with emotion, ne told nor
They're just skin and bone. 100
hind him Is the Russian jew. who
iA rapidly assimilating American
idcas and In the PROCESS Is In dan
.cr of being scorchcd with tho doc
trlncS prevalent just now In the
country from which he came.
Tho hating English OF the sean
dinuyian member blocks his eager
u.fort to express in that language
his growing understanding "f the
probIcms the class IN studying, the
,Iuict Dane across from him SAYS hut
little, but when he docs speak, II !"
casy to believe. In spite ot inc
oiIaintncss OF his strongly accented
English, that he has had two years
ol study IN Danish university.
The other night they were read
ing. palustakiugly and with many
Stops to acquire the right accent Tor
s,rango new words, the arucIc on
papCr clothes In recent issue VI
one OF their tcNtbcoka. tho Literary
lnItat. Its use. ,usures \ duunl'
lvssuu--thcy learn English, ana lh'
meaning of the words hy tn" con
l.
broadening their mental horizon pS
Accepting IN touch. as % "a dirlCnl'
. for them to do. handicapped as ihoS
are, with current events
Struggling with English' =.
'srhis English Language ono OF
t1he class wrote to Mrs. Dodge dur
sins vacation, lis something te'''-
bic"
few battles with the various
accommodations, for instance, or su'h
word. as rough dough
slough, plough cough, ana
others similarly involved, or Slrug %
gle TO define except SO thal
non English speaking class can uh'
derstand It, will give some inlnt lu'a
of what the members or the V,''9
and their teacher are up hsa'hS'
AS regards the Kings EnSHSh'
About 3 o'clock four French poo
Mic. TWO women and Two men, VINO
,,,,c nvcr with ono OF Tulsa 's
wealthy families last June ana are
so,-vauts I'm their house. came IN.
Zach of thcm carried q primer, ana
slowly. like children. they read iho
simpIy wordcd sentences. ffcVurnl-
lv Mrs. Dodge stopped hoW' Tor
while they could read 'u' l.nS lHl
wards. they had no idea, moro ui'rh
tbuu not what they meant one OF
Tho French teachers al trn'raI n"H
volunteered her Own, and the srrN
icos of pupils OF hers 10 help th,H,
french memhcrs OF tho class h''
started, Mrs. Dodge said the other
day. and their help vii simplify TINS
particular problem,
I,or lessons In ciNiys, Mrs. Dodge
uses the government textbook
whose contents, however 10 is often
necessary to reduce to simpler terms
i'm order that her class may better
understand IT, Principles OF gov
,rnment, its departments 'hew OPP
Grafton. the meaning ot citizenship
how to Votc--al these things ana
nany more are taught tho class
81 think perhaps said the panS'
after class, and with twinkle IN th'
blue cyus behind the spect'eles
1--WE learn many things here grow !
Americans sometimes DO not know
Intense AmcriCantsp,
One night last fall before me e'eC
ton one member OF the "lhss re
ported that he had been otI'r'a
price for his vote, ,.
Il say he told his listeners ina
] am not an American 'Itl@'h y''
hat when l am. I do not soil