This document examines the education of secondary level English language learners within mainstream language arts classes. It provides teachers and teacher educators with an understanding of how mainstream language arts instruction can be designed and implemented to enhance academic achievement for these students. Research for this report included an extensive search of various databases and World Wide Web sites; analysis of the national content standards documents for language arts and three other core areas; site visits to a suburban high school that used a team teaching approach to working with English language learners enrolled in mainstream classes; and personal interviews with education faculty at George Washington University who are responsible for preparing preservice teachers for secondary level mainstream instruction. After an introduction, the first section discusses making English language arts accessible to the English language learner by respecting student diversity, selecting appropriate texts, and making literature more comprehensible. The second section focuses on implementing a whole language approach. This includes encouraging students to maintain the native language and providing a balanced writing program. The third section discusses characteristics of sound assessments for English language learners. The fourth section discusses preparing mainstream teachers to work with English language learner students, examining components of an effective teacher preparation curriculum. (Contains 31 references.) (SM)