Emphasizing language as both medium and object of instruction, the articles in this focused journal issue promote the interaction of students' language and teachers' language as a means to increased student awareness of, and facility with, language. The first three articles provide a context, methodology, and evaluation framework for language instruction, discussing such topics as the effect of "real-world" language on the insular English classroom, a paradigm for assessing and developing language lessons, and the methodology of grammar instruction. The next two articles are concerned with creative uses of language, intentional and otherwise, by students. These are followed by three articles that speak directly to the issue of oral language as a means (or a hindrance) to proficiency in writing. The final article defends English as an object of study and as a medium of thought. (HOD)