The language community of urban Hispanics in the United States and educational strategies that are appropriate for teaching English as a second language (ESL) in a bilingual/bidialectal language situation are considered. Within the New York City Hispanic community of Puerto Ricans, several varieties of English have been noted: standard English, local vernaculars of New York City, Black English, and other language varieties that represent a continuum of formal standard to informal nonstandard language. Observing the written English of ESL students can be important in creating effective teaching strategies. Differences from standard English may be placed into three traditional style groups: lexical, syntactic, and spelling. In addition, three factors may be considered regarding the student's mastery of standard English: (1) knowledge of standard English form; (2) the stage of second language acquisition, including transfer from Spanish and interlanguage; and (3) assimilation of nonstandard English form. The application of this approach is illustrated using a written English sample produced by a fourth-grade Hispanic student in an ESL class. It is concluded that by distinguishing among students' linguistic choices that are based on different strategies, teachers can better evaluate student output and the influences on English ability, which will enable proper diagnosis, assessment, and teaching approaches. (SW)