A case study of the progress of Janice, a native Spanish speaking second grader learning English in a Florida public school, focuses on the classroom environment in which she was learning English, her writing development, her perceptions of writing in English and how they changed over time, and her struggles in the face of her teacher's and others' expectations of her writing. The approach of the study, begun as an objective examination of the process of a child simultaneously acquiring native language and English literacy, became one of direct encouragement of the pupil based on a whole language perspective on literacy education, involving meaningful reading and writing experiences. The study followed Janice from her first days in the United States to the end of the school year, which included both standard classes with instruction in English and daily classes in English as a second language. The researcher's regular meetings with the student are chronicled, and samples of her writing and drawing are included. It is concluded that the student's writing was influenced at points during the year by her classroom instruction and her teachers' assumptions about English literacy: that correct spelling and letter formation are prerequisite's to communication, that writing consists of using lists of words in sentences, that writing is accurate copying, that one should write only if spelling correctly, that the teacher assigns what and when to write, and that nonfluent English speakers shouldn't or can't write English. Despite this, Janice did write and did make progress when given the encouragement of a whole language learning environment. (MSE)