The writing problems of most Spanish-English bilinguals do not stem from their bilingualism per se, but are similar to those that inhibit other basic writers. The most serious is unfamiliarity with written, academic English. Students can rarely overcome this on their own. Most need intensive remedial and developmental instruction to be adequately prepared for college work. Hispanic students also share some problems with other poor, minority, nonmainstream students, including identification with a subculture that does not value traditional educational goals. These problems are compounded by the low self-esteem resulting from membership in a colonized, pariah minority group that speaks a devalued language. Many Hispanic children enter the American school system as monolingual and/or monocultural, and perceive the schools as alien and hostile. They receive conflicting messages from home, school, and their peer group, and are unable to respond well to even the best teachers. Lack of writing skill is therefore not usually caused by interference from Spanish, as is usually thought, and writing problems cannot be remediated through the use of second-language teaching techniques. (MSE)