The purpose of this study was to determine whether lower-class students would exhibit greater retention of reading vocabulary with a language experience approach to reading than with a basal text approach. Sixty low socioeconomic level students from the seven first grades of one elementary school in a small South Carolina town were randomly assigned to two treatment groups. Both groups were divided into subgroups of six students each, and, for a period of one week, each subgroup received two instructional periods of 30 minutes each and one of 20 minutes. Data revealed no significant differences between the two groups in retention of reading vocabulary. Observations by the experimenter indicated, however, that interest and attention of students was maintained more readily with the language experience approach and that a larger vocabulary was used by language experience students than was apparent in the controlled vocabulary of basal readers. A review of related literature includes a history of the basal approach in American schools, a history and description of the language experience approach, and a summary of research comparing the two approaches as applied to beginning reading instruction. (Author/KS)