About CAL
Announcements
Qatar Foundation Announces Dora Johnson Scholarship at ACTFL 2011
A new scholarship program in honor of Dora Johnson, who retired from CAL in 2009 after almost 45 years of service, was announced by the Qatar Foundation at the 2011 ACTFL Annual Convention. A dozen teachers of Arabic were awarded this scholarship, which provided them with a travel allowance so they could attend ACTFL, many for the first time. CAL is pleased to have Dora’s contributions in the field of Arabic language education acknowledged.
January 2012
Using the SIOP Model: Professional Development Manual for Sheltered Instruction
This new edition of CAL SIOP's professional development manual is designed to assist teacher educators, staff developers, and leaders at the school, district, and state levels as they prepare teachers of English language learners to use the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model or its adapted version, the Two-Way SIOP Model. By incorporating these instructional models in their classroom, teachers can improve the language proficiency and grade-level content knowledge of their linguistically and culturally diverse students.
Learn more.
January 2012
Newcomer Report Now Available: Helping Newcomer Students Succeed in Secondary Schools and Beyond
This report, based on a 3-year national research study funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has been written for educators and policy makers to focus attention on newcomer adolescent English language learners at the middle and high school grades and to communicate promising practices for meeting their educational and social needs.
Learn more.
January 2012
Materials From the 2011 CREATE Conference Now Available: Educating Middle School English Language Learners for College and
Career Readiness
CREATE's capstone conference highlighted current research on methods for building literacy skills and oral language development for English language learners across the content areas. PowerPoint presentations and handouts from the conference are now available.
Learn morey.
January 2012
New CREATE Brief Now Available Online: The SIOP Model: A Professional Development Framework for a Comprehensive School-Wide Intervention
This brief first describes individual interventions that CREATE researchers tested in middle school science, social studies, and language arts classrooms with English language learners over the course of the 2005-2009 school years. The brief then explains how the SIOP Model was used as a professional development framework to unite the separate research studies into a school-wide, comprehensive intervention that was implemented in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years to support English language learners across the core content areas.
Read the brief or download the PDF.
January 2012
Introducing the BEST Plus Test: USB Format
CAL is pleased to announce an enhanced delivery vehicle for our oral proficiency assessment for adults learning English–the BEST Plus Test: USB. This new tool has been designed to provide convenient USB access to the test and to enhancements designed to make using the test software even easier.
Learn more.
January 2012
Directory of Foreign Language Immersion Programs in U.S. Schools: Update Complete
CAL has updated this comprehensive directory of elementary, middle, and high schools that teach all or part of their curriculum through a second language. The directory was first compiled by CAL in 1981 and has been updated many times since then. We invite you to browse the current directory, which includes 22 languages and more than 400 schools.
Access the online directory.
November 2011
SOPA Online Training Courses Set for January 2012
CAL offers innovative language proficiency assessment instruments designed to allow young students to demonstrate their highest level of performance in oral fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and listening comprehension. SOPA Online Training courses teach participants how to administer and rate students' oral language using the SOPA (Student Oral Proficiency Assessment) or the ELLOPA (Early Language Listening and Oral Proficiency Assessment).
Registration is open for the January Moderated Introduction to the SOPA and Rating the SOPA online courses.
Learn more and register.
October 2011
Assessment Literacy for Language Educators
Margaret Malone, Senior Testing Associate at CAL, discusses four key concepts of assessment, describes free online resources that promote assessment literacy among language educators, and explores how these tools can be useful for all stakeholders.
Read the digest.
October 2011
Report From 2011 ACTFL-CEFR Conference now Available Online:
The Elements of Proficiency: An Emerging Consensus for Language Assessment
and Instruction
More than 40 language educators from the U.S. and Europe, including CAL staff members Dorry Kenyon and Margaret Malone, met recently in Provo, Utah, to explore common understandings about language proficiency as shared by the ACTFL and the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Communities. This year's goals were to help practitioners all over the world to understand the essential elements of proficiency and how it is assessed. Learn more about the conference and read the report.
October 2011
CREATE Brief: Improving Reading Across Subject Areas With Word Generation
This brief describes a quasi-experimental study of Word Generation, conducted in public middle schools in Boston. Word Generation is a robust vocabulary intervention that is implemented across key subject areas. The purpose of the program is to enhance students' vocabulary in support of improved reading comprehension. This brief outlines the details of the intervention and explains how it increases the vocabulary development of all students, including English language learners.
Read the brief.
October 2011
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages 2011 Annual Convention
November 18 - 20, 2011
Denver, CO
CAL will be presenting and exhibiting at the 2011 ACTFL conference.
Browse our list of presentations online.
Learn more.
October 2011
3rd International Conference on Language, Education, and Diversity (LED 2011)
November 22 - 25, 2011
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Terrence Wiley and Bernard Spolsky will present an LPREN-sponsored colloquium: Gaps Between Research Evidence and Language Education Policy. Terrence Wiley will also present on Assessing Educational Language Rights in the United States: Two Steps Back - One Forward.
