Educational research in Australia is minimal, according to the author. And yet the need for improved instruction to reach poor and reluctant readers compares in seriousness with the needs in the United States and Great Britain. It is recommended that research should place less emphasis on comparative evaluation of teaching methods and an increased emphasis on understanding learning processes and language development. A series of studies done in Canberra, Australia, is described. Language samples from over 100 primary-grade children were analyzed, and these samples were compared with language patterns in reading materials. It was concluded that children of fairly high language development, who have mastered grammatical constructions and vocabulary and whose family backgrounds are rich in language, have little trouble learning to read, regardless of the system used. It was postulated that these children had less trouble with the artificial language of a primer than did children who had not yet mastered oral language. It was further postulated that instruction aimed at increasing the language development of children who experienced early difficulty in reading would help them become more efficient readers. (MS)