A review of the literature on instruction in English as a second language (ESL) looks at four areas of ESL instruction individually and then derives conclusions and recommendations from those areas. The first area, ESL instructional approaches, includes discussion of the educational benefits of current ESL instructional approaches (audiolingual method, innovative techniques such as the Silent Way and Suggestopedia, communicative approaches, and cognitive and content-based approaches), second language learning theories, and practical and theoretical issues in ESL instructional approaches. The second area, program organization issues, looks at ESL within bilingual education programs, separate ESL-only programs, immersion programs, and ESL classroom organizational patterns. The third area, student characteristics and second language learning, focuses specifically on age and development, cognitive style, motivation and attitudes, and sociocultural/ethnolinguistic and environmental characteristics. The fourth area concerns the determination of the appropriateness of ESL instructional materials. Recommendations are made for each of these areas and for further ESL research in general. (MSE)