The author, a consultant in English as a Second Language (ESL) in the New Jersey State Department of Education, emphasizes the need for inservice training in ESL. She points out that school personnel of many districts which she has observed purport to have ESL programs but actually are unaware that the teaching of ESL requires special training. Inservice training is only one aspect of a teacher-training program; preservice course work should be part of the college curriculum of every undergraduate with plans to teach children who do not speak English or a standard dialect of English. Not all teachers are suited for ESL, but all should have a foundation in language in order to reinforce the work of the specialist. To teach ESL efficiently and effectively requires an understanding of (1) the English language, (2) how to teach it, and (3) the pupil learning it. It also requires understanding how language learning is different from learning a skill such as addition or subtraction. Problems concerning the practical application of bilingual education, the difference between English as a second language and English as language arts for the reading teacher, and setting up an ESL program in a community are also highlighted. (AMM)