If the very existence of a free society depends on a literate and articulate citizenry, the study of English in the United States should be substantially improved on every level from kindergarten through graduate school. Immediate steps must be taken to (1) focus the teaching of English upon the study of language, literature, and composition, (2) educate teachers to the cumulative, sequential nature of English, (3) upgrade and standardize both college preparatory programs and state certification requirements for teaching elementary and secondary school English, (4) cope with the present shortage of English teachers, (5) increase the knowledge and instructional success of currently employed English teachers, (6) improve teaching conditions, services, and resources that will lead to better English teaching, and (7) encourage and support much needed basic research in English as well as the dissemination and application of subsequent findings. (Included are charts which illustrate and substantiate the national inadequacies, costs, and needs of English programs in 1961.) (JB)