Intended to help English teachers make informed decisions about the use of computers in their classrooms, the chapters in this book consider: (1) "computer basics" (defining "hardware" and "software" and the various capabilities of both); (2) the various instructional strategies available via computers; (3) examples of software reflecting these strategies, specifically in the language arts curriculum; and (4) examples of various evaluation guidelines that instructors might use to judge the suitability of either hardware or software. To clarify each of these topics, each chapter of the book concludes with a scenario whose characters (composites of real English teachers) reflect the entire spectrum of interest in computer assisted instruction. (JL)