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This paper describes the experience of two children, native-speakers of Hebrew, in a language center in England. The language center provides a total immersion program in English for a multi-lingual population of children aged 5 to 12 years. The small-group and individualized instruction, the instructional materials and facilities, and the close attention of the teachers contribute to a favorable learning atmosphere. Another advantage of the center is the elimination of feelings of inferiority. The older child, aged 10, spent one year in the center; the other, aged 8, spent a year and a half there before going into a regular school program. The following aspects of their language study are briefly discussed: (1) the center's method of teaching the English sound system, grammar and vocabulary; (2) the children's progress in learning the language; and (3) three tests given to the children to check their linguistic competence one year after they left the center. One conclusion drawn is that the favorable learning atmosphere at the center and "full immersion" in the environment contributed to the rapid learning of English by the two children. (AMH)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert