BURLINGTON, N.J. and ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: FEP), a worldwide leader in providing language and related technology solutions and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), will kick off the first event of the Global SpellEvent on April 11, 2009 at Sookmyung University in Seoul, South Korea. The competition is designed for students fifteen years old and under who are learning English as a foreign or additional language in select countries outside of the United States. The local events in other countries including Argentina, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Turkey will continue through April and May 2009. The top finalists from each country will then participate in the Inaugural Franklin Global SpellEvent Championship set to take place in New York City in August 2009. "We have entrants from all over the world that are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming events," said Barry J. Lipsky, Franklin's president and CEO. "It is an honor for us to partner with TESOL, the global association for English language teaching professionals and a privilege to sponsor the event that will give the winning students scholarships to assist in furthering their education." Charles S. Amorosino, Jr., TESOL's executive director and CEO, said, "We have worked closely with Franklin over the past year, and are pleased to see this event reach its first major milestone. TESOL is excited about the opportunity to advance English language education globally and we look forward to seeing that work reach fruition over the coming months." About Franklin: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (NYSE Alternext US: FEP) is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold approximately 41,000,000 electronic books. Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 140,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a division of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX(R) Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in Oceania and the European Community. Franklin's products are available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com/. ROLODEX(R) is a registered trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation. 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, USA. TESOL encompasses a network of approximately 60,000 educators worldwide, consisting of more than 14,000 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 ensure excellence in English language teaching to speakers of other languages. Except for the historical information contained in this news release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent the Company's expectation or belief concerning future events. Without limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "expects" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of our strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in Franklin's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. CONTACT: Aline T. Boutin of Franklin, +1-609-386-2500 ext. 4434, ; or John Segota of TESOL, +1-703-518-2513, Web Site: http://www.franklin.com/

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