專為亞洲學生與教師設計。每一級有12個單元的閱讀課程。各單元提供多樣化的文體與練習。每一單元由前後2篇相關聯文章組成，前者提供閱讀理解與語文練習，後者著重培養閱讀技能。則加強閱讀技能訓練。如: 做筆記、文章摘要、文意推斷、字典使用。

要讓學生有自信且能流利說英語試一大挑戰，因為:
■ 要在課堂上以有限的時間廣泛閱讀。
■ 課堂上要進行深度內容教學機會不多。
■ 課堂上閱讀材料的侷限性。

Essential English區分為4個程度別，可克服上述挑戰，本教材:
■ 閱讀方法廣泛而密集。
■ 主題取材範圍全面多樣，例如: 財富、運動與人際關係。
■ 培養完整閱讀技巧。

Essential Reading應用最新的教學研究，將優良讀本內容納入教材，包含簡潔的字彙與流利口語訓練。
Essential English課本:
■ 引領學生從高初階至高中階程度。
■ 12個主題單元。
■ 12頁複習。
■ 一篇完整短篇故事。

Essential English教師手冊:
■ 附加可提供影印的活動單。
■ 文化背景介紹，知其然，知其所以然。
■ 題庫光碟，教學應用方便。
 

Enabling students to become confident and fluent readers in English is challenging because of：
-- limited time in the classroom devoted to extensive reading
-- limited opportunities to engage in depth with texts in class
-- the limited scope of many classroom reading materials

Essential Reading is a unique four-level course that overcomes these challenges, offering：
-- both intensive and extensive approaches to reading
-- a wide range of engaging topics such as Money, Sport and Relationships
-- a full range of skills-building activites

Essential Reading draws of the latest research into what good readers do. Itincludes explicit vocabulary work and fluency development-each book comes with a complete short story taken from the Macmillan Readers series

Essential Reading Student Book
-- takes learners from hing-beginner to upper-intermediate level
-- 12 topic-based units
-- 12 review pages
-- a complete short story

Essential Reading Teacher's File
-- additional photocopiable activities
-- cultural background notes
-- full answer keys
-- Test Generator CD-ROM