Learn more.
October 2011
Heritage Languages and Social Cohesion Conference
November 5, 2011
New York, NY
Joy Peyton will join a panel discussion to address the field of research today and how heritage language teaching and learning can address issues of social cohesion.
Learn more.
October 2011
Workshop Spotlight: Multiculturalism in the Classroom
This workshop specifically targets teachers working with newcomers, immigrants, and refugees, as well as American-born students. Designed to help teachers promote tolerance, diversity, and cultural connections within their classrooms, the workshop provides hands-on guidance on the use of the refugee family and youth videos, A New Day and Be Who You Are, and the companion facilitator's guide, Connecting Diverse Cultures. The workshop incorporates active learning, practical exercises, and group discussions in order to promote engagement and ease of application. Developed for maximum flexibility, the workshop is appropriate for educators working in K–12 classrooms, adult education settings, and the training of trainers.
Learn more.
September 2011
New CREATE Brief Now Available Online
Improving Reading Across Subject Areas With Word Generation
This brief describes a study of Word Generation, a robust vocabulary intervention implemented across key subject areas, that was conducted in middle schools in Boston. The brief outlines the details of the intervention and explains how it increases the vocabulary development of all students, including English language learners.
Read the brief online or download the PDF.
August 2011
Immersion Education: Practices, Policies, Possibilities
This publication from Multilingual Matters showcases the practice and promise of immersion education through in-depth investigations of program designs, implementation practices, and policies in one-way, two-way and indigenous programs. Contributors, including CAL senior fellow Donna Christian and CAL trustee Fred Genesee, present new research and reflect on possibilities for strengthening practices and policies in immersion education. Learn more.
August 2011
Chinese as a Heritage Language: Fostering Rooted World Citizenry
Thirty-two scholars examine the sociocultural, cognitive-linguistic, and educational-institutional trajectories along which Chinese as a heritage language may be acquired, maintained, and developed. This volume from the National Foreign Language Resource Center in Hawaii will engage all those interested in the teaching and learning of Chinese, from teachers to parents to the students themselves. Learn more.
July 2011
Directory of Foreign Language Immersion Programs in U.S. Schools: Update Underway
CAL is updating this comprehensive directory of elementary, middle, and high schools that teach all or part of their curriculum through a second language. The directory was first compiled by CAL in 1981 and has been updated many times. The latest update is expected to be concluded later this year. We invite you to browse the current directory, which includes 22 languages and over 400 schools. Access the online directory.
June 2011
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Curriculum
CAL developed curriculum modules on pedestrian and bicycle safety for use in programs for adult English language learners. The materials are intended to help teachers and volunteers convey key messages about safety to new immigrants learning English and to encourage the adults to pass the safety messages to their children and other family members. Modules are available for both beginning and intermediate levels and include instructor manuals, student workbooks, and audio clips. Learn more.
June 2011
American Voices: How Dialects Differ From Coast to Coast
This collection of articles by prominent dialect researchers provides a fascinating look at the full range of American dialects. Written for lay readers, these articles make information about dialects accessible to non-linguists and give readers a fresh understanding of language diversity. Learn more.
June 2011
EL/Civics Online: Integrating EL/Civics Into Adult ESL Classrooms
EL/Civics Online is a free series of courses designed to assist teachers in creating interesting and effective lessons in the areas of U.S. history, U.S. government, the naturalization process, and civic engagement. Also available are tutorials, a master teacher course, lesson plans, and supplemental modules on the four content areas. Learn more.
May 2011
Heritage Languages in America: Preserving a National Resource – PDF Now Available
Heritage Languages in America outlines what needs to be done to help heritage language speakers develop their languages for use in academic and professional arenas. This publication is now available as a downloadable PDF for a small fee. Learn more.
May 2011
Words Were All We Had: Becoming Biliterate Against the Odds
This publication includes engaging, personal narratives from a select group of well-respected educators who attained biliteracy not only at a young age but in the era before bilingual education. Teachers can glean important lessons about the individual potential of their Latino students from the lived experiences of Latinos whose successes dispel the myth that Spanish is an obstacle to learning. Learn more.
May 2011
Developing Oral Proficiency of Adults Learning English
This free online professional development module is designed for adult ESL practitioners who want to know more about building the speaking and listening skills of adult English language learners. Learn more.
March 2011
Resources for Practitioners Working With Adult English Language Learners
CAL provides evidence-based resources and practical tools for working with the growing population of adult English language learners throughout the United States. Our new website provides information about the many adult ESL resources available from CAL. We encourage you to bookmark it and visit often to download free online resources and to learn about our professional development and technical assistance services.
Visit our new website.
March 2011
Visit the announcement archive to view past announcements from CAL.
