Since the mid-1970's, increasing attention has been given to the non-native English-speaking student who has had difficulty keeping up with students of similar social and linguistic backgrounds. This article covers the following areas: overview of language acquisition, development, and disorders in bilingual individuals; discussion of informal and formal instruments available to assess first and second language skills of bilingual students; determination of a language disorder in a bilingual population—description of a study; and discussion of intervention techniques that include this author's experience working with Puerto Rican students in the Boston area and Mexican-American students in southern Santa Clara County, California.