John Eliot, after beginning his mission to the Indians, quickly saw the need for literacy so that the new converts could experience Biblical inspiration on their own. With the help of local interpreters and Eliot's frequent contacts with the Indians, he became fluent in the language and began writing the sounds he heard in Natick in an "ad hoc" fashion, using the conventions of English spelling. By 1651, Eliot produced a hand-written catechism he used for teaching literacy and religion at Natick, followed by a translation of the "Book of Psalms" which was hand-copied. A small group of literate Indians began teaching it to others, and Eliot established a school to train Indian missionaries who were literate and able to read these materials.