This paper discusses the similarities in the difficulties that developmental writers and non-native English speakers/writers bring to the classroom and how this can influence instructors' choices of pedagogical strategies. The paper proposes a method of teaching that encourages teacher comfort with basic writing such that student work remains the focus of the teaching strategy. In particular, the paper discusses how two such instructors (one who teaches basic writing and one who teaches English as a Second language), view the effectiveness of their particular teaching strategies. Using students' actual work as models when teaching grammar is suggested. It contends that grammar must be taught as a way to convey meaning, not as an isolated skill. Noting that the findings of research in second language acquisition can profitably influence the developmental writing classroom, the paper emphasizes that teaching grammar communicatively works, since students can show improvement in production and recognition skills. Linking reader response theory and grammar, the paper states that teachers need to "jump right in" and work with students' writing and still address grammar issues. Students can be provided with opportunities to actively use their grammar skills rather than passively responding to anonymous text and provides test comparisons to support this opinion. Contains primary trait scales for sentence structures and grammar, test score comparisons, and eight references. (CR)