This author observes that, in Taiwan, economic, social, and cultural differences within the population are associated with great disparities in English proficiency among students in elementary schools. When teachers differentiate instruction, they consciously and conscientiously make the content, processes, and learning outcomes of instruction…

In East Asian nations such as Korea--where EFL is increasingly central to education policy--more and more workshops, seminars, and conferences focus on helping teachers incorporate extensive reading (ER) programs into their teaching contexts. There is a wide range of materials available for ER, including graded readers--novels and short stories…

In this article, the author examines the use of songs to improve the listening skills of young learners. He first provides a theoretical discussion about listening skills and YLs, and about songs and YLs in general; second, he provides a sample lesson for what can be called "Listen and Do" songs for YLs at the beginning level. These are the songs…

A persistent problem for teachers in English as a Second Language (ESL) situations concerns students who speak their shared common language instead of English in the classroom. Considering the inherent difficulty of the speaking skill, this is understandable. Learners often prefer to interact socially in their native language, allowing them to…