Acknowledging that basic skills instructors must deal with the affective characteristics of developmental students, this paper describes factors to consider for creating an environment in which developmental students can improve their learning skills. The first section of the paper discusses ways to meet emotional needs when planning a pretest for assessing language skills. The next section lists other tests that can be useful for assessing and meeting affective needs, such as writing apprehension assessments, assessment of learning style, right/left brain dominance, and background interviews concerning language experiences. The third section discusses instruction based on the assessed strengths and weaknesses of the students, specifically developing inference skills, maintaining the conventions of writing, and understanding the writing process. The fourth section focuses on evaluation of student writing and using evaluation scales and peer review, and the last section explores the role of the developmental course in preparing students to meet the expectations of mainstream courses. (HTH)