A practicum study designed to address the problem of inadequate language development skills in first-grade children was conducted. Specifically, efforts were directed toward developing and implementing a specialized instructional program to remediate students' deficiencies in listening comprehension, basic concept skills, classification skills, and oral expression. A learning-center approach combined with the language-experience method comprised instruction for 15 children in the target group. Instruction was provided for approximately 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for a period of 4 months in an environment where children could interact with each other and with materials, make decisions, and express themselves freely. Control group members (14 children) received instruction by a basal-reader approach in a conventional first-grade classroom. Test results indicated that a large percentage of students in the target group achieved the projected increases on posttests when their scores were compared with pretest performances. A few control group students also showed significantly increased scores. Recommendations for future program refinement were suggested. (Appendices include charts of center instruction skill strands, a sample center ticket, and a reading/school attitude survey). (Author/BJD)