Presuming that the innovative process should begin at the point at which a need for change coincides with the means of satisfying that need, the English teacher can update his instructional approach by examining, on the one hand, the student's felt need for articulate expression and a sympathetic listener, and on the other, the current advanced research in counseling, programed instruction, and the human use of language. For example, language research in generative grammar can be used as a basis for providing the student with a "descriptive consciousness" of the way components are taken apart; literature can be viewed as an object to be used to enhance one's articulation through allusion or quotation; and composition can be an activity to develop the writer's natural ability to speak with a unique voice on his chosen subject. The teacher would become a trained counselor who listens and then prescribes specific books, exercises, and programed texts to meet each student's individual needs. (JB)