Four commonly used approaches to teaching English as a second language to limited English proficiency and non-English proficiency students have both advantages and disadvantages. The Natural Approach is based on children's acquisition of speech sounds and oral proficiency through spontaneous interaction in a natural environment. Although a natural environment is hard to duplicate in the classroom, teachers can approximate a natural setting with objects, plants, and stimuli corresponding to the children's developmental stages. The Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement Approach involves a structured and sequenced series of lessons enabling the teacher to model increasingly complex language elements. The teacher uses audio-visual aids and gestures as stimuli to elicit responses and extend immediate reinforcement. Critics call the approach structured, mechanical, and restrictive of natural oral expression. Advocates think it ensures appropriate second language progession and reduces frustration. The Integrated Concept-Language Development Approach helps students learn concepts concurrently with language. Although the teacher must maintain a balance between concept and language learning, the approach aids development in both areas. In the Eclectic Approach teachers who prefer a non-structured plan and are willing to plan carefully, select and apply elements of the other approaches to second language learning. (SB)