Thirty-three first grade classrooms in Georgia were observed to determine the state of language experience instruction and to examine whether such instruction makes a difference in students' awareness of the reading purpose, their knowledge of instructional terminology, their reading attitudes, and their reading achievement. The Allen Level of Implementation Scale (ALIS) was used to determine the level of implementation of language environment. Students were administered a battery of tests to guage their reading attitudes, reading achievement level, and linguistic awareness. A measure of socioeconomic status was also administered. The findings revealed a general lack of language experience instruction in the classrooms; instead, teachers generally used basal reader guides. Although no significant correlations were found between implementation of language environment and the other variables, socioeconomic status did appear to have an impact on the student sample with the lowest ALIS rating, suggesting that offering first grade students language experiences can deter the effects of socioeconomic status. (FL)