There are over 3 million children in the United States whose primary language is other than English. Although bilingual education has been effective in meeting their needs, its availability is limited, and the alternative is often limited or no English instruction at all. It is not yet clear how effective total immersion is for non-English speakers by comparison with immersion for English- dominant students. Differences between the groups will affect program effectiveness. Immersion programs, like bilingual programs, use teachers familiar with the students' native language and include instruction in it, and this aspect may make it as difficult to implement immersion programs as to implement bilingual programs. However, immersion as an instructional strategy can be incorporated into existing programs in which language minority students are exposed to content area instruction in English. Some effective components of programs for language minority students are complementary native language instruction, frequent positive interaction with English speakers, opportunities for comfortable native language conversation during the school day to alleviate stress and promote language pride, rewards for successful communication, limited pressure for linguistic accuracy, and consideration of group cultural and linguistic differences in program design. (MSE)