The Editor

Welcome to ESL Young Learners! I hope you enjoy using the materials here on this website.

My name is Kieran McGovern and I write books and online materials for English language learners. These include original stories like Race Against Time, (Heinemann) and Love by Design (Macmillan) and simplified versions of classics like Henry James' Washington Square. You can see a partial list of my books here.

I was very pleased that three of my readers (including my version of The Secret Garden) were singled out for 'their particular excellence' in Bamford & Day's Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom (Cambridge, 1998). The authors very kindly described me as being 'amongst the best writers of language learner materials in English.’

You can read a short extract from one of the selected readers here - there's also an audio recording and learning activities here.

I have also written for Ming Pao Daily and IATEFL Voices. In August 2009 I was the BBC World Service Teacher Blogger - it was great fun and I'm pleased that they've asked me to blog again in the future. My websites feature in Tips for Teaching with Call: Practical Approaches to Computer -Assisted Language Learning (2008, Pearson/Longman).

I live in Bristol with my wife and daughter (the pretty one in the picture). We have two cats - one is still going strong at 19-years-old.

I'm lucky enough to teach in Bath, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Bristol is very special, too, even if it does rain occasionally!


Love by Design: Elementary (Macmillan Reader)