Teachers at Western Illinois University help improve the self-image of students in college remedial English courses in the following ways: (1) they try to alleviate students' feelings of failure through such methods as stressing the acceptability of spoken dialects but pointing out the practical need for writing in Standard English, and emphasizing the teacher's role as helper; (2) they free students from their inhibitions about writing, by having them write constantly, providing quick feedback, and beginning with easy kinds of writing such as free writing, purposely bad writing, and personal writing; (3) they convince students they can think by helping them think through a problem, write a thesis statement, and develop supporting points; (4) they give students confidence that they can master mechanics, teaching only the absolute essentials of grammar, using little terminology, and helping students learn rules through practicing their use in sentences; (5) they help students learn responsibility through checking their mastery of daily assignments and insisting that all assignments be completed at the expected time; and (6) they let students feel successful by making certain that each student has at least one paper read aloud during the semester. (GW)