Examines a method of using computers in teaching English as a second language to promote functional use of language. Describes the development of language through a communicative approach where the use of English focuses on the task of graphic design, and where one student teaches another. (EKN)

Reports an exploratory study on the acquisition of one type of nonnarrative writing by 10 fifth grade beginning English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students, including a description of 6 lessons leading up to the writing. The findings support the position that young children learning ESL can cope with linguistic and cognitive demands of…