Ways that the teacher can make communication skills instruction relevant to the learner are emphasized. It is suggested that teachers (1) learn more about our language structure, (2) study the particular environment and language of students, (3) emphasize strategies of word attack in context rather than teach lists of individual sight words, (4) distinguish between oral and silent reading demands for meaning, and (5) concentrate on the child's language development prior to reading. The language-experience approach and provisions for individualized instruction are claimed to be the most effective in reaching the interests and experiences of the learner. The needs for developing and implementing provisions for transfer of learning, instruction in reading expository materials, multimedia instructional facilities, effective evaluation devices, differentiated instructional personnel teams, inservice programs, and research activities are also outlined. It is concluded that reading instruction, and, in fact, all communication skills instruction, must be subsumed by ideas. Communication skills are means to ends, not ends in themselves. References are included. (CM)