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<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The Center for Applied Linguistics
(CAL) is pleased to announce the availability of <SPAN style="COLOR: black">our
latest digest, “Effects of Instructional Hours and Intensity of Instruction on
NRS Level Gain in Listening and Speaking.” The digest reports on a descriptive
study examining the relationship between student performance on <I>BEST Plus
</I>and NRS level gain and class attendance. <I>BEST Plus </I>pretest and
posttest data for nearly 7,000 examinees were analyzed to see how their
performance at each National Reporting System (NRS) educational functioning
level varied according to number of instructional hours and intensity of
instruction. Results showed that across all NRS educational functioning levels,
the greater the number of instructional hours, the higher the percentage of
students who made an NRS level gain. There was also a general trend toward
greater NRS level gain for students with high levels of instructional intensity
than for those with low instructional </SPAN>intensity. Intensity of instruction
had the greatest impact on students at the Beginning ESL Literacy, Low
Intermediate ESL, and Advanced ESL levels. To read the full digest, you may view
and download a complimentary copy from<SPAN style="COLOR: blue"> </SPAN><A
href="http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/levelgain.html">http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/levelgain.html</A><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">.</SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN class=802370615-08012008><FONT
face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN class=802370615-08012008><FONT
face="Trebuchet MS">O</FONT></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG>ther Online Resources from
CAL</STRONG></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">CAL</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> is a private, nonprofit
organization working to improve communication through better understanding of
language and culture. Our Web site (<A
href="http://www.cal.org/">www.cal.org</A>) provides a wealth of information on
and access to many free resources. The following links may be of particular
interest:</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Center for Adult English Language
Acquisition (CAELA): <A
href="http://www.cal.org/caela">http://www.cal.org/caela</A> -- Resources
include briefs on a wide range of topics in adult ESL education and
research.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Literacy Education: <A
href="http://www.cal.org/topics/le/">http://www.cal.org/topics/le/</A> --
Resources include the report from the National Literacy Panel and a report on
adolescents learning English as a second language.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Refugee Integration: <A
href="http://www.cal.org/topics/ri/">http://www.cal.org/topics/ri/</A><SPAN>
</SPAN>-- Resources include information about refugee populations coming to the
United States. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P>
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