The teaching of edited American English in a freshman composition course to remedial students and to students of English as a second language (ESL) is discussed. Edited American English (EAE) can be defined as the kind of standard written English that typically appears in textbooks, newspapers, and some periodicals. Remedial and ESL students need to learn the kind of English required in the academic environment and to understand why they need to learn it. They also need to feel good about themselves as language learners and as language users. A course designed to meet these needs includes the results of linguistic research and counseling. Information is presented on grammars and where they come from, dialectology, and sociolinguistics. Such exposure begins a process of consciousness-raising about language so that students become aware of what is expected of them linguistically. The importance of linguistic findings in the freshman composition class and the need for validation counseling as a way to help students gain a more positive view of themselves as language learners are discussed. (SW)