How to Learn English through English News

Your desired IELTS band score is 6 or 7+ but your preparation for the IELTS exam is 50%. It is true and maybe you will not admit this bitter truth. Because you are busy in learning strategies to crack IELTS. You are always allured with the words '' tips and tricks'' 

To be frank tips and tricks do not exist. You have to learn the fundamentals of  English first, for example, sentence formation, pronunciation, reading flow, listening skill,  fluent speaking, writing culture, and tight grab over vocabulary. 

Whatever your English level is, beginner, intermediate, advanced. You can always learn English with the news. In this article, we will show you, how to learn English with the news?

What do we learn from news channels?

Learning English with news channels is a fantastic way to improve your listening, reading skills. You can increase your vocabulary. As you read more news articles, you will get more ideas on general topics that improve your discussion and writing.

More Clear English 

News channels use standard English. A journalist's job is to summarise events and giving facts of particular situations to the public. You will get unlimited access to the English which is used by English native speakers. 

Information

The Internet is a boon for us. learn to use it well. Just install news applications or access to news websites. Because news media is a consistent stream of the real-life and latest information. You will get the chance to know what is happening around the world in real-time. 

Listening, Reading, Writing

As English news has various forms. It gives you a choice while learning the language. If you want to improve your reading, you can go for online news articles. You just need to pick up the article according to your interest and start that reading English news article. Moreover, to improve listening and vocabulary, you can watch news videos, listen to radio stations, and English podcasts.

Relevant News

Consider your interest and your hobbies. You always find news stories and articles which are relevant to you, because you can have access to fresh news on every imaginable topic. For example, if you are not interested in crime and political topics, then go for technology or the latest from Sports news. 

7 Study Tips: How to learn English through the News? 

To learn real-life English, news media plays a role as your ''personal instructor'' News article is written in clear writing with short and direct sentences. It makes it a lot clear for you to understand. On the other hand, reading can be harder for you to understand because the book author uses more complicated sentences and vocabulary which it hard for beginner and intermediate level.

 1. Write down a new word

You will get a lot of unfamiliar words, phrases, and expressions while reading, watching, listening to English news. Always keep a handy notebook and a pen with you. So, you can write down new words. Group vocabulary or word sets together e.g celebrity, entertainment, sports, politics, etc. Secondly, make different categories in a notebook like - topic, word, expression, English meaning, word translation, and its example. 

Note: If you will sit to learn each vocabulary word you find, you can not remember. What you can do is, write down the word you see repeated many times. 

 2. Read ''Aloud'' and ''Shadowing''

Read news articles aloud help in improving pronunciation and remembering new words. This exercise is for speaking. Try reading news articles aloud and making notes on paper, if you find a new word. 

Try ''shadowing'' while listening to or watching the news. Get the transcript and read the text along with the speakers. 

 3. Short news summaries

Skin the news articles and collect the main points. It is the best technique to assess your understanding while reading English news articles. Paraphrase the article and use a pen to highlight points. After that rephrase the main points into micro bullet points. Write a rephrased article in the notebook with the help of bullet points and your teacher to check. 

 4. Watch news

Watching English news videos will develop your listening speed. Because visual story helps you to understand more what journalist or newsreader is saying. Watching news is like learning to play guitar, you can start slowly. But daily practice will improve your speed. 

 5. Choose the best news application or website

You spend the whole day with your mobile, that is very true. Install a news mobile application. You can choose your favorite news channel or you can search which news channel is best for English learning. You can read English news anytime, and anywhere. 

 6. Regular news discussion

Discussion is a must for learning a new language. You can do a discussion with a group of friends or teachers. Choose an interesting news topic each week. Arrange a time and place to sit together for discussion. Make a list of related questions in order to make your discussion longer. Even you can practice new vocabulary words here. Remember these and use them in your English conversation. 

 

 7. Engage yourself in online news via comments

Find out an article according to your interest or you feel strongly about. Read the comments below the article and join the conversation with your comments. Debating is always considered as the most reliable method to practice a new language. You can write down useful words from the thread. Make a list, learn, and use these expressions in your conversation. 

5 Best News Channels to Learn English 

BBC Learning English 

BBC's full form is British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC is the world's largest and oldest organization. It is known for short articles that are very easy to understand.  The mobile application came up with the video clip at the top, followed by news article text. BBC Learning English is the best channel to learn English. 

E-News

E-News offers weekly news for English language learners.  When you click on the article, you will get three options below: Advanced, Intermediate, Beginner. As you choose your English level, the article will be opened. 

Each article contains has 3 versions. The advanced level includes the original article. They provide easy versions for intermediate, and beginners. News articles have highlighted vocabulary words. I love this feature, when you put a mouse on blue colored vocab, you will be able to see words explanation instantly. 

The Times in Plain English 

This website takes news articles from ''The Newyork Times'' These articles are original but they cut off these articles to make them simpler. Which is actually good for the reader. This site is not for beginners. Your English level must be intermediate and advanced. 

They do not provide audio recordings, video clips, vocabulary lists. However, you can find interesting and useful articles to read because their articles are easy to read and understand. 

Breaking English News

This website contains 1,000 ideas, activities, and e-books. You can get free English lessons here with plenty of exercises and vocabulary. News articles are easy to understand. 

Each article contains activities for students. You can find an option to download the whole article as a printable PDF with listening answers, reading, vocabulary, grammar, writing exercises with answers. 

News in Level

News in level is the American English website. News articles include ''3 difficult levels. Articles are short in several paragraphs. Each article contains videos of clips and audio recordings. You can see, vocabulary is highlighted and well explained. 

Level 1 is for beginners. Short and simple sentences help them to understand easily. The level 3 version is a difficult one because these types of articles are the original text from news articles. Level 2 is a combination of Level 1 and Level 3. They update the website regularly with new articles. 

Conclusion

You can learn English through English news. News channels are not the only source of fresh news. Nowadays these are contributing a lot in learning English. Listening, reading. vocabulary and grammar practices in one place make your learning very easy. 

Also Read: IELTS Secrets - Tips From IELTS Ex Examiner