Brooks House Tutors Greek Sailors With New Five Month Course in Basic English

Three juniors from the College are giving instruction in English to a group of Greek sailors, under the administration of the undergraduate faculty of Phillips Brooks House.

The first class of the five-month course was held Tuesday night in the Central Square Y.M.C.A. Twenty-four sailors attended, and 200 more are expected to take part in the program before it is finished.

Tentative plans call for weekly meetings of the group until the sailors return home next spring. They are also currently receiving instruction in naval science at the Boston Navy Yard.

P. B. H. to the Rescue

The visiting Greeks, finding it hard to get along in the Boston area without knowing English, advised the Army-Navy Y.M.C.A. of their difficulties, and P.B.H. was called in. The men conducting the course are Nicolas A. Yankepoules '52, James Collias '52, and Charles Xintaras '52.

Tuesday night's gathering was divided into elementary and advanced sections when it was learned that some of the visitors knew basic English while others couldn't ask the way to a subway station. Yankepoules said they needed more instructors so the groups could be smaller, and thus better instructed.

Simple Nouns

The beginners were exposed to some basic principles with simple nouns and a few sentences, while the advanced section conducted informal conversation in English after seeing a movie and listening to language records.

Impressions of the United States were hard to get--even from those in the advanced class--but the general impression the mariners managed to get across was that Americans are friendly while being intensely practical. They seemed impressed by the rapid pace of living and the large scale on which things are done in this country.