From June - September 2008, CAELA Network staff members have been meeting with twelve states selected to receive technical assistance from the CAELA Network. The twelve participating states applied to participate and demonstrated both a need for and ability to benefit from technical assistance in the development of high quality professional development plans for practitioners in the state who work with adults learning English. Teams in each state are now developing their plans. The twelve states include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

A cornerstone document for the states' work is the Framework for Quality Professional Development for Practitioners Working with Adult English Language Learners, developed by CAELA Network staff in collaboration with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), U.S. Department of Education. The framework identifies the key features of high quality professional development for practitioners working with adult English language learners based on research. States use the framework to identify strengths and gaps in their capacity, which will guide their work. The framework can also be used by practitioners across the United States to review their programs' and state's professional development systems. Next steps for CAELA Network state teams include implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of their professional development improvement plans.

Watch the CAELA Network Web site for information about the work of these states.

The following publications are new on the CAELA Network Web site.

• Working with Adult English Language Learners with Limited Literacy: Research, Practice, and Professional Development
  This brief focuses on the needs of preliterate, nonliterate, and semiliterate learners. It describes the ethnic, linguistic, and educational backgrounds of these learners; reviews what they need to know and be able to do to acquire literacy in English; discusses how teachers can facilitate the development of these skills in the classroom; and suggests models for training teachers to work with this population.

• Facilitating Adult Learner Interventions to Build Speaking and Listening Skills
  This brief examines research on learner interaction and summarizes the positive effects of classroom interaction on language learning. It also describes areas of focus for teachers who want to promote successful language learning interactions, provides examples of activities that can be used to structure and enhance classroom interactions, and discusses special considerations for using learner interaction activities in classes with beginning-level learners.

• Education for Adult English Language Learners in the United States: Trends, Research, and Promising Practices
  This paper describes the field of adult education in the United States, focusing particularly on the education of adults learning English. It describes the population of adults whose native language is other than English and gives an overview of the types of programs that serve them. It summarizes major trends in learner instruction and assessment, professional development for practitioners, and research.

Look for the following briefs on the CAELA Web site in the fall 2008:

• Using Data to Plan and Evaluate Professional Development for Practitioners Working
  with Adult English Language Learners. This brief will describe a planning process for
  providing professional development for those working with adult English language
  learners. It will list the data to be collected and analyzed, discuss possible implications
  from patterns found in the data, and describe the planning process based on current data and future data that might be collected to evaluate outcomes.

• The Role of Reflective Practice in the Professional Development of Teachers of Adult
  English Language Learners. This brief will describe reflective practice and its value as a professional development tool. It will explore the research basis for and theoretical background of reflective practice and discuss ways that practitioners working with adult English language learners can incorporate reflective practice into their teaching.

The following conferences may be of interest to teachers and administrators working with adult English language learners.

October 2008
October 1-4, 2008
ProLiteracy Worldwide Annual Conference
Little Rock, Arkansas

February 2009
February 21-25, 2009
The 54th IRA Convention (West): Multiple Pathways to Literacy
Phoenix, Arizona

March 2009
March 25-28, 2009
The 43rd Annual TESOL Convention & Exhibit: Uncharted Mountains, Forging New Pathways
Denver, Colorado

April 2009
April 18-22, 2009
COABE Annual Conference
Louisville, Kentucky

May 2009
May 3-7, 2009
The 54th IRA Convention (North Central): Reading, Writing, and Conversation
Minneapolis, Minnesota

This newsletter is published quarterly by the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) Network at the Center for Applied Linguistics and is offered free of charge. The CAELA Network, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is a project to help states increase their capacity to provide more effective professional development to those who teach adult English language learners. Network News is written for practitioners who work with adults learning English and provides information about resources and activities of interest to those who work with this population. If you have information that you would like us to consider including in the next issue of the newsletter, please contact the editor, Miriam Burt, at mburt@cal.org by October 31, 2008.

To subscribe to Network News, send a message to caelanetwork@cal.org.

This publication was prepared with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, under contract No. ED-07-CO-0084. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education (ED).