With the rapid and dramatic influx of Asians of widely varying background to the United States, more comprehensive planning for literacy education will be increasingly important. Most research on literacy in English as a second language, particularly on transfer of learning from one language to another, focuses on groups with European language backgrounds. There is evidence that the very different orthography and syntax of Asian languages may be accompanied by or account for very different cognitive and learning processes. Implications for educators are: (1) they must be judicious in applying current bilingual pedagogical approaches to literacy skills development; (2) they should focus on the orthographic and syntactic differences between Asian languages and English while considering the universal aspects of the reading process; and (3) they need to keep in perspective the relative importance of different skills for classroom emphasis. Every effort should be made to develop primary language literacy, at least by making the primary language a visible and legitimate part of schoolwork. Development of reading and writing skills should be approached as part of the communication process, with adjustments to accommodate cultural differences and their effects on reading comprehension. (MSE)