Implications of the behaviorist and cognitive theories in language instruction are discussed in this article. Some contributions of Skinner, Politzer, Valette, Morton, Lane, and Mueller and Niedzielski clarify the behaviorists' view of language as a myriad of conditioned responses. In turn, the cognitive viewpoint, seen as the acquisiton and storage of knowledge, is examined in terms of the theory of Ausubel, Spolsky, Chomsky, Ohmann, Miller, McNeill, Markle, and Tieman. Concluding remarks suggest ways in which to combine elements of both theories in language teaching methodology. (RL)