About 170 foreign students have arrived at Harvard over the last few days for the four-week English as a foreign language program.

Although only 150 students were expected, Robert Biddle, program director, said that they will probably be able to handle the overflow although there are still a dozen on the waiting list. He added that there has been an "enormous amount of string pulling" from dignitaries and professors.

Students will no longer use the language lab, and the program's emphasis has shifted to "taking language skills which they have and will be acquiring and practicing them in the community," Biddle added.

After two hours of regular English each day, students can take electives including journalism, mysteries. American history, introduction to media, drama, American behavior, history of Boston and advanced writing.

Students' reasons for participating varied from just learning English to learning more about America. Santiago Becerra said he traveled from Columbia with his family because he will attend the Business School next year.

Victor Brown of West Germany said he wants "to see America, and meet other people to get different ideas for my writing (social criticism)." He also wants to compare German law, which he has been studying, to U.S. law.

One group of students' car was burglarized and Biddle said he is worried about the extremely large amounts of cash foreign students are carrying. For the most part, however, the program has not had any major problems so far, he said.

The Summer School has hired 20 college students as language counselors to help the foreign students with extracurricular activities or career interests. It is their responsibility to help students find people who they can talk to, in English, about their interests.

While the majority of the students are in college, ages range from "16 to gray hair." Biddle said.

This year more people come from South America and Europe than in the last two years, as well as quite a few from Asia, Biddle said.

Yesterday counselors tried to acquaint the foreign students with their surroundings by taking them to banks, the post office, the swimming pool, restaurants and supply stores, and showing them how to use the transportation system, the libraries and the phones.

The cost of the program including room and board is $800. Biddle estimates that "most of them are fairly well off."