A study of 23 secondary school students in year 11 at a British comprehensive school investigated students' feelings about English and Bengali, their native language, their language learning history, how they had developed English language skills in a predominantly Bengali-speaking community, how they had maintained and developed their Bengali, and to what extent a switch to English was occurring. The school's and teachers' responses to their bilingualism in such a homogeneous cultural situation, and student's perceptions of these responses, were also explored. Research was carried out through classroom observation and interviews with 11 of the subjects. Results are reported in the form of excerpts from interviews, with accompanying narrative and conclusions. Implications for teacher education, classroom instruction, school language policy, and guidance are summarized. Appended materials include characteristics of four English language-learning stages, the transcript of a conversation with four students, and samples of student writing in English lessons. (MSE)