The decision in the Netherlands to teach English as a second language to all students in grades five and six, by the regular class teacher, has implications for the selection of instructional approaches and materials. A clear preference for communication goals in language instruction has been shown in the Netherlands, suggesting a notional/functional syllabus in the primary school. Earlier research has already resulted in a series of objectives for elementary school English language instruction. Materials should include enough redundancy of content to build areas of knowledge, and they must be selected or written to suit the children's stages of cognitive development. They should contain a large variety of text types and exercises to build linguistic competence and sharpen paralinguistic awareness, with the aim of building communication capabilities. Class activities should be diverse, brief, and physical, and they should require cooperation. Teacher training must be adapted to provide instruction in both English language and language teaching methodology, which may be very unfamiliar to regular class teachers. Secondary teacher training institutions may provide assistance here. Fortunately, elementary teachers are eager to upgrade their skills to teach the new curriculum, but interest in the communicative approach is taking a back seat to immediate needs for preparation. (MSE)