Abstract
Language classes in schools are organized by age or grade level, rather than by ability, so it is common to have a range of learners at different levels of proficiency, and from a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds in one classroom．For young learners, there are also age-related developmental variations in cognition．The school has been working to use such variations to positive effect in the classroom. This study will report on the process of improving the Japanese ability of young learners observed in such classes, along with discussing the tendencies observed according to the learners' linguistic and cultural background and age of development.
