The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL).

The Center for Applied Linguistics is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes and improves the teaching and learning of languages, identifies and solves problems related to language and culture, and serves as a resource for information about language and culture. CAL carries out a wide range of activities in the fields of English as a second language, foreign languages, cultural education, and linguistics. These activities include research, teacher education, information dissemination, instructional design, conference planning, technical assistance, program evaluation, and policy analysis. Publications include books on language education, online databases of language programs and assessments, curricula, research reports, teacher training materials, and print and online newsletters.

Major CAL projects include the following:

* ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics

* National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education

* The Cultural Orientation Resource Center

* Pre-K-12 School Services

CAL collaborates with other language education organizations on the following projects:

* Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence

* Improving Foreign Languages in the Schools Project of the Northeast and Island Regional

Laboratory at Brown University

* The National Capital Language Resource Center

* National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center

* National Network for Early Language Learning

News from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics

The U.S. Department of Education decided to discontinue the 16 subject-specific ERIC Clearinghouses. As a result of this decision, funding for the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics (ERIC/CLL), managed by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), ended on December 31, 2003. For information about the new ERIC database, visit www.eric.ed.gov.

Over the years, ERIC/CLL has produced a number of quality publications including digests, online resource guides, print and Web-based newsletters, and books in the Language in Education and Professional Practice series. ERIC/CLL has also maintained a Web site and provided question answering services. Although funding for ERIC/CLL will end, CAL remains committed to providing quality language education materials. To that end, CAL will continue to make free publications available in downloadable format from the CAL Web site, including those that were developed by ERIC/CLL.

* ERIC/CLL Resource Guides Online provide links to relevant resources on various topics in second language teaching and learning. New Resource Guides include: Resources for Elementary School Foreign Language Programs.

* ERIC/CLL Digests cover a range of topics in ESL, foreign language, and bilingual education. Our most recent Digests include: Genderation 1.5 Students and College Writing, What Parents Want to Know About Foreign Language Immersion Programs, Professional Development for Language Teachers, and Strategy Training for Second Language Learners.

* Upcoming books in the Professional Practice series include Creating Access: Language and Academic Programs for Secondary Shool Newcomers and Language by Video: An Overview of Foreign Langauge Instruction Videos for Children. Creating Access will describe the ins and outs of an exciting new education model - newcomer programs for immigrant students. Language by Video will provide useful information about the effectiveness of video-based language programs in the classroom. Both will be available early 2004 from the CALStore (http://calstore.cal.org/store/).

News from the National Center for ESL Literacy Education

* NCLE's new FAQ What do beginning adult ESL teachers, tutors, and volunteers need to know? answers that question and offer resources for new practitioners in adult ESL. The FAQ describes four crucial issues related to teaching adult English language learners: Principles of adult learning; second language acquistion; issues related to culture; and instructional approaches that support language development in adults.

* NCLE's new Q&A Working With Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners addresses many of the concerns teachers sometimes express concern about being able to effectively teach adult learners in literacy-level classes.. The Q&A describes who literacy-level learners are, examines the skills they need to develop, and discusses the appropriate scope of literacy-level classes, as well as activities and techniques to support them. Two veteran practitioners, MaryAnn Cunningham Florez and Lynda Terrill, wrote this Q&A drawing on years of experience with literacy-level classes. The Q&A includes an extensive bibliography of print and online resources.

* Another new Q&A Discusses Four Assessment Issues Raised by the National Reporting System (NRS). As the field of adult English as a second language (ESL) instruction moves towards content standards, program staff and state and national policy makers need to be able to make informed choices about appropriate assessments for adult English language learners. In NCLE's new Q&A, Valid, Reliable, and Appropriate Assessments for Adult English Language Learners, Dorry Kenyon, Director of Language Testing at CAL, and Carol Van Duzer, Adult ESL Assessment Specialist at NCLE, examine these concepts from a language testing perspective as they apply to the NRS.

The current edition of NCLE's newsletter, NCLEnotes, focuses on assessment and accountability for adult English learners.

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