About the Author

Becky Tarver Chase is an experienced English instructor who has taught all subject areas including reading, writing, grammar, communication skills, and test preparation. She has worked at universities and in private programs in the United States, Mexico, and Thailand. Her current focus is on creating effective language-learning materials, and she is one of the authors of the World English, Reading Explorer, Close-Up, and Pathways series from National Geographic Learning. Kristin Johannsen held an MA in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She had extensive experience teaching English in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, France, and the United States. She has presented her ideas on global issues at multiple conferences around the world and was a published author. She spoke several languages including French, German, Spanish, Norwegian, and Korean. Paul MacIntyre earned his MA in TESL from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been an ELT professional for over 20 years. Paul has teaching experience in Japan and the United States, and as an editor participated in the development of numerous ELT courses for classrooms around the world. As a writer, he has contributed to various major course book and testing programs. For National Geographic Learning he is proud to have authored Reading Explorer 2, Reading Explorer 4, and most recently Pathways Listening and Speaking 4. Kathy Najafi holds an MAELT (Masters in English Language Teaching) from Reading University, London, U.K. She has extensive ESL/EFL teaching experience in the United Arab Emirates, Iran and the United States. Besides teaching all English subject areas, Kathy is a published author, editor, translator and curriculum developer. She is the author of numerous VESL manuals for Houston Community College and Lone Star College. Ms. Najafi is also creator, co-producer and host of HCCTV�s �Bridging Cultures�. A past president of TexTESOL IV, Kathy also enjoys presenting on Cross-Cultural Awareness / Intercultural Communication. She is currently a professor in the Intensive English Department at Houston Community College.