Student Finalists From Twelve Nations Awarded Trips to United States for Second Annual Franklin Global SpellEvent® Championship

BURLINGTON, N.J. and ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers announced today that 24 finalists from five continents have earned the right to participate in its Second Annual Global SpellEvent Championship.  The SpellEvent competition is a global program specifically designed for nonnative-English-speaking students who are learning English as an additional language.  The SpellEvent Championship will be held at Jumeirah Essex House Hotel, New York City, on August 10, 2010.

Tens of thousands of students, ages 15 and under, participated in the quest to represent their homelands in New York City and to compete for the grand prize $10,000 scholarship.  The 24 finalists qualified in local and regional finals held in Argentina, Chile, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

"We are inspired by the pride, diligence and enthusiasm that these children have displayed," said Barry J. Lipsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Electronic Publishers. "They are truly excited about learning English and the opportunities that doing so will provide in their future."  Mr. Lipsky added, "These 24 students are all already winners, having taken the top placements in each of their respective countries.  The excitement they exuberate just in having won the honor to come to New York City is paralleled by how proud they have made their parents and teachers feel."

The SpellEvent prize monies help students with their future educational needs and allow them to continue to focus on their education in the English language.  English has become increasingly important to students worldwide as the language continues to bind nations together in international business, science, and technology.  English is also the world language of diplomacy and is used as one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

In-country local and regional SpellEvent competitions were held in twelve countries leading up to this Global SpellEvent Championship.  To assist with the undertaking, Franklin Electronic Publishers partnered with Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), the global association of English language educators, and their network of 100 affiliate organizations around the world.

"TESOL has always supported English language education throughout the world," explains Rosa Aronson, Executive Director of TESOL.  Partnering with Franklin Electronic Publishers for its Global SpellEvent has helped bring new English language education techniques and opportunities to different countries in support of TESOL's mission to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide.  The association especially appreciates Franklin's commitment and all the support provided by TESOL's affiliates in making the Global SpellEvent such a success.

Ms. Tamara Kirson, the New York Times® ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) Teacher of the Year 2009, will once again host this year's SpellEvent Championship.  Mr. Peter Sokolowski, Editor-at-Large for Merriam-Webster, will be the official SpellEvent Championship pronouncer.  The judges for the SpellEvent Championship will be Ms. Rosa Aronson, PhD, CAE, Executive Director of TESOL, and Mr. Mark Algren, Past President of TESOL.

For more details on the Global SpellEvent competition, please visit: www.spellevent.org.

About Franklin

Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold approximately 42,000,000 electronic books.  Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 116,000 in sixteen languages, under license from world-class publishers such as Merriam-Webster, Oxford University Press, Larousse, Langenscheidt, PONS, and HarperCollins, and are focused in four areas: language expansion, language learning, reading enhancement, and writing enhancement.  The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners, which include Adobe and Sun Microsystems. Franklin's products are available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at www.franklin.com.

About TESOL

Incorporated in 1966, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) is a global association for English language teaching professionals, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia in the United States.  TESOL encompasses a network of over 55,000 educators worldwide, consisting of approximately 12,000 individual members and an additional 45,000 educators within the 100 plus TESOL affiliate associations.  Representing a multifaceted academic discipline and profession, TESOL offers members serial publications, books, and electronic resources on current issues, ideas, and opportunities in the field of English language teaching.  TESOL also conducts a variety of workshops and symposia, including an annual convention, regarded as the foremost professional development opportunity for English language educators worldwide.  TESOL's mission is to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching for speakers of other languages worldwide.

SOURCE Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated