The history of instructional material development for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in the United States is chronicled through five different instructional approaches: the audiolingual approach (late 1940s to early 1960s); transformational grammar (early 1960s to the present); Total Physical Response (late 1970s to the present); the communicative approach (late 1970s to the present); and the process approach, focusing mainly on development of writing skills (early 1980s to the present). Specific texts and instructional material sets are highlighted along with general trends. Sample materials for each approach are appended. (MSE)